logo design

These days logos are everywhere. We see them on buildings, business cards, billboards, buses, taxis, lamposts, food packets, print ads, TV ads and just about everywhere else you can stick a message. And they sell computers, clothes, cars, cosmetics, finances, food, fashion and fags, appliances, airlines and activities, and just about anything else in between.

There are good logos and bad logos, some change on a regular basis, others stay the same for years. We’re told logos must have colour because certain colours convey certain meanings yet logos must be instantly recognisable in black and white.

We’re told that generally a logo must be unique yet instantly recognisable and that each element of the logo has meaning. Logo designers sharp, straight lines communicate a strong, trustworthy brand.

Curved lines on the other hand communicate a caring and supportive product or service. The rationale for combining curved and straight lines is an ambitious company.

And we’re told that everyone should have a logo because they represent the brand and make you stand out from the crowd.

But are logos still relevant? I believe they are, certainly for a lot of businesses but the problem is far too many of them are created on the cheap. It’s important to get your logo design done properly. It always amazes me how many firms won’t spend money on a good logo.

Here’s an interesting infographic on the strategy required for a perfect logo from the design gurus at designmantic.

On the whole, it’s a good guide to creating a solid, robust, consistent, relevant, unique logo but be warned it isn’t the silver bullet that will allow your brand to outshine all your competitors.

And you need to take some of the comments with a pinch of salt. For instance, the suggestion that the Windows logo delivers one clear message instead of giving multiple messages is a bit of a stretch and besides, the idea of one message for all target markets is outdated.

Because firstly, why would you talk to all customers in the same way? Certainly it hasn’t worked for Windows because their share of the OS market is down from 95% to about 15% despite spending at least 5 billion over the last 10 years.

And of course there are some very successful brands that don’t have logos. Think Mobil, Etsy, FedEx, Craigslist, at&t, Sony, Coca Cola and Google for that matter.

So before you decide on whether or not to create a logo, talk to someone who knows a bit about building brands. It’ll be one of the smartest investments you make.

The burger chain, Wendy’s has given its logo a makeover. Well it’s not really a makeover, more of a touchup. They are not the first company to do this. Gap did it a couple of years ago (and turned it into a branding disaster that you can read about here), RHB and Maybank have made minor changes to their brands recently as well.

When I saw the new Wendy’s logo I checked out the old to see what it looked like. I don’t think Wendy’s promotes itself much in Malaysia so the logo isn’t really familiar to me.

Wendy’s logo – long overdue a makeover

The old logo, created in 1983 was really dated. It reminded me of old fashioned pub signs in England. It was boxy, with outdated fonts and weak colour coordination and the girl, who is the focal point of the logo had an almost Victorian look about her.

The new logo has done away with the pub sign look and feel and is much more contemporary. It retains the brand name but the name is now in a less formal red font on a plain white background but retains ‘the wave’ (when a font moves from left to right in an upward direction).

The girl is more pronounced and less stiff. Her formal, Victorian dress has some colour but is less prominent, she’s still a redhead but seems more natural which may reflect a future brand direction.

Wendy’s new logo – the roll out will take at least 6 years

Interestingly, there is no reference to what the brand does which may make business development a challenge, especially in South East Asia. Unless of course the brand is planning a change in direction. Or maybe the new look and feel won’t be applied to South East Asia.

I often wonder if these brand makeovers are really worth the trouble. After all, we have to assume every Wendy’s restaurant around the world will change all its livery. Every signboard, truck, van, car etc will have to be redesigned too.

All the menus, napkins, cups, letterheads, envelopes, business cards and uniforms – Wendy’s employs over 150,000 people worldwide – will have to be updated.

Wendy’s is projecting it will renovate half of its 1,425 locations by 2015. So we can assume the other half will take as long again so the process could take more than 6 years to be finalized.

That’s a lot of effort, not to mention money to change a logo that will probably need to be changed again when the project is finshed.

It makes me wonder if logos are still relevant. What do you think?

Tag: logo design

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