Lets start with your image to the outside world:

• A poorly conceived/executed logo (1.) will not connect with your prospects; (2.) can deliver the wrong message about who-you-are and what-you-do; (3.) give the idea that you have poor quality standards; (4.) may be too generic to be memorable; (5.) is hard to read on business cards; (6.) will confuse people about what you do
• A logo that hasn’t been updated in years (1.) will tell your customers you are too cheap to keep your image fresh; (2.) may no-longer represent the company and its values; (3) will project a lack of interest in your own business and brand value; (4) looks boring and not fun to work with

Now, let’s consider, more importantly, the image to your employees:

An old logo that hasn’t been updated will tell employees  (1.) “We don’t care about the future of the company;” (2.) “We are cheap and don’t understand the intrinsic value of our Brand;” (3.) “We don’t understand what the current Brand represents or where it is headed;” (4.) “We fear or are against change or improvement.”

A poorly conceived/executed logo tells your employees (1.) we do not connect with our employees; (2.) delivers the wrong message on who-the-company-is and what-the-company-does; (3.) gives the idea that we have poor quality standards; (4.) steers potential applicants away from applying by having them think, “If they don’t invest in their image, they probably won’t invest in me either.”

Next Printing Cost:

I’ll have to preface this with some basic info – a professionally developed logo is successful in black and white, one color – possibly two color. When contrasted with some poorly planned logos that are full-color for no good reason:

• Printing cost for full-color, all of the time, will normally double or triple any printing job’s cost (Example: business cards for a two-color logo can run about $100, but the cost can easily jump to $200+ for full color on the same paper stock)

Imagine printing letterhead, envelopes, and business cards for an office of 10 people. If you have professional designed stationery with a two-color logo, your cost may be $2,000 depending on paper stock and quantities. For similar paper stock and quantities, using a logo that is full color, you will easily spend $5,000. So, you can see that anything you saved on the logo redesign is eaten away by poor planning and execution.

Another problem with an unprofessional logo, we have seen this more times than I like to admit, is when the logo is created in a non-scalable format. They had a friend put something together in a desktop publishing program and they only have one file format and it isn’t scalable. Each time the logo is used on different media such as on letterhead, then billboards or shirts, the company they contract with has to re-make the logo, OR turn it into a two or one color, OR (the worse) stretch the logo to fit the size so the final print/production is warped, fuzzy or pixelated.

We have encountered several poorly conceived, badly executed logos that are not helping the companies they are supposed to represent. So, if you are concerned about how much a good or great logo will cost you, it is nothing compared to what a BAD LOGO will cost you.

Think about what big prospects have walked away from your company because your brand looks old, confusing, or poor quality. How much did that logo really cost you now?

When we get a new project, the first step is research and brainstorming. We look at a client’s competition, trends in their target market, what sets them apart, their history, their future, their current brand, and the one they aspire to become. When all this information is gathered a brainstorming meeting is scheduled. Everyone is given the basic scope of the project with the research information gathered and asked to bring his or her design ideas to the “table”. Whether a concept is hand drawn, printed, presented in text or verbally expressed, every concept is fully vetted, kneaded and molded into some fashion and no matter how bizarre or mundane received with equal enthusiasm. And yes, even I, the office administrator, am invited into the process. Once all the ideas have been fleshed out, they are worked through again and the basic concept (what says it best) begins to form. Once the basic concept is chosen, all of the various design elements that were brought to the table are gone over once again to see what needs to be fleshed out, eliminated or set aside as possible options. When the brainstorming process is done, our illustrators and designers head off to the drawing board to put all the ideas together and create a rough draft of the agreed upon concept.

Depending on the size of the project, several more meetings may be in store before the client is given 1-2 concept ideas for their own vetting process. Then, with the client’s input, it’s back to the process – fleshing out ideas and elements, what works, what doesn’t, colors, textures, photos, drawings, fonts, and styles – every detail is looked over carefully to ensure it’s place in the overall design and then, suddenly (that is suddenly after hours of labor), there it is, the finished product – whether it’s a website, a logo, a billboard, an advertisement or a box design – there we are all gathered around like new parents – oohing, ahhhing, congratulating each other on another job well done. Another design concept carried from conception to birth and handed over to its new owner.

As the celebration and congratulations are coming to and end… wait, what is that I hear, the phone is ringing, and yes, it’s another client, hey everyone, we got the contract … and we’re off on another adventure, another journey from conception to birth.

In freshman naivete, I presumed that my future as a collegiate remained a mystery behind one of only two doors to the university art department: “Studio Art, This Way” and, “Everything That Isn’t Studio Art, That Way…and don’t forget to go buy your Mac.” (sigh)

How did I misconceive that my days as a quote, unquote “Graphic Design” student would be spent applying myself to the rigorous development of learning how to communicate visually – or at all?

According to Webster: to communicate is to “impart or interchange information by speech, writing, or  signs.” Because communication “provides a passage between places where no apparent line of relationship exists,” it should be said that communication design provides a passage between places where no apparent line of relationship exists.

In my mind, the task of the artist is to take in all sensations of day-to-day life and connect each dot into an illustrious product. For the graphic designer, this means building bridges between client and creative, between business and brand identity. Great advertisements and identities carry the kindred ability to translate universal, complex themes into a single, solid, highly-effective result – which can be an overwhelming task, to say the least.

Have you ever hit the dead end of creative thought? Here’s a tip from Stefan Mumaw, author of Caffeine for the Creative Mind, who introduces us to the daily practice of creative exercising:

Write the name of [your project and primary focus, client, or idea] in the center of a piece of paper, giving yourself ample room to expand the idea. Draw six lines from that central thought bubble, and at the end of each line, write a word that is related to the word in the center. Now, draw another six lines from each of those words and continue the process until you have four “expansions.” Your challenge is to take a word from the outermost extension of the web of words and try to connect it to the central idea.

Today, I love  this challenge that comes with every project. To practice the childlike endeavor of “connect the dots” can only ensure persistent growth in an ever-progressing industry. Communication Design.

Lucy’s Retired Surfer Bar & Restaurant is a great place to go for a drink and a bite to eat, but how do you know what is today’s special? As part of their branding and communication pieces, Design the Planet developed a weekly email for the restaurant’s two locations to update their customers about what’s going on at Lucy’s, the daily specials, and special promotions. The email is aptly named the Surf’s Up(date).

Green Serene is a new eco-friendly retail store on the famous Magazine Street. At the shop, you can find innovative and stylish designs made of 100% organic cotton and bamboo clothing, repurposed and recycled beauty products, and hand-made jewelry. Our goal was to develop an identity that represented the company’s mission and purpose with a unique flair so it would not get lost in the green jungle.

Design the Planet has worked with the West Bank Rotary Club for over 8 years and their international convention is coming to New Orleans in 2011. The website is the main communication tool for the organizers because of the shear number of Rotarians needing the information from around the world. Our team has also added social media to promote the convention and to keep Rotarians informed of the upcoming events and changes.

There are a lot of great design blogs out there, but if you have not heard of this blog, you should check it out and then subscribe. They post every day, often many times a day, and it always seems to be something unique. They have all sorts of articles for inspiration, they have tutorials for a ton of different software, they interview great graphic designers and have regular best of the week summaries. The goal of Abduzeedo “is to be an open channel to the design community, encouraging feedback.” This blog is a great resource for all designers.

abduzeedo.com

I will be the first to admit that some of these posters are pretty terrible. I don’t know who designed them, but I have to applaud the effort. I think it’s a great way to market the space program and the adventures of blasting off into the unknown.

From a marketing design standpoint, however, it would be nice to see the posters have a little bit better design. You’d think with a budget like NASA has that they could put a little bit more money into their marketing. I would imagine having that extra public interest boost might help sustain some of their programs when they’re in danger of being cut by the politicians that be.

I don’t know why NASA doesn’t promote this type of thing more. It seems like it’d be a great way to get kids interested in space exploration and what NASA and other space agencies are doing to explore what’s out there.

It seems NASA has got a bit of a funny side after all.

Can you read this sign? It's a bit hard.

To the right is a picture from this month’s Gretna Heritage Festival which had numerous local restaurants, non-profits, and craftsmen selling delicious food and one-of-a-kind crafts.

Here is a sign that could use some help. When trying to get the text to fit, you need to do more than condense the font and make it skinnier. It is impossible to read from more than 5 feet away. Further more, the sign printer just had to remove the cents in each price and show just the dollar amount. This simple change would open up more room and make the price look even cheaper.

Classic Jack in the Box logo.

Jack in the Box, a national burger restaurant rarely found here in Louisiana, recently introduced their new logo by Duffy & Partners. (Old & new logos shown on the right).

The new logo is definitely an update from the old balloon letters of yesteryear to the slick almost Web 2.0. A recent article on BNET contrasted the necessary update versus the change of a classic, nostalgic brand identity. The article’s author also pointed out the trouble the company will have with the slight two-tone red box. Hopefully Jack in the Box can afford a printer that can print the files correctly. (Half-hearted joke.)

The new logo is a solid update and will work well in many uses including signage and package designs. The focus is now on “Jack” which/who is literally in the box. I’m curious if they will eventually drop the text below the logo to further imply “Jack in the box”. My only concern is the short-lived life of the logo. The logo is trendy but will probably be stale and outdated quickly. I assume that Jack in the Box is trying to tap into a younger generation that does not relate to the older identity and ignores their in-your-face character on TV. (Yes, Jack in the Box had the old, somewhat inappropriate character before Burger King introduced their new king.)

New Jack in the Box logo.

My biggest beef with the burger joint is their lack of brand cohesion. When we rebrand a company , we do not just introduce the logo – we implement the new identity. For now, the Jack in the Box website and stores still use the old logo (check it out at: http://www.jackinthebox.com). When developing a new brand, show it to the audience as a package. I completely understand the stores not being updated overnight; that is expensive and unnecessary. Jack in the Box should change their website & talk about the new look, run TV commercials with the new logo, email fans of “The Box”, and put up cut outs of their Jack mascot in stores introducing the new logo.

Looking at the logo designers website, Duffy & Partners did develop 4 whimsical icons for the different types of food served at Jack in the Box. These should not be implemented until the stores have been rebranded so customers will not be surprised.

New icons for the different types of food served in stores.

What do you think about the new logo and/or implementation of the brand?