I realize this might come across as a bit self serving but that’s ok. Part of working with charities is trying to find that middle ground to keeping the work we offer affordable AND effective. It’s a fine line sometimes.
If I’m asked to design a direct mail piece, I often know the rough total cost and how long it will take me because I’ve been doing it for a long time. But I also know the design is reactionary. I read the brief, and the copy if I can, then I react in an emotional way and hopefully that comes through in the design. Also, 99% of the time, there is no budget or time to sit around pontificating about things. Read, react, design. That doesn’t mean I don’t think about things – I do. Is the type big enough, clear enough, does it suit the subject matter or audience, does it say something clearly, do we need a visual, one colour or four, is the logo big enough, will there be room for all of that copy, what are we saying, what do we want the donor to do, does this have impact, will the donor open the envelope, etc. You may be only paying $800 for that direct mail pack but you are getting well over a decade’s worth of doing, testing, looking, asking, experience.
Logos on the other hand are totally differnet.
It’s the challenge of creating something that is memorable, communicates an idea, visually defines and sums up what a charity does, maybe who they do it for, gets across what a event is for, etc. It’s the challenge of finding the right sort of font that is appropriate to the charity and it’s donors (Can you imagine Apple using Comic Sans for all of their marketing?), the right type of visual that distills everything your charity stands for.
It’s not easy and it’s a lot of work. It takes time, talent, patience and concentration.
Can you get a logo for $50? Of course you can. Just take a look right here.
But I can’t do it for you. Most professional designers can not do it for you.
My first step is brainstorming all of the sorts of adjectives, verbs and nouns that might be associated with your charity or event. I can easily spend a few hours – as all of these words help define the sorts of visuals that might work. I look at the name of your organization. What does it say, what do we want it to mean. Who is your audience? Who are your donors? What do we want the name to say to them. I start to typeset the name of the organization over and over, in typefaces that may be suitable. Some fonts have a lot of personality – or the good ones do. All the while remembering, what does it say? What do we want it to mean? I would love each of my clients to have custom fonts that they could use for their logo and marketing – but at the very least, when using an off-the-shelf font, I find ways to make it unique by tweaking some of the characters.
Next comes the visual brainstorm. I go back to my list of words and start to use them to discover ways I can visually express them. Again I may make another list of words or just quick thumbnail drawings of ideas. This is the real time of discovery. And often there is no end. I just keep pumping out idea after idea, all very quick, not stopping to censor myself or my ideas. If I see something I like, I may try to approach it from different angles – “How can I express time? What are the visual clichés to express time? How many different ways can I show or communicate a clock?” Over and over. There is no perfect idea here.
Once I’ve completed this process, it’s time to start putting some of these elements together. Most designers use a program called Adobe Illustrator to design logos. Illustrator is a vector based program (as opposed to a raster based program like Adobe Photoshop) which allows us to control the number of colours and most importantly, makes what we design scalable. As I start to marry visuals and typefaces, the logo starts to come together – but it is also another period of discovery as you try to make the type fit into and with the visual. Maybe the type is the visual. Maybe the visual is the name of the charity. Maybe you need both. Again, I just want to keep circulating the ideas. This is not the time for tweaking and art directing – making sure everything is perfect. And as I work, I find new ideas forming and as I put one concept together, I move onto another. This process can be endless. There is no ONE solution. And it usually ends when your time is up and actually have to present some concepts to the client.
I select 2-4 ideas that I feel work the best and present them to you, the client, as black only files. Why? I want you to focus on the concept. I don’t want to talk about how you don’t like blue.
Part Two – next week.
I can’t wait to read Part Two, John. Well said!
Thanks Andrea!
Well written John! I as well am looking forward to Part duex!
I don’t do a lot of design work in my business except when it comes to our National Brand products, most recently how to design a Thermal bag without using red/blue or icebergs and flames…. not as easy as you might think… and yes….why people don’t like the color lol!
“I don’t want to talk about how you like blue.”
Best. Sentence. Ever.
Way to educate, John.
[...] The Naked Idea A weekly look at how charities can communicate better with donors through design. « Why logos don’t cost $50 – Part One [...]
I agree with the other comments. This is excellent! I’m always trying to explain this concept to clients, and find it difficult to educate in a clear and concise manner. Thanks!
It’s not said much, so I might be the sole holder of the opinion that logos are often unnecessary. And they can even get in the way of other design. Think of all the brochures and web sites obliged to contain multiple logos. Do they work together? I’ve been tasked with combining existing logos in a design piece, and it is more than a challenge. Logo-mania is destructive. An organization that sells a tangible product with like competitors needs to differentiate itself. But I’ve seen departments of larger organizations develop logos! It has become a bit of a monster. I’ve said NO to logo work when I thought it was counterproductive for the client to create a logo.
Thanks Wendy for your comment. I hope this will be useful to you in the future.
Christine! Thanks for your thoughts as well. God knows I’ve seen my fair share of useless logos – logos created for the sake of creating logos… and I am with you – the more I can do as a designer to reduce the visual clutter that seems to take up so much of our attention and gets in the way of the message – I am all for it! Good on you for having the ability to say NO.
Wow! This is great! I fight this battle daily of every department in our company wanting a logo Ugh! It really takes a lot of effort to explain to people the purpose of a logo and the benefits of Branding a company. If you look around, the most simple logos are the one’s that are easily remembered (i.e. Target, Apple).
I really love your idea of presenting your concepts in black…definantly going to do that next time.
Fantastic Christin! Thanks for your comments and feedback.
Brilliantly written.
Thanks a lot Jonathan. Very appreciated!
I listed my website as requested, but have no plans to defend it if justifiably critiqued. Except to say it partially shows some of my work and personality, but dropped off the priority list when my freelance picked up. (Started when urgently desperate; abandoned when not.)
My first visit here. Will look for a way to subscribe.
Nonprofits have been 30-50% of my work for a few decades. Sometimes paid something; more often donated.
I agree with the article (still have part 2 to read) and with the comments. Including:
“Best. Sentence. Ever.”
I’m not much on buzzwords, but I might counsel a logo-fixated charity client that Job #1 is to capture for the organization a distinctive, likable and memorable personality – and to express that personality in all “contacts” with the public. Folks have to get to know other people. Similarly, they have to get to know organizations. Phony doesn’t usually work, so make it real, consistent, and if possible “flavorful.”
[Not meaning to preach. Just expressing an opinion.]
christine Says:
>so I might be the sole holder of the opinion that logos are often unnecessary. And they can even get in the way of other design.<
Christine you are right that it gets in the way of the design, actually pretty much always.
Unfortunately, as they brainwash in pursuit of the bs degree marketing, we are never to publish marketing materials, ie website, brochure, flyer, bus card etc., without the company logo at a minimum. Otherwise, we are not providing ethical marketing. Brand/logo identity takes so many years to brainwash into the consumer, and if we launch a marketing program without the logo, (even if it looks like garbage in the design), we are providing the client very unprofessional advice/services.
Just a few thoughts
Art
The blog says: “…but at the very least, when using an off-the-shelf font, I find ways to make it unique by tweaking some of the characters.”
Please, please check your EULA that applies to each and every font you “tweak.” Some foundries have express language *against* modifying any of the letterforms of their fonts. It would be very embarrassing for you — and for your client — if one of these foundries took action against an infraction.
Thanks Chuck for your comments. I agree with your opinion!
Cheers Art – I think that the name of the organization is the most important thing – especially in situations where the logo is not fitting into the marketing piece. But obviously if a client wants their logo – good or bad – all over the place – well… at the end of the day – who is paying the bill right?
Thank you Linda. You do bring up a good point actually. We should be checking the license of the font to see what sort of language they have around modification of the font you are using. Thanks for the reminder.
Well said! It’s often difficult to articulate the value that design brings. Many, like the logo content you posted…simply see design as decoration or a hobby.
Thanks Vince for coming by. I totally agree with you…
YOu said it so well Vince and John. Looking forward to #2!
Thanks a lot Dolores. I hope you found part two right here: http://www.ideadesign.ca/the-naked-idea/why-logos-don‘t-cost-50-part-two/
[...] is impossible to design a logo in the course of four hours. I’ve discussed my process before here and here. But I liked the challenge, the cause and Candy had a real passion for what she was doing. [...]
Great that it’s being related to charities and non-profits. Even as a non-profit, you need high quality work done and that, for sure, costs more than $50.
[...] we? This is a issue that I feel really strongly about. The issue of spec work. (I written about it here before as well.) Sadly, I hear about this issue far too often in our sector and as a creative [...]
[...] we? This is a issue that I feel really strongly about. The issue of spec work. (I written about it here before as well.) Sadly, I hear about this issue far too often in our sector and as a creative [...]