Most recently a new friend ask me to assist with revamping the logo for a small-business with which he is involved. He said he believed I have the talent and creativity to design and build them a new logo.
Whilst there are no promises on where this new direction takes me, my positivism and self-esteem has been increased ten-fold by this reinvigoration of my skills. I anticipate hearing positive results on this issue very soon!
So the good news is that this new direction has invigorated my web reading and writing. My blog articles will not ALWAYS be about my photography!
1. This interesting article reveals that religion, logo’s and council politics should not mix. At least not without ensuring the message matches the ideals of everyone involved.
2. On a lighter note, Sony Ericsson is to refresh its brand identity by using coloured variations of its brand logo for the first time. Adding colour is a sure sign that the company wants us to feel happy, be liberal with our money and buy more of their products. I hope this works for them.
3. Here is what happens when all areas of a business have an input into the direction of a logo. With opinions from management to marketing, finance to former employees, this proves that sometimes it is best to leave the final decisions to just a few. Despite what I said yesterday.
4. As with any artwork, the key feature is the font of choice. The people over at SpoonGraphics have compiled a list of the top 25 fonts that we should all have and be using regularly. But I say that is only half the story: The white-space, letter and word spacing, and line-depth are what can make and break a good logo, mission statement and/or company name. I’ll expand on this over the next few weeks.
5. This is an opportunity too good to miss! AmeriCorps Alums (a leadership organization that connects, supports and mobilizes the vibrant network of 550,000 individuals) are offering this amazing challenge:
Your Challenge:
Design a professional, visually appealing and engaging new logo for AmeriCorps Alums AND create a slogan (3-10 words) that captures the spirit of service and incorporates our new vision/messaging. (Individuals must submit both a logo design and slogan… judging will be based primarily on the logo and we may choose the slogan from another entry or internally.)
PRIZES!
* 1st place: Design will be used on all AmeriCorps Alums material!!! Plus… Flip handheld video camera and features on our website and our partner websites.
* 2nd: AmeriCorps Alums signature Inauguration (NorthFace-esque) jacket
* 3rd: AmeriCorps Alums t-shirt, ballcap, Nike pants and other fun collectibles
CONTEST CLOSES:
September 14th, 2009 | 5:00pm EST
Good luck to all those that enter!
I still loving using GIMP to manipulate photographs and build images, but I have learnt that the use of a WACOM tablet can make all the difference. Since I do not wish to hack my GIMP nor computer to enable the WACOM to ‘see’ GIMP, I feel it’s time to move up to CS3.
6. Nickelodeon have cleaned up their appearance. They’ve had thirty years of being a splat of orange slime, but now have become a fairly-non-descript font-type.
I can understand the change. The ‘slime/splat’-logo helped ensure they got noticed, and that the generation they were aiming at could easily associate with the image.
But the new simple logo enables to put their name everywhere, easily and without too much space wasted. They can incorporate the text into any other site without fuss nor over-emphasis. They have street-cred now and EVERYONE knows who they are, even if they don’t have FOXTEL (~We don’t, yet I’d have to be living under a rock not to have heard of the brand somewhere).
Yes, it is a big risk for them, but I feel there is more to this situation than meets the eye. You’ll soon discover how and why this is an important to step for Nickelodeon as they push their products in new and exciting directions.
I’m most eager to see where Nickelodeon gets their name mentioned from hereon! I plan to watch, read and see how this progresses.
7. As of today, my favourite graphic-artistry sites include both Veer and idsgn.
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