This wine box radio really works!

Which is your favorite? Any cool package designs you’ve spied recently?

To help you sift through your options and achieve the best possible design for your organization, a little preparation before shopping can make all the difference. These 5 questions will help you formulate a thorough vision of what you’re shopping for.

1. Project Objectives:

What is the purpose of the logo project? i.e., stand out from competition, identify a new product, upgrade the company image, etc. Keep in mind a creative approach can be developed around a primary and secondary objective only; no single creative vehicle can accomplish more effectively. If there is a current logo, why is it being refreshed?

2. Target Audience:

Who are your readers/viewers/customers? i.e., age, sex, job titles, social/economic conditions, employment, geographic concentration, etc. Do they already know about your product or service? What motivates them? Why do they want this product?

3. Competition:

Who is your competition? How are you different from them? What do the competitors logos look like? What colors are being used?

4. Distribution:

Are there any production considerations? i.e., needs to work as one color or at very small sizes, etc. How will the logo be reproduced? i.e., offset printing, web, silkscreen, embroidery, embossing, etc

5. Most Important Point:

Most communications leave only one overall impression. Is there something specific the viewer should remember about the company after seeing the logo?

More questions to ask before designing a logo

See more music logos

The week before last was a whirlwind for us over here at

The event was held at the brand new Loews Hotel in Atlanta and featured such speakers as the Honorable Mayor Kasim Reed as well as Department of Atlanta Cultural Affairs Director Camille Russell Love. The party highlighted the best talent Atlanta has to offer, including an incredible live jazz band as well as an array of appetizers from local restaurants like Rare and Sambuca.  Many movers and shakers from Atlanta were also in attendance, including a group from this year’s premiere sponsor, American Family Insurance.

 Our team was responsible for various posters, signage and marketing materials for the event; all of which were carefully crafted to reflect the essence and soul of jazz.  Pauline Pellicer has been the lead designer for this project over the past 3 years and has worked hand in hand with Nnena Nchege from the City of Atlanta Department of Cultural Affairs. Our designs for this year’s festival were based upon the influential artwork of Doug Odom and were prominently displayed throughout the evening.

 I was honored to share the evening with so many talented people and am very proud of my team’s work.

Speaker Camille Russell LoveMayor Kasim Reed

2010 Atlanta Jazz Festival poster

Graphic Design Blog has posted a two part series that features creative logos with hidden meanings. Here are just a few of the 25 logos featured in part 1.

• Body Wisdom is a high end day spa. The logo, which consists of two hands, also doubles as the face of an owl. The combined images represent both a relaxing massage as well as wisdom.

• Amazon, a logo recognized by many, has a very simple look. While the design may not contain shiny bells and whistles, it does convey two very important messages. The orange arrow connects the a and z, showing the wide range of options available to the customer, and it also forms a smile, which represents the satisfaction of the consumer.

• Designer Jason Cho represents the company’s name here by strategically designing a row of trees that also form a piano.

• You may have seen the FedEx logo a thousand times, but have you ever noticed the arrow between the E and X? This subtle composition represents speed, direction and reliability to its customers.

Designer Josiah Jost broke the mold of traditional logo designs when he utilized the negative space in this logo to form the letters E and D, which also form a plug.

As you can see from the above designs, a logo doesn’t necessarily have to be frilly and complex to be brilliant. Some of the cleanest and simplest designs have proved to be the most clever and communicative. When developing your logo, look for a design that is creative, clear, unique, and most importantly you!

View all 25 logos with hidden messages>>

I guess that I should start over, “Real” logo design is a multi-faceted skill that isn’t something developed overnight. It takes years of education and on the job experience to get the big picture. A logo is a mark, which will represent your company and must integrate all of your marketing strategies and business goals into a tiny little mark. It’s kind of like having a baby. And since I have done both, I can really understand. You spend years perfecting this skill. And it is a 5-step process. The designer starts with research and I mean thorough research of the company. This includes reading through business plans and meetings with the leads from the client side.

After immersing yourself into this company, then you start to ask questions like who is the competitive landscape, what are you short and long term goals, etc. Once you have those answers and a good understanding of where the company is and where it wants to be, then you still can’t start design. You need to prioritize this research for the client. This is critical. What is the single most important piece of information that you gathered. Is it the personality of the company? And if so, can you say it in one or two words? What is that thing – or in the marketing world, what is your key differentiator. Now, do you have it? If so, you can finally start thumb nailing. And this isn’t quick. Do not thumbnail on the computer. Thumbnails must be hand drawn and you can’t just do a couple. A minimum of 50 thumbnails should get your creative juices flowing. Remember, this logo needs to represent THIS company, not any other company. They didn’t spend a day building Rome…

Okay. A few days later, you should look again at those thumbnails and pick out the top five. The top five are roughs. Ah..ah..ah. No computer yet. Now, you spend some time adding more detail to each of the thumbnails until you and three other designers can tell what it is. Got it? Now, at this point, the ball is still in your court. So, you get to pick one or two of your favorites. Now, go to the computer and you are probably already there and start working in a vector software program – not to name names, but I recommend Adobe Illustrator CS3.

Bring all the great concepts onto the computer and finalize the logo

After working on the logos for 2 days, you should have some nice vector versions in black and white that you can share with the client. Keep it in black and white because if color is integrated at this point, the client may not be focusing on the actual mark. They may be subconscioussly opposed to the color yellow, because they just hate bananas. So, you don’t want to get into that mess. So, keep it simple.

After your explanation and their critique, in a perfect world, the client would have selected one option. At this point, start working on color palettes and remember create a 1 color, 2 color and 4 color process logos. This will be used in all manners and the client needs to see that from the beginning. So, after some back and forth with the client, you should have an elated client and you should be quite satisfied with the results.

So, it goes back to the eBay logo for $10.99. How in the world do they possibly make any profit from $10.99? Unless they work for 10 cents an hour, it’s not possible. The client will never have what they need –a distinct mark that integrates marketing strategy with design. It will be something that’s worth $10.99 and I’d rather have a nice juicy hamburger for $10.99 not my design!