Logotype

Logotype-A graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition.


Most commonly referred to as a logo.


Numerous inventions and techniques have contributed to the contemporary logo, including logographic languages, such as Egyptian Hieroglyphics, coats of arms, watermarks, and the development of the printing technology.


As the industrial revolution developed in the 18th and 19th centuries, photography, and lithography (an early method of printing) contributed to the boom of an advertising industry that integrated typography and imagery together on the page.


At the same time, typography itself was undergoing a revolution of form and expression that expanded beyond the modest, serif typefaces used in books.


The arts were expanding in purpose-from expression and decoration of an artistic, storytelling nature, to a differentiation of brands and products that the growing middle classes were consuming.


Consultancies and trade-groups in the commercial arts were growing and organizing; by 1890 the US had 700 lithographic printing firms employing more than 8,000 people.


Playful children's books, authoritative newspapers,and conversational periodicals developed their own visual and editorial styles for unique, expanding audiences.


As printing costs decreased, literacy rates increased, and visual styles changed, the Victorian decorative arts lead to an expansion of typographic styles and methods of representing businesses.


By the 1950s, Modernism had shed its roots as an avant-garde artistic movement in Europe to become an international, commercialized movement in the United States and elsewhere.


The visual simplicity and conceptual clarity that were the hallmarks of Modernism as an artistic movement formed a powerful toolset for a new generation of graphic designers.


Modernist-inspired logos proved successful in the era of mass visual communication ushered in by television, improvements in printing technology, and digital innovations.


Logo design is an important area of graphic design, and one of the most difficult to perfect.  This is because logos are meant to represent companies' brands or corporate identities and foster their immediate customer recognition.


Less is more.  Why?  Real people in real life situations do not stare at an analyze logos.  They just "see" it and a quick glance will not be enough to get all the details in a complex logo.


A logo needs to be simple, but have enough personality that it stands out in a crowd.


5 principles of effective logo design:


1. simple-Simplicity makes a logo design easily recognizable, versatile, and memorable.


2. memorable-Following closely on this principle of simplicity is that of memorability.


3. timeless-An effective logo should be timeless.  Will yours stand the test of time?  Will it still be effective in 10, 20, or 50 years?


4. versatile-An effective logo works across a variety of media and applications.  For this reason, logos should be designed in vector format, to ensure that they scale to any size.


5. appropriate-How you "position" the logo should be appropriate for its intended audience.


Four color process-Technique for printing with full color.


Spot color- Method of specifying and printing colors in which each color is printed with its own ink.  Spot color printing is effective when the printed matter contains only one to three different colors.


Color plays an important role in logo design.  Color can illicit different feelings and emotions from the audience.


Interpretation of color may vary depending on age, gender, and cultural demographics.


Colors also tend to follow trends, just like fashion.  So a new vibrant company may want to follow current trends, whereas a bank may choose to stay with a more conservative color palette.


Keep your color palette to two or three.  Too many colors will increase your cost.


Effective page design maps a viewer's route through the information.  The designer's objective is to lead the viewer's eye to the important elements or information.


Visual hierarchy will establish focal points based on their importance to the message that's being communicated.


A crucial part of the design process is to establish an order of elements, a visual structure, to help the viewer  absorb the information provided by a design.


combination mark-Graphics with both text and a symbol/icon.


iconic/symbolic-Icons and symbols are compelling yet uncomplicated images.


wordmark/lettermark-A logotype, commonly known in the design industry as a "word mark", incorporates your company or brand name into a uniquely styled type font.


All design involves problem solving.


the grid-Way of organizing content on a page, using any combination of margins, guide lines, rows, and columns.


Instituted by modernism.


Can assist the audience by breaking info into manageable chunks and establishing relationships between text and images.


A grid consists of a distinct set of alignment-based relationships that act as guides for distributing elements across a format.


Every design is different; therefore every design will require a different grid structure... one that addresses the particular elements.


A grid is used to help clarify the message being communicated and to unify the elements.