Logotype: a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition.
Numerous inventions and techniques have contributed to the contemporary logo, including logographic languages such as Egyptian Hieroglyphics coats of arms, watermarks and the development of the printing technology.
As the industrial revolution developed in the 18th and 19th centuries, photography, and lithography (an early method of printing) contributed to the boom of an advertising industry that integrated typography and imagery together on the page.
As he same time, typography itself was undergoing a revolution of form and expression that expanded beyond the modest, serif typefaces used in books.
The arts were expanding in purpose- from expression and decoration of an artistic, storytelling nature, to a differentiation of brands and products that the growing middle classes were consuming.
Consultancies and trades-groups in the commercial arts were growing and organizing; by 1890 the Us had 700 lithographic printing firms employing more than 8,000 people.
As printing costs decreased, literacy rates increased, and visual styles changed, the Victorian decorative arts lead to an expansion of typographic styles and methods of representing businesses.
By the 1950s, Modernism had shed its roots as an avant-garde artistic movement in Europe to become an international, commercialized movement in the US and elsewhere.
The visual simplicity and conceptual clarity that were the hallmarks of Modernism as an artistic movement formed a powerful toolset for a new generation of graphic designers.
Modernist-inspired logos proved successful in the era of mass visual communication ushered in by television, improvements in printing technology, and digital innovations.
Logo design is one of the most difficult areas of graphic design to perfect because logos are meant to represent companies’ brands or corporate identities and foster their immediate customer recognition.
A logo needs to be simple, but have enough personality that it stands out in a crowd.
A good logo is distinctive, appropriate, practical, graphic and simple in form, and it conveys the owners intended message.
5 principles of effective logo design:
- Simple: Makes a logo design easily recognizable, versatile and memorable. good logos feature something unexpected or unique, without being "overdrawn"
- Memorable: Following closely on this principle of simplicity is that of memorability. An effective logo design should be memorable, which is achieved by keeping it simple yet appropriate.
- Timeless: Will yours stand to the test of time? Will it still be effective in 10, 20, or 50 years?
- Versatile: Needs to work in all kind of media and applications. Logos should be designed in vector format, to ensure that they scale to any size.
- Appropriate: How you "position" the logo should be appropriate for its intended audience.
Ask yourself, is your logo still effective if its printed...?
- In one color?
- In reverse color?
-The size of a postage stamp?
- As large as a billboard
Four color process vs. Spot color:
-Four color process: A technique for printing with full color. The four colors reproduce all colors of the spectrum when mixed in proper proportion. Also called full color printing
-Spot color: Method of specifying and printing colors in which color is printed with its own ink. Spot color is effective when the printed matter contains only one to three different colors, but it becomes prohibitively expensive for more colors.
-Pantone Matching System: Company created, every printer will utilize Pantone colors no matter what country you are in, all the numbers will remain the same.(PMS)
-Color plays a important role in logo design. Color can illicit different feelings and emotions from the audience.
- Interpretation of color may vary depending on age, gender, and cultural demographics. Color should be carefully considered based on your target audience.
- Colors should also tend to follow trends, just like fashion. So a new vibrant company may want to follow current trends, whereas a bank may choose to stay with a more conservative color palette.
- Keep your color palette from two to three. Too many colors will increase your cost of production, and it may cause a chaotic design.
Combination marks: Graphics with both text and a symbol/icon
Iconic/Symbolic: Icons and symbols are compelling yet uncomplicated images that are embiematic of a particular company or product.
Wordmark/Lettermark: Incorporates your company or brand name into a uniquely styles type font treatment
