Sounds familiar?

This is not only one of the most common “pickles” logo designers find themselves in, it is also one of the most frustrating.
Although I admit these clients aren’t quite like “The Clients from Hell” (see George Ryan’s post), it still can be quite frustrating trying to please a client who has no clue how they want their logo designed.

Although clients like these will always roam the earth, don’t give up, there is a solution to the problem:  Imagination.

The definition of imagination is ability to visualize: the ability to form images and ideas in the mind, especially of things never seen or experienced directly.
And that’s just what we need when we find ourselves in those sticky situations.
It’s our imagination that makes us good logo designers, not how “smart” we are.
Don’t be afraid to try really weird designs that you come up with; these strange concepts can sometimes be the best.
Also, look for ways you can make your logo unique, eye catching; a dull, uninteresting logo is very unlikely to excite a client.

It’s amazing how much time you can waste just sitting there at the computer biting your fingernails,  trying to figure out a good design scenario.
Do something else for a change; rake the leaves,  something to clear you brain.
You wouldn’t believe how many times I just couldn’t come up with an good concept and when I just got up off the computer and started doing something else, the ideas came flooding in.
So much so, that I had to stop what I was doing to get back on and see how they worked.
Try it, and if nothing else, at least you got something done.
Also, when thinking up concepts, remember that your logo should be designed in such a way that it is unique and memorable while it also reminds one of whatever service or product your clients business or organization provides.
For example:
Let’s pretend you were designing a logo for JS Bait & Tackle.
Ask yourself a few questions: What kind of things are related to fishing? Worms, hooks, fishing poles, ect…  How can you cleanly incorporate these ideas into your design?
Use your imagination when trying to piece things together like that.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say that imagination is everything in logo design, only that every graphic designer needs it.

Speaking of imagination, try to imagine where all the logo designers across the world would be if it wasn’t for powerful graphic design programs like Adobe Illustrator?
I can tell you, we’d be out of business; as a matter a fact we wouldn’t have been in business in the first place.
But you must remember that even if you know Illustrator like a pro, are you really smarter then someone who doesn’t?
That is a question that deserves careful consideration, however I think we can come to a reasonable conclusion:
Even with the best imagination, Graphic designers could go nowhere without design software.
But on the other hand, the best software is useless without a brain to use it!
It is sort of like a vehicle: What is more important, the gas or the vehicle?
No vehicle could run without fuel; but what good does the fuel do without a car to put it in!

Do you get my point?

I didn’t think so.

Let’s just put it this way, every designer needs good design software,  but more importantly needs a good imagination.
And I suppose the only question remaining is how smart we really are.

I know how hard naming can be. It took me 5 whole days after my son was born to name him, and I didn’t even give him any of the names I spent months writing down and thinking of. Naming is important to all of us. We want that perfect name right off the bat. Unfortunately it’s not that easy. For a proper name these days, it takes more than luck to get the perfect one. Let’s examine one of my favorite brands.

There are companies out there that have catchy names, but few of us ponder why it is what it is. Take for instance Nike. Everyone knows who they are, and we can recognize their logo easy, but what about the name? Did you know that in 1968 Nike was actually incorporated as Blue Ribbon Sports? It was only in 1978 that they became Nike. Think about that name “Blue Ribbon Sports.” It’s like saying that everyone who wears their product are blue ribbon winners. It’s very straight forward, and you don’t need to think too much about it, but the name isn’t very catchy.

Now let’s look at the name Nike. Nike is a short 2 syllable word so it’s really easy to remember. Do you know the meaning behind the word? There’s no better place to look for athletics than Greece, where the Olympics was born. It’s a mystery how the Olympics all began, but legend has it that it was all started by Heracles and Zeus. We all know that the Olympics is a battle of strength, courage, wits, and determination, and who better to aid in your battles than Nike, the goddess of strength, speed and victory.

It all starts with Pallas, who was a titan associated with war, and Styx who was the goddess of the underworld river styx who personified the spirit of hatred. Now you put war and hatred together and they have 4 children, Zelus (Rivalry), Nike (Victory), Cratos (Strength) and Bia (Force). Nike was the goddess of strength, speed and victory. She awarded gods and goddesses around the battlefield with glory and fame. So wearing a Nike product is like being awarded with just that. Knowing this background story makes me want to buy Nike products even more, and I’m sure they want people to know the meaning of it.

Going back to the original name “Blue Ribbon Sports,” Nike never diverted from the original goal of their name. Everyone is a winner with Nike. Wearing the product itself makes you a winner. So if you ever wondered “what’s in a name,” there you have it. This is one of my favorite brand names for this exact reason. It means something. It’s not just a random name chosen out of a hat. They could have picked from several Greek gods or goddesses also. They went with Nike because she was what best represented their product.

Believe it or not, this is how Nike got their name. It was a way more complicated process than what I explained here though. It’s easy to figure out once you know the answer. Sort of like how you know a clever, cool logo design when you see it, but coming up with that design is a tough process.

So naming is pretty tough and it takes a bit of work, but hey, that’s one big part of branding. If you find a method that works for you, stick with it. Don’t be afraid to try something new, and go for the gold.

Here are some helpful tidbits on naming

http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/startupbasics/namingyourbusiness/article21774.html
Identity Works: http://identityworks.com/tools/naming.htm

Logo Design Love is broken down into 3 parts, “The Importance of brand identity,” “The process of design,” and “Keep the fires burning,” totaling 11 chapters.

When you start reading the chapter: “The Importance of brand identity,” you start to realize that logos and brands are everywhere. Of course we all know they that, but David does a test to see just how many logos he finds when he wakes up in the morning. It’s really incredible how dominate brands are in everyday life. You’ll also be brought up to speed on what a logos purpose is.

Part 2, “The process of design,” will take you step by step through all of important steps in the design process. Some of us are quick to forget all the steps, or we just forget to take our time. This part will help you understand how to gather ideas and put them on paper, sort of like chapter 4 says, “laying the groundwork.” The most important thing you’ll want to read on is getting the brief right. There are several starter ideas here for you to build on, and David almost makes it too easy for us.

Pricing is also another important chapter (chapter 6) that most of us freelancers struggle with. Although a definite payment plan isn’t easy to come to, David will explain some trials and errors he went through to help you come to a plan of attack. It’s a very touch and go situation. If you charge too little, a client will think you’re cheap, too much and a client won’t come to you. It’s all in the book.

You can download chapter 7: From pencil to PDF for free here: http://www.logodesignlove.com/free-logo-design-love-book-chapter

Finally we close with “Keep the fires burning.” Freelancers, especially ones who work alone, can benefit from this chapter the most. Struggling with ideas and inspiration can be frustrating. Some of the advice seems so obvious, but with all that goes on, and the stresses of finishing a project, it seems like maybe we forget some of the most basic helpers. You’ll also get to read about some of David’s client experiences, like working with a bad client, and he even offers advice on working with family.

Logo Design Love is full of helpful advice from David Airey, and I loved reading about his personal experiences with clients and his own situations with work. So pick up this book if you’re still in school, freelancing or just want a refresher. It’s fresh and it was a book full of logo design love.

You can buy the book at Amazon.com.

And yes, companies still do pay hundred of dollars for that right icon, that right brand, the right graphical representation of their belief, of their company.

But the sad truth is how sure are these companies that the new logo they are so proud of is original? That their new logo doesn’t just come in a different color or gradient than someone elses? Fact is, many times that is something they can’t be sure of. And who is to blame for this? Of course, the designers.

Design competition prizes range from a measly $10 to a whooping $500, so it’s really big money, and no one can really blame anyone who would want to get a piece of that.

But as artists strive to perfect their art, to express their artistic side, they find out that artistic doesn’t always win competitions.

So they look for “inspiration” from other designs.

Although some of these “inspirations” are somewhat real, others just merely copy the logo that was being used by a different company.

Just copy, or trace, put in a different color, and viola! a different logo.

Easy money.

Now, multiply that by a hundred of times, add in the connectivity of the internet and you’ve got:
20 companies with “swirly men raising their arms in triumph”,
15 companies with “hands holding the wrist forming a square”,
13 with a “bulls eye”,
50 with shiny orbs with their own company letter,
and the list goes on and on and on and on and on.

Sometimes, someone will come up with a totally unique design, and sure enough, you’ll see that particular design come up on design sites, with a different gradient, and also a different designer.

You can’t actually blame them, it’s a quick buck, it’s easy, and it works.

And real designers with original concepts are rare, I mean, almost any artist can rip off an original design by using their own graphics software.

Some don’t even try to prove it’s theirs, and you can clearly see the watermarks the original designer had left. Some just copy and paste an image, not minding the intellectual proper rights of others, or royalty fees and just incorporate it in their design.

Truth is, this craziness doesn’t just happen in the logo business; it happens all over the internet, whenever designing calls for something original, expect a design or two that is used by a different company, a different website. I know it’s unfair and unjust, but if the design really works, it’s going to be ripped off because that’s what most companies are looking for.

So if you ever design something that is totally original, and really sells, expect it to be copied or used by a different designer.

Just be happy that imitation is the sincerest kind of flattery.

Whether you are just a casual designer, who likes to spend some of your spare time doodling on a PC, or are an avid enthusiast who only leaves the PC for ‘snacks’ and ‘toilet needs’, these people/places are a pretty cool way to go for those mental block moments which we ALL acquire occasionally.

Maybe the cloud in your design is perfect, but just not for that design. or you need to see another variation of a cloud, then without a shadow of doubt THESE sites, between them, will provide more than enough inspiration for you to finish the job perfectly.

EVERY designer these days, if they have a good internet connection, can NOT say that they have not ‘had a peep’ over at a different web site for that little piece of inspiration that is needed.
The possibilities can seem endless once you do start to spend time browsing around what is actually an immense digital library!

As a creative designer myself, I think that without such sites, and all of the tools that are freely available out there, that logo designing – in fact ANY type of graphical designing – would be a lot less colorful, and nowhere near as popular as it is right now. Everywhere you look nowadays has some sort of logo or design which usually is instantly recognizable without even reading a word.

The word could be there, yes, but think about how many typography logos you recognize before actually reading what they say. For instance seeing the CocaCola brand name from a distance where it would not be possible to read the actual text. I would be willing to bet pound to penny that 99% of the worlds population would know what that ‘sign’ represents.

So, onto the sites which I think, can help your powers in logo design, and bring a whole new creative perspective on your work. No doubt, once you start browsing, these sites will enhance your skills and give you that ‘boost’ that you are looking for.

I hope you enjoy these sites half as much as I have, and that they point you in the direction that you need to be pointed.

5 – http://www.tutorialsphere.com/ Another place you MUST visit when you just cant get that little something right. My money says that you will find what you need here !

I called the toll-free number listed on the site and got voicemail, so I ended up sending a firmly worded Cease and Desist order to the contact email associated with the site, I included my contact details.

The next day I received a panicky call from a guy that sounded like he was still in his teens, he was extremely apologetic,  terrified that I was going to sue him, and adamant that the pirated images were his website designers fault and he had no idea that they were not original.  He was, however, unable to explain why every example in the site portfolio of “his design work” had been lifted from other sites. We ended the call with him promising to take the site down and stop his advertising campaign. The site was down within the next 6 hours and has not been up again since.

Now the happy ending (for me at least) to that story is not typical. I have had my content stolen repeatedly and many times there isn’t an awful lot you can do about it without hiring a lawyer (you can try contacting the company hosting the offending site but that doesn’t always work).

And in case any one is wondering what a “cease and desist” is, you can find a good template here. If you are now itchin’ to try sending one out you can use Copyscape to find out if anyone has stolen your content.

Now I know that for most of you this is not news, there are entire sites dedicated to it (http://www.humanadspace.com this guy claims to be the original “forehead for sale”, I didn’t take the time to verify his claim) , and  the whole idea was pretty well documented by blogs and popular media when it first debuted, so I’m not going to pretend that I am making some startling revelation.

The question I wanted to raise here is: can putting your logo on someones body help your company in any way? Is it something that a reputable company should consider as part of their advertising campaign?

Now, for the sake of this “study”, we’ll use a currently active auction on eBay, this guy is selling the following for $20,000:
“I will place your company or personal logo or slogan on my forehead with a henna tattoo for 1 month. Included with this auction is a guarantee to spend at least 2 hours per day in public view, and distribute business cards or flyers to anyone who inquires about the artwork.  No profanity or morally objectionable material. Henna colors are limited to black, browns, oranges, reds, and yellows.”

Okay, so you get 60 hours of advertising 60/20,000 = $333.33 an hour. The next question is, how many people actually see the logo? You need to take into consideration that even though the two hours might be spent in the busiest mall in the country, and our society does become ruder everyday, there are still a large number of people out there who consider it impolite to stare unashamedly at someone, even if that person has a tatoo on their forehead. Plus, you need to remember that only your LOGO is on their forehead, and unless you already have a widely recognizable logo the chances of the logo being associated with your company are very slim, the exception would be if you simply had your company name or website address on the forehead – i.e. LogoDesignBlog.com, and even then someone would have to be fairly close and staring your “billboard” in the face to read it.

Now the upside to this would be that anyone that actually saw the logo, or talked to your human billboard about it would probably never forget your company.

The real value of the tatto is in any news coverage that your purchase gets, the first few companies to rent “body real esate” got a very good return on their money, simply because of the national news coverage that they got because of it. Sadly, the media seems to have moved on, and even though you may get some local coverage of it it’s probably not enough to justify the $333/hour rate.

I’m not going to make a call either way here, that is up to you, but it seems to me that the $20,000 would be much better spent on a bunch of TV AD spots, where you get an entire 30-60 seconds of a large number of viewers time, than on the few local people that happen to see your company logo. On the other hand, if you are able to get a “billboard” locally, and you can get the local media to make a big enough fuss about it, you may be able to generate enough of a buzz to make it worth it. Only you know what is best for your company.