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The Entrepreneurial Spirit Lives

In April of 2007 Splattered Ink and I were the subject of an article published in the Southern Business Journal, a Southern Illinois business publication. I also illustrated the cover. I thought it was appropriate to post here. The article with cover is below.

With some careful planning, you too can tap into your entrepreneurial spirit

By STEVE BINDER and JOHN D. HOMAN, SBJ Correspondents

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In the News!
Friday, 30 July 2010

Extra Ink is a free marketing and graphic design newsletter. Our goal is to provide interesting and useful information to any business.

Maintaining Image: Understanding Logos

By Darryl T. and Kelly E. Jones

What is a logo?
Before having a logo designed for your company it would be a good idea to have a clear understanding of what a logo is. Wikipedia defines a logo as:

A logo (Greek = logotypos) is a graphical element, (ideogram, symbol, emblem, icon, sign) that, together with its logotype (a uniquely set and arranged typeface) form a trademark or commercial brand. Typically, a logo's design is for immediate recognition, inspiring trust, admiration, loyalty and an implied superiority.[1] The logo is one aspect of a company's commercial brand, or economic entity, and its shapes, colors, fonts, and images usually are different from others in a similar market. Logos are also used to identify organizations and other non-commercial entities.

A logo reflects a business’s brand through its colors, fonts, graphics and/or images. A logo can also inspire trust and recognition for a company or product. The job of your designer is to make sure your logo does its job.

What are the basic rules?
Now that we have a basic understanding of what a logo is, we have to discuss some of the standard rules.

  1. A logo must be describable and memorable.
  2. A logo must be effective without color.
  3. And a logo must maintain its effectiveness at any size.

What has been done in the past?
Now that we have a grasp of logo principles we should be able to tell the difference between a good logo and a bad one. Knowing what logos have had success in the past and why provides great insight into what makes a good logo.

The Nike Swoosh was designed in 1971 by Caroline Davidson. Personally, I feel this design represents everything that is good about logo design. It easily adheres to, and surpasses the rules above. Some would say it even set the rules. For this article I am purposefully not showing an example of the logo because I know you all can easily picture it in your mind. It’s simple, fast, and versatile. The swoosh represents a wing and was inspired by the Greek Goddess of victory, Nike. We can easily think of other famously successful logos that exemplify these rules; McDonalds, Verizon, or Visa to name a few.

Ask yourself, does your business’s current logo adhere to these rules? If not, what would you change about your logo? Does it represent what your company does and what it stands for? Finding the right logo that adheres to the criteria above is essential for brand recognition. Your company’s logo should be able to stand on its own simply by the look of the design. McDonald’s golden arches logo doesn’t need to have the name, "McDonalds", below the arch to be recognizable, either does the Arby’s hat logo. The important thing to remember is that your logo must be something that you like the looks of and something that represents your business well. If you don’t like your logo, you aren’t going to use it and you’ll have a harder time building brand awareness, which is very important for your business.

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Emotional Elements of Design

by Tim Parli

In our previous newsletter, Kelly discussed how the use of color in your company image is just as important as the actual image itself. She explained that this is primarily due to the fact that color plays a large role in memory retrieval for consumers. In this article, we will look at color and other elements of design and how they pertain to the emotional aspect of consumers.

Certain colors can stimulate, excite, depress, tranquilize, increase appetite or create feelings of warmth or coolness. Colors act upon the body as well as the mind. Red has actually been shown to stimulate the senses and raise the blood pressure, while blue has shown to have the opposite effect and even calms the mind. People will actually gamble more often and make riskier bets while they are sitting under a red light as opposed to a blue light. This is evident when one observes the use of color and light in Las Vegas, for instance. Colors also have different effects when placed next to their complementary colors, as well as when placed on different backgrounds. The principles of color are just one aspect that needs to be taken into account when designing a graphic element for a company. One must also take into account the linear components (lines) of graphic design.

The use of lines doesn't seem to be too thought provoking when it comes to design, but this simple element can often evoke as much emotion as the use of color. Different types of lines, styles of lines, line weights, etc can all effect the emotion of the viewer. Consider what first comes to mind when you think of a horizontal line. Now, what comes to mind when you think of a zigzag line. One evokes a restful stable feeling while the other evokes motion. Dotted lines, solid lines, or even the suggestion of a line can each cause a different type of emotional expectation. The emotional attributes of graphic elements don't stop at color and lines, but even include shape and form.

Using shapes and form can add movement and balance to the space of the design. Form and shape imply space, so even the areas within and around these items need to be taken into account in order to have a proper balance throughout the design. Shapes must contribute to the design and not detract from the message that you are trying to send to your customers. By adding shapes somewhat flippantly, you will actually lead the viewer’s eye away, rather than focusing their attention on what you are trying to depict or the mood that you are trying to create. Whether your design is a tangible item (business cards, brochure) or intangible (like a website), you may want to also take texture into account.

Texture is a nice effect but must be used so that it doesn't interfere with the readability of text. When texture is used, it needs to support the concept of the design and enhance the mood that you want to portray. Don't simply use texture for decoration or because it looks cool. The physical touch of a textured item also evokes different types of emotional feelings, so be aware of this when combining different textures on a tangible item.

Always be aware of your target market because, even though most of the elements of design are universal, other elements are cultural. Being in such a diverse culture, we need to be aware of the different cultures around us without being stereotypical. Keep in mind the correct use of colors, lines, shapes and textures on your logo as well as on all of your marketing materials. Identical or very similar design elements need to remain consistent for all of your marketing whether it is a newspaper ad, brochures, business cards, signage or a website.

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