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The most overused logos, at the moment

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Re: The most overused logos, at the moment

#31

Post by GFischer »

ChrisLTD wrote: post #27
gkoberger wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would add that the point of a logo is to convey what the company does. These logos may not be unique, but I do instantly know "Oh this is a law firm" or "Ah, they sell houses". These are local businesses with no intention of global recognition, and using a basic template helps convey what they do at just a glance.

If the point of a logo is to convey what the company does, then just about every classic logo fails. Just to name a few, the logos for Apple, IBM, Coca-Cola, UPS, Nike, BMW, Shell, McDonalds, and GE give no clues as to what the company does.

When I was looking into this, I found two schools of thought, some people think the best thing is to have a unique name and logo, which gives no clue but is unique and rememberable.

Others think it's better to have a descriptive name and logo.

The first approach has the disadvantage of requiring more branding, while the second has the disadvantage of being less distinctive.

I think that the first approach works best if you have a marketing budget and plan to grow, while the second is much better for local businesses or lifestyle or niche businesses where organic search matters more.

VC-backed startups will probably do better with the first route, while bootstrapped side projects might work better with the second approach?

Re: The most overused logos, at the moment

#32

Post by ChrisLTD »

gkoberger wrote: post #30
ChrisLTD wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the point of a logo is to convey what the company does, then just about every classic logo fails. Just to name a few, the logos for Apple, IBM, Coca-Cola, UPS, Nike, BMW, Shell, McDonalds, and GE give no clues as to what the company does.

We're comparing apples to oranges here. There are 7.4 million companies in the US, and most of those are local businesses. Law firms, car repair shops, restaurants, etc. You're talking about the exceptions -- global billion dollar brands. These aren't that.

Yeah, but for a lot (perhaps most?) businesses, their offerings are somewhat nebulous and their logos can't rely on well-tread iconography. How do you represent legal services in a logo? How about high-end Asian Fusion food? Medical certification services?

Re: The most overused logos, at the moment

#33

Post by protonfish »

Alupis wrote: post #7

I can honestly say, picking a new logo for a new business is hard work! You want something recognizable and unique, represents your brand and message... at all pixel sizes, in greyscale and color, etc. How will this look printed on letterhead? How about in an email signature? What about stretched out for a banner on our building? Is it too similar to someone else's? With all that said, -- the logos in the article are…

Which is why you should just pick a font and write out the name of your company. Most of the rest of logo "design" is just cruft.

Re: The most overused logos, at the moment

#34

Post by notduncansmith »

fjolthor wrote: post #16
thinkmoore wrote: post #3

Maybe companies should pay for good design instead of paying as little as possible for people to enter "competitions"? Good design takes time. Good designers should be compensated.

Good design isn't as essential as other facets of a company starting out.

I'd be careful about conflating "a good logo" with "good design". Design will make or break plenty of companies. Logos don't really matter; as long as it a) fits the brand, b) doesn't offend anyone, and c) won't get you sued, your logo is doing its job. Way too much importance is placed on logos, in my opinion.

Re: The most overused logos, at the moment

#35

Post by jwallaceparker »

When I was young my great-grandfather started a tanning business, in the sense that he was a tanner who produced leather goods.

He had to buy a sign to put above his shop. The sign maker asked him if he wanted to put a logo on the sign, too.

"Why?" asked my grandfather.

"So people will recognize your business," said the sign maker.

"That's what the name is for," answered grandfather.

Even at the time I thought this was an interesting perspective.

I always remember that day because afterward when the sign maker left the next person to come into the tanning store was a woman from a nearby dessert shop who gave us free ice cream cones.

Unrelated to logo design, that woman later married my uncle!

Re: The most overused logos, at the moment

#38

Post by DanBC »

Can someone explain the first example?

A name with an arc through the name. What's the design purpose? Because most of them look a bit like the name has been crossed out.

I could understand it if the arcs were behind the name - that would mean the name is kind of hovering over a sphere. But lots of the examples show the name behind that arc.

EDIT: one of the later categories is "Use of the font 'satisfaction'". I looked and thought that some of the names were using a different font, because I was sure that Altus was Atlus (even though Atlus isn't a word). So I guess that design really fails? (I misread some others - "street bitch"; "sleet your bed". I don't have any reading problem that I'm aware of. I am a bit tired. But how would someone guard against that kind of problem with their logo?)

Complaining about use of spheres seems a tad harsh - there aren't many solids and spheres are less distracting than most others.

Re: The most overused logos, at the moment

#40

Post by [deleted] »

DanBC wrote: post #38

Can someone explain the first example? A name with an arc through the name. What's the design purpose? Because most of them look a bit like the name has been crossed out. I could understand it if the arcs were behind the name - that would mean the name is kind of hovering over a sphere. But lots of the examples show the name behind that arc. EDIT: one of the later categories is "Use of the font 'satisfaction'". I loo…

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