Synopsis IN THIS problem, we will be designing logos (aka trademarks or corporate symbols) for two existing entities, one of which is an on-campus UNI personnel service, called Employee Wellness, while the second is a local off-campus meeting, event and banquet facility, called The Supervisors’ Club. Problem Guidelines and Constraints We are working for two actual clients and we are under a very tight deadline. You must begin to work on this problem immediately, even though you are still working on the previous problem. Work on it every day, so that it remains fresh in your mind (that way, your less-than-conscious mind will continue to think about it, even as you do other things), whether by making small sketches (thumbnail roughs) or on computer. Begin by finding out about the organizations. We don’t have much information, since neither one has a functioning website (the new logos will be part of that). Let me share the information that I have— Employee Wellness at UNI is looking for a new logo, because it has recently moved from Wellness and Recreation Services, within Student Affairs, to Human Resource Services, within Administration and Finance, where it can be more closely aligned with employee health benefits. To summarize the current outlook of the service, “wellness is not about an end result but about the process of living well, seeking health of mind, body and spirit.” The Supervisors’ Club is a dining, banquet and events facility, located on Ridgeway Avenue between Waterloo and Cedar Falls. In the past it was mainly a venue for business employees who had to become members of The Supervisors’ Club in order to benefit from it. Currently, it is also widely used by members of the Cedar Valley community for wedding receptions, anniversaries, retirements, class reunions, birthdays and so on. Logo Design What are the characteristics of strong logos? • Whether pictorial, typographic or abstract, the gestural feel of the logo is well-suited for the organization it represents. It does not misrepresent it. • Every stroke in a logo (both marks and spaces in between) must be bold enough to withstand reduction to the approximate size of a dime (no spaces fill in when reduced, no strokes drop out). • A logo must be suitable for B&W reproduction, without the use of gray values, with color as a secondary option. • Strong logos do more with less. If simple, they are deceptively so. They have an implicitness that comes from ambiguity (double meaning) and from using as few modular components (or menu attributes) as possible.
Above The logo for Time Warner suggests both visual and auditory communication. Left Nine variations on a proposed logo for a small publishing company called Blue Garage, designed by UNI student Celeste Geralds, and below, a different set of proposals for the same problem by Dixie Albertson.
Kinds of Logos
The term “logo” comes from the Greek for “word,” so it’s not literally descriptive of all of the forms we call logos. It would be more accurate to call them trademarks or corporate symbols since they do not always include words.
 
• A corporate symbol might only consist of the organization’s initials.
• Or it might simply be made of the organization’s name.
• More commonly, it is a combination mark, consisting of a symbol (whether abstract or pictorial) in combination with the name or initials.
Art 3030 Section 2 graphic design two | problem 2
What to produce
After becoming familiar with the organization, you are expected to prepare the following: (a) Three substantially different proposals for the organization’s logo, in B&W only (see example above of UNI student Sarah Steil’s proposals for a logo for the WRS (chosen but not used); and (b) nine variations on the one that you think is strongest.
 
It is important the you design each one of the logos as separate Photoshop files, measuring no less than 6 inches on its largest dimension and with a dpi of 1200 at that size. Save those files, so that later we can convert them from raster to vector, using Adobe Illustrator (meaning that they can be enlarged to any size without pixelating). In the meantime, you could make smaller 1200 dpi copies of each logo (in Photoshop) and arrange them on two pages of 11 x 17 as shown. Or, you could work directly in Illustrator.
 
Normally the next step after designing the logo would be to apply it to a letterhead (8.5 x 11 in), envelope (4.125 x 9.5 in) and business card (2 x 3.5 in). But in this case, we’re not going to do that at this point, but instead focus on logo design, as such.
 
Incentives
At the end of our process, I will post online all proposals that are finished and of sufficient quality for public display. There will then be a judging and, providing that the clients decide that one or more of the designs are useable, there will be some prizes for the top solutions.
 
Links
Wikipedia article
Paul Rand website
 
A
B
My function
I will be our liaison with the client, or what’s sometimes known as the account representative. If you have questions or need more information, contact me (NOT the client) and I will then contact the client.
 
I will also act as the gatekeeper for the final results. Any work that goes to the client must first be approved by me. I will not permit bad haircuts to go out to the public from our “barber school.” The value of your degree is only as strong as the reputation of our design program.
 
 
 
This problem will be critiqued in class on Wednesday, September 28. Revisions are due one week later.
Click here for more examples of strong logos home
 
Do you need to know more about logos? For examples and more information, visit these websites, Simple but Effective, 50+ Fresh Logos. Logo Design Case Studies. Logo Design Principles. Clever Logo Solutions. There are lots more.
A couple of years ago, one of my GD2 sections took on the design of a logo for the R.J. McElroy Trust. Here are the results before the client chose one.