Once in a while, we pause from reporting on the logo designs in the news, and crow about one of the designs we at BusinessLogos have done for an interesting client.  In this case a permanent cosmetic salon logo we recently designed.  They came to us with the name “Forever Flawless” and a request for an icon that is made up of two “F”s which also form an infinity sign.

After seeing how this looked on paper, they decided to lay off of the “F”s and go with a wispy, hand drawn feather that curves to form an infinity sign.

The client came back with requests to refine the feather, and begin to match up typefaces that compliment it.  In the following graphic we can see the revisions to the feather, and finally the finished design!

… But we did not stop there.  Flawless Forever then decided to let us design their stationery.  We do four to five versions of each item, and then let the client finalize, revise, mix and match with those for a final product that is just so for them, which you can see here:

To clean up, or develop a new image for your business, give us a visit!

 

 

 

 

In the news this week, Sun Broadcast Group released their new logo design.  Never heard of Sun Broadcast Group?  Neither had we – but we are impressed with their new logo design.  What we like about it is it’s cleanliness, and that the icon can be used as a stand alone if needed (at the bottom corner of the TV screen, for example).

In other semi-obscure logo news the 2015 Preakness logo design has been revealed.  For those who do not know what it is, it is the “140th running of the middle jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown.”  While we have seen this style of horse many times before and wish there was more originality to the logo, overall, it looks nice. The three views give the sense of motion around the oval track, as if you were there at the races.

The final logo design we take a look at is the insignia of Ukraine’s all volunteer “Donbass” Battalion.  While we distance ourselves politically from this semi-obscure conflict, we do enjoy the dramatic rendition of a diving falcon.  The design is made of flat color, made to be embroidered – and the haunting depiction of the descending bird of prey is appropriate for an aggressive and motivated group of soldiers.  Certainly good for morale.

If any designers out there feel they’d like their work critiqued by a team of experienced experts, go ahead and send it to us at info@businesslogos.com.

 

Since they say everything in Texas is bigger, we could not help noticing how huge the icon design, or symbol above the text is on this logo!  Woah there, cowboy… when designing a professional looking logo design the icon and the name should have equal weight, as a general rule.  Rules are made to be broken, however, especially where Texas is concerned; so we could live with just a small amount of downsizing to this icon, while still letting it be the dominant piece of the entire logo design.  This icon design is just…massive.

In regards to the whole thing, we will give it a Not Bad rating, based on originality and execution.  We see the “A” theme, for Arlington (and America?) and it has the look of a cattle brand. We can live with all of that, and it’s resemblance to Mall of America’s old logo design. It just doesn’t have a huge “wow” factor.

What bugs us most is the strange touching of the wave in the star, to the top of the “N” in Arlington.  Yikes, people.  Everything in the logo should have a reason. Sometimes doing something for the sake of doing it only, or acting on a serendipitous visual correlation like this can work. In this case it seems forced, and the straight line of the “N” does not really match the smooth curve coming down through the icon design. This just adds a point of tension in the logo, taking away from the icon and the name. I’m going to give the design studio the benefit of the doubt and guess that this occurred during the revision stage, by a committee (the worse thing that can happen to a logo is its presentation to a committee for disassembly).

Here we have the design, with our adjustments – por gratis.  We can only hope the City of Arlington takes notice of our benevolent aid with their logo.  Take a look below, and tell us there is not a better sense of balance and professionalism.  Ahhh.

This example is to show that the last bit of spacing and design is very important when considering your logo design.  When getting your logo designed, leave it to the logo design professionals and you will not have to make changes and redesign the logo down the road.

 

 

Sometimes we come across a logo that is so timeless and effective we have to share it.  This is a logo design of this caliber.  With Memorial Day occurring last weekend, and the 70th anniversary of D-Day today June 6, 2014; we were happy to see the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America logo design looking, well… so perfect.

Here is a logo design that is both typographic and figurative, and also hearkens to the chevrons of rank on military uniforms.  Purely in the abstract; the “group of figures” also marches along dutifully forward, giving the logo an active motion.  It is a rare logo design that can capture all of these elements together, and in one color no less.  With the use of only one color in the design, it can be printed cost effectively on any substrate, as well as reversed.  It can be embroidered with ease.

All these small factors working together makes this logo timeless, durable, and effective to print or reproduce on just about anything.  In the long run, it also looks very confident.  Gradients and effects may be appealing in some cases but the general rule in logo design is simplicity and ease of legibility.  To achieve that as well as a great conceptual element is why we give this veteran’s logo design very high marks.

When getting your own logo designed, think big for your business and consider timelessness, and ease for reproduction to save you time, hassles and money down the road.  Also, if you are a Veteran’s group of any kind, we invite you to inquire about our deep discounts available for you.  You can be assured of your designers enthusiasm for your logo design project.

To see the IAVA’s good works take a look at their website:  http://iava.org/press-room/press-releases/after-secretary-shinseki-resignation-new-vets-announce-path-forward-reform

 

Why does a nice corporate logo look…so corporate? The answer is well thought out readability, and reproducibility in all mediums. That is the reason so many large, effective corporations have simple, effective logos.

From wikipedia:

The first mention of the phrase could be ascribed to the American sculptor Horatio Greenough, who in 1852 was relating it to the organic principles of architecture.[1]

The American architect Louis Sullivan, who admired rationalist thinkers like Greenough, Thoreau, Emerson, Whitman and Melville – picked it up, in 1896, in his article «The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered». Here Sullivan actually said “form ever follows function”, but the simpler (and less emphatic) phrase is the one usually remembered. For Sullivan this was distilled wisdom, an aesthetic credo, the single “rule that shall permit of no exception”. The full quote is thus:

It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic,
Of all things physical and metaphysical,
Of all things human and all things super-human,
Of all true manifestations of the head,
Of the heart, of the soul,
That the life is recognizable in its expression,
That form ever follows function. This is the law.[2]

Sullivan developed the shape of the tall steel skyscraper in late 19th Century Chicago at the very moment when technology, taste and economic forces converged violently and made it necessary to drop the established styles of the past. If the shape of the building wasn’t going to be chosen out of the old pattern book something had to determine form, and according to Sullivan it was going to be the purpose of the building. It was “form follows function”, as opposed to “form follows precedent”. Sullivan’s assistant Frank Lloyd Wright adopted and professed the same principle in slightly different form—perhaps because shaking off the old styles gave them more freedom and latitude.