Design: Logo

(Ray)

(Fogra 39)Job:08-30930 Title:RP-Design Logo

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Essay

(Text)

I started my career in 1988, and since then, I’ve been fortunate

enough to create hundreds of corporate identities and logos.

I’ve worked in the precomputer world with ink, rubilith, and

stat cameras and seen the industry transformed by clip art logo

websites and most recently, a logo design software package for

$40 (£26). A lot has changed in the past twenty-ve years, and

I’ve seen the corporate brands of the world go from the simple,

to the complex, to the 3-D, to the animated, to the simple again.

All of this has formed my opinions about logo design.

1. I don’t create clip art logos anymore.

What is a clip art logo? It’s a logo symbol that if you switch

out the company name, can be used for any company. In the

past, I’ve created hundreds of them. Before the popularity of

clip art logo sites, I was guilty of repackaging logos created for

past clients (that were not chosen) and reselling them to new

clients. Lots of companies use these marks, but it isn’t optimum.

If another company could reuse your logo icon, that mark isn’t

unique—and what does that say about your company?

2. Acronyms are usually worthless.

Ever since IBM, everyone feels a three-letter ancronym is the

industry norm. But, what do three letters mean to anyone who

isn’t familiar with the company? Nothing. And, in the case of

brands we are familiar with, they lose that meaning over time.

Does anyone under thirty know that IBM stands for Interna-

tional Business Machines? That CBS stands for Columbia Broad-

casting System? Those brands have given personality to their

three letters over time. But for a new company, it simply doesn’t

add value (g. a, b).

25 Years of Logo

Design, Distilled

S H E R W I N S C H W A R T Z R O C K

ba

(Ray)

(Fogra 39)Job:08-30930 Title:RP-Design Logo

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