1 Master The Techniques, And Principles Of Logo Design . - Webflow

LOGO ANALOGY 1 Master the techniques, and principles of logo design through stories. By William Lovecraft

2 3 Table of contents INTRODUCTION A message from the author 1 A logo must be. 3 PRINCIPLES CONTENTS 1. National flag 7 2. Nazis 9 3. A white tee 11 4. Eating pizza with chopsticks 13 5. Dentists 15 6. The tiger and the cat 17 7. Lego 19 8. The beuty and the beast 21 9. Banana 23 10. Stop sign 25 11. Kids and candies 27 12. Youtube ads 29

4 5 PRODUCTION PRESENTATION 13. Salt and sugar 33 30. Groceries 69 14. Dollars and cents 35 31. Breakfast 71 15. Destroying the flower 37 32. Real estate 73 16. Zebras 39 33. Asgard 75 17. Black jeans, thinner legs 41 34. Mirror mirror on the wall 77 18. Eyes 43 35. Edge of tomorrow 79 19. Hangman 45 36. Speed-art 81 20. Grandma 47 37. History class 83 21. The Swoosh 49 22. You’re ugly! 51 23. Fish memory 53 24. A swimming pool for three 55 25. Spiderman 57 26. Blood in the snow 59 27. Clickbait 61 28. Music notes 63 29. Mario Bros 65 BONUS Useful words 87 Illustrator shortcuts 88 Moodboards 89 Book suggestions 90 Typefaces 91 A message of motivation 93 Notes 95 About the author 97

8 1 Message from the author Whatever the reason is that you have ended here, I want to thank you for taking the step to buy this book. Here, I am sharing all I know and think that it is important for you to learn about logo design in a simple and easy-to-remember way. Every principle, trick, tip, or activity, will be related to a real-life example. I know that creativity can be like a wild animal, and you are trying to tame it. Therefore, when you face the so-called “creativity block”, you run out of ideas and begin to think you are not good enough. Stop thinking that, you are just not following the right design process. This book is for that, teach you the basics, and boost your creativity. Now turn out the page, and stay with me!

2 3 A logo must be. A logo must be simple. A logo must be appropriate. A logo must be distinctive. A logo must be unique. A logo must be scalable. A logo must be representative. A logo must be for identification. A logo must be responsive. A logo must be attractive. A logo must be working in black and white. A logo must be ready for brand identity. A logo must be suitable. A logo must be flexible. I If you are starting out in graphic design, or have been graphic designing for a while, you must have heard, read and even said that “a logo must be blah blah blah”. There are so many definitions of how a logo must be, and maybe all of them are true. But the reality is that we don’t design a logo with every rule in mind. It just comes out naturally when you sketch. However, if you are new into this, you will find it extremely difficult to memorise all these rules. This book is separated into three parts, which I call the 3 P’s of logo design: Principles, Production and Presentation. - In the principles section, we will look at the theory and the fundamentals of how a logo should be. - In the production section, we will step into the crafting and processing stage. This is the section where I am sharing all my tips related to the execution of a logo design. - In the presentation section, we will learn how to sell our designs. We are going to talk about the delivery, language and pricing.

4 5 Part 1 – PRINCIPLES

22 23 Banana What if you were going to design a logo for the next leading mobile phone company called “Banana”? What would be your first logo idea? A minimalistic banana? I guess that would be the option most brands would go if their business is somehow related with it. In this part I want you to remember one word: creativity. This is the most valuable resource you can offer as a designer. If there are millions of similar logos, what it is lacking is not uniqueness, it is creativity. As a designer, you must think outside the box. You are not an artificial intelligence that offers a series of different logos and variations based on a few keywords like: vintage, technology and serious. You must use these words as a starting point. Don’t be limited by a concept that seems narrow, you have to expand the boundaries yourself. For example: don’t just think of making a banana for the banana logo, you can explore more options like the banana peel, the texture, the tree, the habitat, the country. Or you can go even deeper and play with its history, curiosities and stories. A logo must be unique. Your mission as a designer is to use your creativity to think outside the box.

30 31 Part 2 – PRODUCTION

64 65 Mario Bros A simple “I don’t like it” can turn down the whole project and your self-esteem. However, there will be times when the project really doesn’t turn out as good as expected and you have to start from scratch, or even lose the trust your client had on you. This is why persistent communication and feedback is needed. We can achieve it by having a clear and strict process. If you have ever played Nintendo’s Mario Bros you know how time saving and pleasant it is to have a checkpoint in a high skill demanding level. If there were no checkpoints, and your character dies, you would have to start from the beginning. But how can you apply this in logo design? Set stages in your logo design process and make your client participate in them. These stages will be our checkpoints. These can be: the discovery session, the concept generation, the sketch, the look and feel, and the digitalization. Let the client be aware when you are leaving one phase and passing to another. When you have finished the discovery meeting with the client, let them know that your next move will be making mind maps and generating ideas. Check twice with your client that what you have agreed on is correct and you will base your work on what it is discussed. Then, show them what your ideas are and pass on to the next phase, only when they approve it. You will lose the excitement of design presentations and the wow factor when you nail the designs, but you ensure the best results possible and avoid unwanted negative reactions. Moreover, your client will even have a bigger affection for the logo since he has been participating in its craft. If you encounter the worst scenario again, which is to start everything from scratch, the process got you covered, because you can use the process as a back up and ask the client: “In which stage do you think that your ideas didn’t meet with my understanding?”.

66 67 Part 3 – PRESENTATION

74 75 Asgard If you have followed Marvel’s Avengers Saga, you will know that remarkable quote from Thor: “Asgard is not a place. Never was. This could be Asgard. Asgard is where our people stand.” This phrase tells us that the people are the most important thing. Regardless of where we are, we can call our place to the ground where we are standing. If a potential client comes to you looking for your services, it is mainly because of the work you have published online and past projects. But what makes a client decide to work with you, is you. You are the reason why clients will choose your services and love you. If you don’t transmit the good vibe and trust, clients will not choose your services, regardless of the reputation your personal brand has, or the amazing projects you have done, or the awards your agency has won. This is why developing your communications skills and being human is much more important than developing the designer inside of you. Would a client choose to work with your agency/personal brand but without you in it? What would Asgard be without Asgardians living in it?

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A logo must be attractive. A logo must be working in black and white. A logo must be ready for brand identity. A logo must be suitable. A logo must be flexible. I If you are starting out in graphic design, or have been graphic designing for a while, you must have heard, read and even said that "a logo must be blah blah blah".