Oh wait, I never had it in the first place. So can I just call Google and ask them to send it over to me? That seems to be the impression one client had of us recently. Yeah, Graphic Zen and Google, we’re like this. Seriously….and all sarcastic snarkiness aside, that was an actual request of a client recently after we’d done some web design for them. They wanted a higher search engine ranking and suggested we “Just call Google and ask them.” I had to explain that just as they would not give out their company secrets, Google is not about to reveal theirs to anyone, let alone a great Boise web design company like us. Maybe someday Google’s formula will get out, just as the secret formula of Coca Cola is now out, but probably not before we catch Bigfoot and discover life on another planet. Now back to your regularly scheduled logo design channel.
Graphic Design
Design inspiration
Was asked by a friend the other day over coffee how we get ideas for clients, or what is the process that leads us to create a design for the client. This quote below from Paul Rand is a great summary and description of what I sometimes call ‘creating order out of chaos.’
“The designer does not, as a rule, begin with a preconceived idea. His idea is the result of subjective and objective thought, and the design a product of the idea. In order, therefore, to achieve an honest and effective solution he necessarily passes thought some sort of mental process … Consciously or not, he analyzes, interprets, translates … He improvises, invents new techniques and combinations. He coordinates and integrates his material so that he may restate his problem in terms of ideas, pictures, forms, and shapes. He unifies, simplifies, eliminates superfluities. He symbolizes … abstract from his material by association and analogy. He intensifies and reinforces his symbol with appropriate accessories to achieve clarity and interest. He draws upon instinct and intuition. He considers the spectator, his feelings and predilections.” ~ Paul Rand
Or we could sum it up in one sentence from Michelangelo, “I am still learning.”
Victory Viper Logo
[youtube width=”560″ height=”340″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ6BvCxAU2k[/youtube]
Finally got the video edited and up for those interested in seeing the Victory Viper logo we designed and painted on the Victory Charter School wall. Pretty cool to be able to “go big” with one of our designs. The project took two days to paint, for those keeping score at home. For those interested in the music, the song is “Tu Meri” by Asian Dub Foundation. Dig it.
A Good Logo Helps With Your Brand.
In order to establish a strong business brand, you need to create a strong business image. The image you create will be used by potential customers or consumers to assess their own expectations about your company. There is a crucial moment in every marketing strategy aimed at attracting the customers’ attention to your product or service, through your company image and brand.
From the beginning, you want to create a positive image on your customers. This will help ensure that you are among the top of their list when choosing between your product or the competition. This is just the initial phase and eventually the confidence of your customers on your brand will soon come into play.
Creating a Professional Logo
Your logo is an extension of your brand – a communication tool to identify your company to clients. So, it should be able to capture and reflect the nature of your business at its most basic level. Identity and reputation (which is defined by your customers) should be taken into consideration also.
As a reflection of your company, your objective should be to design a logo with a professional touch because it is what creates the initial impression on the mind of the consumers. These first impressions are almost always impossible to undo, so you cannot risk coming up with a mediocre design.
As simple as it may sound, designing a logo is an intricate process, which is why you need a professional designer to help realize your vision and visualize your business concepts. Among the elements that must be considered and combined effectively are colors, shapes, light, space, and so much more. A professional graphic designer should discuss these elements with you, so that you can create a consistent design for your logo that reinforces the message that your company is trying to convey. In fact, most businesses (big or small) allot an investment for this and you should as well.
Business Input Into The Design
Just because you leave the designing job to the hands of the logo designer, this does not mean that as the business owner you are eliminated from the process. This is your business and it is your vision, and a good designer will involve you in the logo creation process.
The logo design process involves gathering information about your company that will be utilized by the designer in coming up with the design. Usually, a brainstorming of ideas is an essential step to take before jumping into the actual design process. It’s a symbiotic process – you can share your business input to the designer for them to translate into a graphic representation of your ideas, while they can propose design elements that will jive with your business identity.
Where To Get Creative Ideas.
Image is such a vital element in the business brand, which is why your main objective should be creating professional designs that are going to last.
When dealing with the technical and creative aspect of graphic design/marketing strategy, often the challenge is to produce creative ideas. The key here is to stimulate your brain so that creative thoughts can be crafted that will make your brand stand out and still maintain that professional image.
Here are some tips you can try to squeeze out those creative juices:
1. Spend time reading to be able to get inspiration from various reading materials.
2. Search the web and observe various sites you visit. Look at how the design was produced and what kind of reaction it elicited on you.
3. Ask your employees or other staffs for ideas. You can turn a small idea and develop it into a valid design concept.
4. Don’t reject any ideas at this point, even if they don’t seem right. Get your ideas down on paper and you can eliminate or refine them later. At this point you are just trying to get your brain in motion.
5. Make it fun! Sure, you can take it seriously, but if your “creative meeting” is conducted like a college final exam, I doubt it’s going to produce many creative ideas.
Meet our new team member!
Graphic Zen would like to welcome Richard “Chad” Villapando to our development team. Chad is a talented and experienced website coder and will be one of the lead developers for our web division. He’s developed a wide range of websites using HMTL, CSS and WordPress including sites for start up companies and small businesses. Chad also specializes in designing graphics with Photoshop and User Interface coding with CSS/ HTML for website development projects.
Chad also brings some experience in flash animation, domain name registration, webhost management, Joomla, Dreamweaver and search engine optimization.
You can reach Chad via email at [email protected].
99 FREE Product Creation Tools
Looking to save some money on product creation tools? This guide will show you where to get photo editing software, PDF converters and editors, form fillers, image editors, background makers, logo generators, word processors, spreadsheets and more!
We used to sell this guide, now we’re going to be giving it away on our site. Download it here..