What Do The Major Brands Like?
Part 2: Hartford Logo Design – Orlando Logo Design
To use a fine art term – when I began creating logo design in Hartford in the late 70’s (I am old!), my thoughts leaned towards picturing symbolically what the client’s business did. Now my logo design work from Orlando leans heavily towards the “minimalist” look. To rise above the rest I want to say more with less. This is the route chosen by many of the worlds best brands. Why, because it works. To create a memorable “icon” that may not “say” anything specific is many times, truly the highest art. And it is not just because it is easier, actually believe it or not the work is harder when you want a logo design or icon that is world class simple!
That being said, lets talk about great icons in the world. These logo designs are among the simplest ones too!
Many times this simplicity means that only the letter style or something unique about it is all that defines the brand. Think 3M, Microsoft, Calvin Klein, Levi’s, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Virgin, Google, Bing, Lord & Taylor, FedEx, IBM, Nintendo, Lego, ebay, CNN Mobil, Dell, Flickr. These logos may be simple, but they are also among the best.
The next step up in simplicity would be to have an icon that is associated with your logo design (brand), but not patently representative of any particular message. It may be in a loose sense associated with a feeling that is generated, but this is a purely subjective reaction and is therefore not a uniform consumer perception. Think Nike, Macys, Pepsi, Audi, Mercedes, Atari, Adidas, McDonalds, Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Target, MSN, Amazon, Lacoste.
Virtually all car brands are associated with a geometric or free-flowing logo design of some sort that does not relate to much of anything other that one letter. It means a lot once it has been associated with the brand. Then it brings to mind the whole brand experience.
The logo design or icon is like a piece of real estate in the consumer’s mind that can recall the company to their thoughts as soon as they see it. Brand recognition only comes by putting the brand out there and by creating loyalty by good service, etc. Instant brand recognition does not happen, but having a simple, “iconic” style logo design or a “typographic” logo design goes a long way to making that image easy to remember and associate with your company.
The Nike Swoosh – what does that icon say about sneakers? What does the Pepsi icon, old or new say about soda?
Then of course we have those logo designs that have an icon that is more directly associated with the brand message or name but still are driven by a single clear image. WWF, Apple, NBA, Shell, YouTube, Puma, Burger King, etc.
Many mid-level businesses and most of our clients for logo design in Hartford and logo design in Orlando fall into this group. We need to introduce a well designed icon that actually represents a part of their brand story. Most want a logo that “says” something about them.
If you think that it may be time to update your image or create that new logo design for your company, please give me a call directly on my cell phone – 407-414-5270.
And yes, of course we use Apple!
These logos are only here to illustrate what is meant by great branding and logo design. We did not create any of them. But we are ready to create a world class brand logo design for you!
Back to Part 1 – What kind of Logo Do You Want?
