Both Nebraska and Rhode Island recently redesigned their state logos.  Nebraska paid something like $65,000 for their new logo design, and according to the Providence Journal, Rhode Island paid famous designer Milton Glaser $400,000 to execute their logo design.  When a logo design costs this much, and public funds are being used, we think this at least opens the designs up for a little democratic critique.  First up Nebraska, with the new slogan; “Good Life. Great Opportunity.”

The first thing we would say about this is it is not a pure logo.  It is set inside this sort of business card shaped “poster” layout which uses the graphics at the bottom to play off the logo, and refer to the low rolling landscape of Nebraska, evoking a feeling of warmth, hospitality and tradition.  The butter-yellow swoosh that weaves through the word Nebraska and forms the cross on both the “A”s looks nice but we have to say… how many swooshes/computer brushstrokes go through the word out there and form the cross on a letter or two?  The other thing we would ask is will we even see the weaving of the swoosh when this design is printed very small, on a business card for example.  It reads Nebraska clearly, even at a glance or at a distance, which is very important.

Next up, Rhode Island’s new logo, designed by Milton Glaser; designer of the famous “I love NY” logo.

We are not going to argue with Milton Glaser only to say that the type could be bigger for readability at a small size.  Perhaps the tension or pull at the top could be retained with the type extending to the edges, making the entire design still a square, just larger type.  The type is sized more like a poster than a traditional logo.  Either way, the square shape is very utilitarian these days with the preponderance of square shaped social media profiles and applications that need to be filled.  This logo could drop right in to most of those small square applications without any major redesign.  Also, in the end the type can be positioned any way to the icon depending on the usage.  Overall our hat is off to this modern icon based logo for Rhode Island.

Contact us today if you need it all considered by professional logo designers before starting your logo design process.

Dang, we really like the the 175th anniversary logo for the City of Austin Texas.  This logo is real nice, real clean and the negative space is mastered – which one rarely sees in a logo design.

Apparently, the famous Sriracha rooster logo is done by an unknown Vietnamese street artist in the 1970’s before the owner of the company immigrated to the United States.  Read the full history of the Sririacha logo design at Gizmodo here.

This is reminiscent of the student artist who created the original Nike logo swoosh symbol and received $35 dollars for her efforts.  Few people know that artist was eventually found again by the CEO of Nike and given a gold and diamond ring as well as a large and undisclosed amount of money in the form of company stocks at a later date, once the start up shoemaker had made it big.

Turkey itself has also come up with a new logo design… at the cost of many months and many thousandth of dollars.  As the Turkish News Hurriet Daily reports, this logo being used a small size will be a BIG problem!  It is instances like these where we here at BusinessLogos are incredulous, as they spent lots of money and time on the design, as the article makes a point to mention. Readability and ease of use at a small size as well as large is one of the few sacred considerations that a real, experienced logo designer will consider when designing a logo.

You heard right – 95%!  One color portrays the confidence of an established company and has a very professional look, rather than trying too hard with computer effects and trendy colors combinations that will inevitably become dated.  A logo creator must have true skill to produce a likeable one or two color logo, rather than lean on multiple colors and computer effects.

According to the folks at TechCrunch, some factors with top brand logo designs are:

• They are modest/simple
• Generally horizontal in aspect
• Almost HALF use only TYPE

We hope this will give you as a business owner, brand manager, or entrepreneur an edge when getting your existing logo designed, or coming up with a totally new one for your next venture.  The old adage “Less is More” certainly applies in the creation of logo designs!

We would add one caveat of course: that the logo design still has to be awesome.

The article also goes on to say – HIRE A PROFESSIONAL LOGO DESIGNER, rather than a lame contest company or using a friend, neighbor or student you know, because this is most likely your very livelihood we are talking about. This shouldn’t be done as a side job, or something you want to skimp on.

 

The Boston Celtics are releasing an alternate logo, to be used on certain Adidas merchandise and also available for team owners, as reported by CBS Sports.  We so often see over-embellished logo designs in terms of color and effects like gradients, glosses and special colors or inks.  While we do not discourage the use of anything that makes a logo design look great; we can use this logo design to illustrate how a solid, confident, and professional one color logo design can often be superior.

One color logos read at a glance, and, if done strongly, leave a lasting impression in the customer’s mind.  The big thing portrayed by a company or business who uses a one color logo is confidence, and global reach.  It can be noted that CBS Sports’ logo is also one color, as is McDonald’s and many others.  One color says the business is established, immune to trend and here to stay.  As far as a classic franchise that is not going anywhere, well – the Boston Celtics are right up there and we applaud them for being retro-bold enough to go ahead with a beautiful one color logo design, even if it is an alternate.

One last thing we might add is the logo is almost an illustrated logo design, yet remains one color.  It portrays a full Leprechaun holding a basketball, with a pipe in his mouth.  Due to the iconic familiarity of the Celtic Leprechaun, we can almost see the shock or red hair and his Irish smirk.  Well played, Celtics; the fans in our office will be shopping for this logo when it arrives on the Adidas gear.