Logos
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition. Logos are either purely graphic (symbols/icons) or are composed of the name of the organization (a logotype or word mark).
In the days of hot metal typesetting, a logotype was a uniquely set and arranged typeface or colophon. At the level of mass communication and in common usage a company's logo is today often synonymous with its trademark or brand. -- Wikipedia
Company logos are potentially the most visible and remembered part of your business presence. Everyone has a picture of McDonald's logo immediately in their head. Or AT&T, GE, Chevolet, NASA, Twitter. They are burned into our brains. All other business presence items can be derived from and be additions to it's basis.
The images here show the evolution of a logo for the Arizona Sizzle, a woman's professional volleyball club.
The first image on the left is a sketch by our client. He told us that he couldn't draw, but we told him that we didn't care how crude his drawing was, it was important to pull his mental image out and onto a piece of paper.
During our conversation, the client told us that they wanted a border of Arizona with the Arizona state flag in the background. They wanted the sun in the middle of the flag instead of the star that is there. They also wanted a volleyball going through or out of the sun.
That's all that RE: gleaned from about a 2 minute conversation, which was all the time we had -- and really needed in retrospect.
On the right at the top is the first draft, just a concept. He loved it. "Perfect", he said, "That is exactly what I had in my mind." We said nope, it's not perfect yet. RE: wasn't about to put out something which in our estimation, was of that poor of quality.
The following pictures are the second through fifth versions ( the third and fifth are on the left ), getting better with each version.
At RE:, we actually liked the fifth version the best, and we discussed that fact with our client, but we aren't the boss. The client likes the fourth, so that is the one we are going with. You know the old saying -- "The customer is always right".
And along the process, we found out that the uniforms that the logo will be going on, are black, hence the black background logo on the previous Graphic Design page. We really like the contrast with the black background and think that the uniforms will look awesome.
During a one week span, this process took 20 hours of work. RE:, and most importantly, our client is pleased with the end results.
Does the logo design process always go smooth ? Nope. The nTier Technologies logo is actually version 13 -- 7 versions with one concept, then 6 more with the final concept, with about a month of time in between them -- percolating.
Even our own RE: logo is version 4. A person would think that we could crank our own logo out in 2 or 3 tries. Sometimes it just takes a while to get things correct and RE: has the patience and fortitude to carry the design process on to the end. We are perfectionists and quality can't be rushed -- nor sacrificed.
Logos can utilize customized graphics, cut-n-paste graphics, customized logotype information and standard type fonts, and sometimes all of them at the same time, all pulled together to create original works of artistry that everyone can be proud of.
RE: can do the same for your company. Bring us your ideas and we will help you create a lasting professional image as the basis for your complete business presence. Please contact us so we may assist you in this rewarding process.