2012 Web Design Trends

February 8th, 2012

As we move through 2012 it’s interesting to look at some of the current trends in web design. Some of these are good, others are annoyingly bad. But as we know, these are called trends because they don’t last forever.

1. The rise (and fall?) of the new pop up window

There was time, in the early days of web browsing, when pop-up windows would jump out at you as you paged through a web site. This was very annoying because it blocked your view of the web site you wanted and left your desktop littered with small browser windows. Then the browsers allowed us to check a settings box and block pop-up windows.

Unfortunately, there is a new type of pop-up graphic that is not blocked with this setting. I’m sure you’ve seen these slick boxes that pop-up, yet are not full browser windows. Sometimes they are referred to as modal boxes. They often are asking you to join an email list.

I find these annoying and even appalling. However, research shows they are extremely effective so I think we’re going to see these rise in popularity before they plummet. However, I’m predicting NOW that we will look at back at these with disdain. They will be viewed along with other web viewing hindrances such as flash intros or home screens that you must “enter.”

2. Simple, focused home page design

I think we’ll continue to see small businesses reduce the amount of content on their home pages and focus on their key messages. We started seeing this trend flourish with some many Saas (cloud based software) products over the past couple of years. They offered their online services in a clear and compelling way with a simple navigation to get more info.

Now businesses are realizing that this trend can be very effective for their web sites as well. It can be tempting to have all sorts of content, many times in the name of SEO, filling your home page. Try to get one clear message out there using straightforward language and simple, compelling graphics. The result will probably be a much more effective brand message and better results.

3. Longer, scrolling home pages

Am I contradicting myself? No.

Because of the limited viewing space of browser windows, the first view of a home page can be very simple. Yet, the viewer can scroll down to see more. It seems like after years of people thinking they hated scrolling. They realize it’s really not that difficult!

4. One page, jquery-based, scrolling web sites

This is a continuation of #3 above. If an organization does not need a web site with many pages, than a one-page scrolling site can be very effective. Using some jquery to make the anchor links scroll gracefully, a one page site becomes clean, compelling and able to make a strong statement without having to force the viewer to click around unnecessarily.

I’m seeing this technique with the most simple web site designs, as well as some that are very graphically rich.

5. Much more interesting typography

For most of the history of web site design, web designers were stuck with the handful of web safe fonts found on most computers. But recently, typography on the web has been revolutionized by the @font-face tag and a rapidly growing list of available web fonts. Read this post if you want to learn more about typography for the web.

Of all the web trends that we’re seeing, this is the one we’re most excited about. The ability to choose and work with a large number of fonts is key to the way designers think. It brings the finesse of print to the web. We’ve been starting to add at least one of these new web-safe fonts to every web site design we complete.

What web design trends are you seeing?

Posted in Design Trends | 3 Comments »

Lifespan of a Web Site: How Long Until You Need to Redesign Your Web Site

February 2nd, 2012

Recently I was asked to give an estimate for redesigning a web site, and the client asked an interesting question:

What is the lifecycle of a web site these days? How long should a web site last before it needs to be redesigned?

There is no one right answer about how long your web site will serve you. But for budgeting purposes it is helpful for small business owners to be realistic about the costs of redesigning a web site and how long until they will need to repeat the process.

How long will your web site last?

No, web sites don’t have expiration dates. But after a certain time, they seem to be irrelevant. They are no longer a useful tool for the business, and are no longer supporting the original goals of the web site. Without a redesign, a web site can actual begin to detract from the organization behind it.

There are several factors that may determine whether or not it’s time to redesign or redevelop your web site

Has your business grown or changed direction? When we talk about small business web site design, the driving force behind the web presence is the business itself. So, if your business has grown and is offering new products or services, or if you have streamlined operations and are not offering services you used to, your web site should reflect this change.
Is the content, and the structure for the content still relevant? If you realize that your offerings have changed, you may be able to make the updates within the current structure and design of your web site. For example, your navigation may say “widgets” and even if you’ve changed from orange to blue widgets, it can be integrated into the web site. However, if you’ve introduced “doo-hickeys” and that cannot be added to the main navigation bar, you may be making it difficult for people to find your newest services.
Is your message to prospects still relevant? There are many factors that determine what message resonates with your clients. It may mean working with someone with marketing experience to rework a message. Or, changing market conditions have forced you to adjust your positioning. You want to make sure that the web site design reinforces the same message as your text. If not, it’s time to update your web design.
Are you behind or ahead of the technology curve? Web standards change fast. While you can try and anticipate trends, it’s impossible to predict the future. What was a best practice (or at least reasonable practice) a few years ago may no longer be worthwhile. An example is adding a Content Management Software (CMS) to your site. Five or ten years ago, this type of tool was beyond the budget of many small business owners, and it made better financial sense to just send updates to their web developer when necessary. Nowadays, there are many economical CMS platforms and honestly, I can’t imagine recommending a web site without this capability built in.
Was the site well designed when it was new? Like all elements of design (including things such as industrial design, fashion, etc.) there are some designs that are classic and can stand the test of time much better than others. In general, if you haven’t invested in professional web site design, the unpolished look of your site will probably start to look worse and worse as time goes on.
What are the expectations of your clients and prospects? This is one of the biggest factors in web site design right now. Everyone is getting more and more sophisticated about web site design. While it may have been acceptable at one time, to “just have a web site,” now it needs to be more than just a poorly designed web presence. Your prospects may be looking for a professional brand identity to determine if they trust you. They may want you to offer e-commerce directly integrated into your site. They may be looking for you to be a thought leader as demonstrated by a well-written blog. If you are not stepping up and keeping your site looking fresh, relevant, well-designed and highly-functional, your competitors will fill that gap.

These are six factors that may help you determine how long your web site design will last and whether it is time to start thinking about a redesign.

Do I need to redesign my web site?

What is the bottom line? I’m seeing a lot of requests for proposals from organizations who are redesigning their web site after about three or four years.

A site that is well designed and using some of the best practices for development will last on the longer end of that spectrum. A site that skimps on either design or technology will likely expire more quickly.

On a personal note, we are in the preliminary phase of redesigning our own web site. We did our last redesign in 2008.

Posted in Business, Design Trends, Web Design | 1 Comment »

10 Years, 10 E-Newsletter Giveaways

January 11th, 2012

Recently, Visible Logic celebrated its 10th Anniversary! As the owner of this small business, I’m thrilled that we’ve survived and thrived so long. And it’s especially exciting to see how our firm has grown in its tenth year. One new part of our business is Mail On The Mark, our e-newsletter service.

We have been designing e-newsletters for our clients for a long time, and realized that the tools available to most small business owners were not great. Many of our clients were using email marketing services that produced poorly designed e-newsletters. They came to us for outstanding brand identity work, and then it all fell apart when they connected with their customers’ and prospects’ in boxes.

We felt there had to be a way to create beautifully designed, truly custom-branded, highly functional e-newsletters. So we created Mail on the Mark.

10 Years in Business; 10 E-newsletter design Giveaway Now as a thank you to everyone who has helped us succeed the past ten years, we are giving away 10 free blueprint designs. These are valued at $999 each!

Note: A blueprint is like a template, except that we HATE the word template. Template suggests a pre-made, generic looking design. All of our designs are completely customized with your brand identity and tailored to the type of content you include in your email marketing. Read this for more information.

We want to help you!

We are looking for 10 worthy groups who would benefit from a well-designed, custom-branded, e-newsletter. This is available to non-profits, small business owners, entrepreneurs, or even you.

Our criteria for choosing the winners is loose, but we are looking for the following (not all of these at once!):

Organizations who can really benefit from effective email marketing. Ideally you are already established, but have lacked a professionally designed e-newsletter.
Companies or individuals who currently use another email service, but are unhappy with the results; or do not currently use an email marketing tool.
Businesses we can help in Maine.
Organizations involved with: environmental issues; running/triathlon/fitness; cooking; gardening/farming; dance; children/education.
Entrepreneurs and small business owners who are trying to launch successful businesses.
Design opportunities that will allow us to create showcase work.
People who are willing to spread the good karma (hint, click on that Tweet button and/or the Facebook Like button)

Spread the word & stay in touch!

Tell others about this contest:
Tweet

Connect with us on Facebook:

Submit your application below.

Yes, that’s all you need to do!

Fine print: We are designing a custom blueprint for your e-newsletter for use with a Do-It-Yourself account. You will be responsible for any fees related to sending your emails. Generally this fee is .05/email + $10/sending fee per campaign. Learn about the fees for sending.

We’ll keep you posted of who we have selected for this contest.

Tags: e-newsletter, e-newsletter design, email marketing, free, templates
Posted in Branding, Marketing, Starting a Business | 5 Comments »

25 New Years Tips to Improve Your Brand Image

January 3rd, 2012

The end of one year and the beginning of the next is a time when we all tend to look inside and figure out what we can do better. As a business owner, it’s time to look at your brand identity and see what you can do better.

Remember, a stronger and more unified brand identity will lead to better recognition among your prospects, growing trust and a better ability to attract better, higher paying clients.

Web Site

Go through your web site, page by page, and identify content that is out of date. Anything that can be easily updated do so immediately.
Any content that is no longer relevant should be eliminated.
If you’ve abandoned your blog, take it out of the navigation.
Write a list of all content that needs more lengthy updating, or needs to be developed. Delegate the task to someone and give it a deadline. Don’t know who’s going to write it? Give us a call and we’ll refer you to a great writer or editor.
If you’ve been writing a blog that is not housed within your web site or domain name (for example if you’re using a .wordpress URL or blogspot) integrate it into your site. Not sure how to do that? Give us a call.
If you have a blog or other area that needs new content frequently, ask everyone around you for ideas. Generate a long list of topics based on feedback from your employees, your readers, your clients, your vendors, your partners, etc. Figure out what people want to read about. It will make your content more relevant and help you find topics to write about.
Update your client list to ensure that it is current.
Update your employee list to add new hires and eliminate people who no longer work there. In these recessionary times, some organizations have kept staff on their web site to make it look like they are bigger than they are. It’s time to just come clean with who is currently working for you.

Business Cards

Take a look at all the business cards floating around your office. Do all the employees have up-to-date logos, taglines, colors, paper, contact information and titles on their cards? Figure out what is correct and current.
Make sure that the correct files are identified on your server, with your designer or with your printer. Whoever orders the cards needs to know what the correct standards are.
Are there employees who have received promotions who need new cards? Order them now.
It is often cheaper to print more than one business card at the same time. Figure out who is low on cards and order them now too.
Consider using thicker, higher quality paper on your business cards. It makes an important first impression about the quality of your brand.

Other Communications

Do you have an electronic version of your letterhead and standards for how letters, memos or proposals should look? If not, create some template files for everyone to use, watch this video to learn how.
Check out email signatures. These don’t have to be 100% consistent from one employee to the next, but ensure that everyone who includes a logo is using the right one and no one is using incorrect addresses, taglines, etc.
Make sure you and your employees are using an email address from your company whenever you contact clients and prospects. Don’t use gmail, hotmail, yahoo, etc. Think it doesn’t matter? Read this white paper report and realize what a bad impression you are creating if you use a non-branded email address.

Logo Standards

Make sure you have an organized logo library available to all your employees. When a small business owner goes from being a solopreneur to having employees often these details don’t get shared very well. Review the files everyone is using, discard any that are incorrect, and post good clean files on a server, dropbox, other other accessible place. Not sure what type of files to use and share? Read about the difference between pixel and vector-based graphicsto make sure you got the right files from your logo designer.
If you realize that you need variations on the logo, hire a professional do it. For example, there may be times you want to separate the logo’s symbol from the logotype. Or you may need a horizontal or vertical version of the logo. Rather than having employees create these on the fly, have your graphic designer add to your logo library in an organized way to keep your brand consistent. Read this post (scroll to the bottom), to help you figure out if you should you have more than one version of your logo.

Social Media

Claim your Twitter handle. You don’t have to use it, but you can put your basic contact info there and more information about the best way to get in touch.
Properly brand your Twitter landing page with a logo that is sized appropriately.
If you have a Facebook page, at minimum place a logo that is sized appropriately on the page.
If you are going to use Social Media, have a plan for who is doing the updates, what are appropriate topics, and how available you’ll be. If you need some more guidance about personal vs corporate branding, read this blog post.
Double check that any links to social media, from your web site or email signature are accurate.
If you are unable or not interested in using social media, remove the links/icons from your web site.

Everywhere

Take a look at all of these places mentioned, as well in any printed materials, presentations such as on Slideshare or created in Powerpoint, and see if things are consistent. If you want some ideas of what to look for, read about 8 Essential Elements to a Comprehensive Brand Identity. Each touchpoint with customers or prospective clients should have a consistent, and recognizable brand identity.

What else did I forget that you are taking time to examine this New Year’s season?

Posted in Branding, Design Trends | 4 Comments »

Choosing a Logo Design: First Impressions, Timelessness, How To Evaluate a Logo Design

December 30th, 2011

Presenting the first round of logo designs to a client is one my favorite parts of my job. It’s very exciting to show how loose ideas, general likes and dislikes, and sometimes even conflicting input gets translated into a tangible logo design.

I’m happy to say we’ve been very successful at being able to translate these abstract thoughts into concrete designs, and generally our clients are pretty wowed by the effect. Whether they are a local client from Portland, Maine or someone we are working with entirely through phone calls and emails, we manage to figure out what they are looking for.

The next step then becomes evaluating the options.

How to choose a good logo design?

Good logos have appeal both at first glance and when you’ve had some time to sit with them. Great logos have immediate appeal and then grow even more appealing as someone has time to take in the detail.

A fun example of this is the FedEx logo. At first glance, it is bold and clean. At second glance, you see the arrow embedded in the logo, which sums up the speed and accuracy which is at the core of their business.

First impressions

When you are working with a logo designer, and seeing your logo designs for the first time, try to remember that feeling. Some of those same first impressions that hit you, will hit your customers and prospects.

Probably you will have a strong reaction (either positive or negative) to some of the logo designs you see. Some of these impressions are gut reactions or from the subconscious. You just like it or didn’t like it for reasons you may not even be able to easily articulate. Even if you can’t say why, it’s still a worthwhile feeling to acknowledge.

Another important part of first impressions is that they cannot be easily overcome. A great logo needs no explanation, it just works.

There are many times when your prospective customer will only see your logo very quickly. Whether it’s briefly when exchanging business cards, or quickly as your logo’d van drives by, many first impressions of logos happen quickly without much time for analysis. It needs to be recognizable and memorable in a flash.

Lasting feelings

Just as important as first impressions, you need to have a logo that you love the more you look at it. As a business owner, you will be promoting your brand identity for years, and you don’t want to easily get tired of it. In fact, the stronger a concept behind a logo design, the more you’ll tend to like it as time goes on.

It’s especially great if your logo tells a story. This story or concept helps you connect with your audience. Just like first impressions, sometimes these impressions are hard to articulate, but still resonate with viewers.

A logo that has no substance or concept behind it will tend to look out of date more quickly because the only thing holding it together is “style.” As trends change, your logo (and therefore your brand) may appear out of touch. A more classic design, backed by a strong concept will serve you better in the long run.

Should I get other people’s opinions?

Many designers cringe at the idea of “design by committee.” Group decisions often weaken a design and the result is a watered down concept with a muddied result.

However, I do recommend that you show preliminary logo designs to other people that you trust.

Each person has their own life experiences that they bring with them when viewing and evaluating something like a logo. They may see similarities with other logos or brands that you are not familiar with. It’s good to hear about these possible conflicts before you become too invested in one logo design.

Do not expect to please everyone, and do not look for your advisers to give you answers (just opinions). In other words, listen when they say: “This reminds me of brand X” but don’t put much weight into statements like: “I’d like it better if this were red.”

Rather, listen to their gut reactions and follow up with research on any correlations they see that you are unfamiliar with. For example, if they say: “This reminds me of the logo for that Financial Advisor who embezzled millions of cash.” it would be a good idea to see if there are similarities between your new logo design and brand identity (especially if it has a tainted history).

The final analysis

I really like to hear the process my client went through to select a logo design. So don’t feel that all you have to do is choose an option. When your logo designer has the full understanding of your decision making process, it can help them as they continue to refine the logo design.

Which brings me to my final point. It is unlikely that whatever design was shown in an initial design presentation is completely ready. Most logo designers are prepared to then refine a logo design, once an initial concept has been selected. This is why having a complete understanding of your thought process is useful. It will help your designer avoid going down paths you’ve already dismissed in your mind; and push a design more in the direction of your liking.

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If you want to see some example of our logo design process, I suggest you read about the logo design process for the New England Breeze logo, The Greater Freeport Chamber of Commerce logo, or the Perfect Peanut Brittle logo.

Posted in Branding, Design Basics, Logo design, Starting a Business | 1 Comment »

Logo Design: The Perfect Peanut Brittle Company

October 12th, 2011

A small, family-owned gourmet food business approached us about upgrading their existing logo.

The Perfect Peanut Brittle Company had been using a piece of clipart for their logo that was not working out. The only version they had was not high resolution and it looked poor. When the client talked with the clipart company about upgrading the art and using it as a logo, they were told they did not have the rights to do so. Therefore, a new logo logo was in order. However, they wanted to maintain a tie to their current brand identity.

Old logo

As you can see, the original logo was a historical looking portrait, framed like a cameo. It recalled a certain era that tied in with the idea of good, old-fashioned, home-made peanut brittle.

So we worked to maintain that historical feel as we upgraded the design. I did research to find images of women from the Victorian period. I also was inspired by Mary Poppins and some of the outfits from the Disney movie.

Research and inspiration for the logo design: Victorian women and Mary Poppins.

I found lots of crazy hats and collars which were a bit more elaborate than the original, but the general lines of the hair, hats and collars worked.

The original logo also featured a script font for the logotype. It was hard to read and was not grouped with the logo; it was a separate element. Our client wanted to have at least one variation that tied the portrait together with the type. We also decided it would be the type of logo that could be split into two pieces when necessary.

First round of logo designs

First round of options for the logo design.

As you can see, we kept the design within a narrow focus. The first option (upper left) was quite similar to the original. The second option (upper right) was a close take away from that, but with a more elaborate hat and the script type put into a ribbon banner. Both of these followed the original’s downcast eyes and I found it a too dour and sad looking.

So, I started from scratch with a much more optimistic rendition (I was channeling Mary Poppins). I thought adding a peanut to the hat would also be a fun little extra touch.

Finalizing the logo design

The client agreed that the newer version was much more appealing with the smiling and upward gazing face.

We did a few rounds of revisions to tweak and adjust the logo design and this is what we ended up with. We chose the more readable non-script font, but placed it within the ribbon. We adjusted her hairline, neck and collar and made a few other minor adjustments to the design elements.

Final logo design for The Perfect Peanut Brittle Company

In addition to this version that groups the type and logo together, we also provided files for the elements separately. As I wrote in a recent post, we feel it’s OK to have more than one version of a logo, as long as they are very consistent. The client knew he would have several different applications for this logo, and there would be times when it would be better to separate the logo and the type.

Finally, we provided the client with a complete logo library including: eps files, jpegs and gifs in various sizes and small avatars to work with. Not sure what files you should get from your designer? read this.

The client’s reaction? He sent me a note saying:

Thanks so much for creating a fantastic logo for me!

And, I highly recommend the brittle. Buy it online or find it in stores and markets in and around Maine.

Tags: Branding, identity, logo, logo design, peanut brittle
Posted in Branding, Logo design, Portfolio, Recent Work | No Comments »

What Steve Jobs Meant to Me

October 7th, 2011

This week we learned of the death of Steve Jobs, the leader of Apple computers.

Many times when someone I know only through the news dies, I honestly don’t have much of a reaction. But in the case of Steve Jobs, I feel more of a real loss because I can truly say his ideas and inventions strongly affected my life.

My first computer was an Apple

I remember I was in the eighth grade when my Dad decided to buy an Apple IIc for the first family computer. Growing up in the town of Lexington, MA there were quite a lot of geeky families with parents who were engineers or scientists, parents who were professors at MIT and other top universities, and many of the high school population heading that way, too. Therefore, there were debates—even in junior high—about Apple products vs IBMs. My Dad felt that while Apple was the underdog, it was the better designed technology.

I eventually took that old Apple with me to Carleton College and used it my first year. I printed my papers out on my dot matrix printer, and saved my files on 5″ floppy disks.

Apple has always had a strong educational connection, so I purchased a Mac classic through the school in 1990. I had my first mouse!

This little computer got me through my BA degree and I used it at home occasionally after that when I got my first job in publishing. However, at work, I used a PC with PageMaker.

In 1994, I returned to school at The Massachusetts College of Art (MassArt) to study graphic design. Once we got into the core of our studies, I purchased a new Mac and the latest design software so that I didn’t have to spend all my hours in the computer lab. I purchased an Apple 7200. It was sluggish when I ran PhotoShop, and I definitely couldn’t run two applications simultaneously. But, it allowed me to work through the night on many occasions to learn how to become a designer.

After graduating in 1997, I moved to Chicago where I worked in a number of design studios. At work, I used to work on the first G3s. However, one employer I had was doing some computer upgrades and offered me an old 7500, so I was able to upgrade my home computer slightly.

Then, in the boom years, before the internet bubble burst, I was given a tangerine orange Apple laptop by my employer, Laughing Dog Creative.

Apple design begins to stand out

I still have this computer (in a closet) and I think I’ll always cherish it. This was a real turning point for Apple. It was when being seen with an Apple product began to take on status. I remember travelling with it, and when I took it out to go through security everyone sort of “oohed and aahed”.

From that point on, I’ve owned a large succession of more Apple computers. As a graphic designer, Apple has always been the platform that worked best for the professional Adobe design software I use and for rendering fonts. Starting as a one person shop in 2001 and now growing Visible Logic into a multi-person studio, we’ve purchased numerous iMacs and laptops. I figure I’m on my third Apple laptop and fourth desktop model that I have personally used for design work. This doesn’t even get into my iPod, iPhone, etc. or the computers for my employees.

More than just a tool: a role model of great design

Obviously, Apple computers have been a direct participant in my economic success. I could still be doing design on a drafting table with press type and an exacto blade, (and yes I did have some early jobs/internships where I did this!) but I’m really glad I’m not. I sit at an Apple computer for many, many hours every day.

But another important factor is how Apple has influenced great design and branding. Apple has always made design a central part of their product development. This means industrial design in terms of the physical look and interactive nature of their products. It means graphic design in terms of their logo and streamlined package designs. It means usability design in terms of their operating systems and their web site. And it means branding in terms of the cohesive message they present to their customers, many of whom are very strong brand evangelists.

It is extremely helpful to me, as designer working in web site design and branding, to have a role model out there for my clients to refer to. They can see the direct economic success of an investment in design and branding.

It is hard to guess how Apple will move forward without Steve Jobs. I wonder what other areas of technology he could have revolutionized if had had more time.

Tags: Apple, Steve Jobs
Posted in Branding, Design Trends | 4 Comments »

What Is The Best Shape for a Logo?

September 8th, 2011

We are currently in the midst of a large branding project. It started with an analysis of the client’s competitors and target audience and is now in the final stages of logo development and refinement and the beginning phases of the web site design.

As we are refining the logo design, we’ve had some interesting conversations about “What is the best shape for a logo?” And “Is it OK to have multiple versions of your logo?” such as one that is predominantly horizontal and another that is grouped more compactly.

I’m not ready to share the client’s in-progress work, so I will use other examples to illustrate my point.

The wide rectangle

When I was in design school, we were taught that the ideal shape for a logo is a horizontal rectangle. That doesn’t mean that the actual shape of the logo needs to be a rectangle, but the live area should be like a wide rectangle.

An example of a logo we created that fits the wide proportion, but is not actually a rectangle shape.

This is the normal viewing area for the human eyes, which is why they use it in movie theaters. This format is now becoming more mainstream as TVs and computer monitors are also more commonly created with this widescreen format. That shape can quickly and easily be seen, whereas a more tall & skinny or overly wide format may take longer for the human eye to see and recognize the information.

The square

Nowadays, there are many applications that require a square version of your logo. Favicons, and avatars are two common places where you may need to represent your company or brand with a small, square version of your logo. Some designers are trying to create logos that are specifically square to start with. Other shapes that fit within a square would be a close second choice, such as circles or triangles. They should have the same height and width dimension.

A logo with a square shape as the live area (although it's actually a circle)

**Working with your business name**

A critical problem (and one for this client project we’re in the middle of) is businesses with long names. In that case, it can be difficult to make a version of the logo that is grouped tightly. If you’re starting from scratch, you may want to consider a short name. There are many benefits to a short and snappy name and one of them is that you’re able to create a very compact logo design.

With a name like Visible Logic I understand the issues!

One company that overcame this issue was FedEx. For years, they fought to be called their full name: Federal Express. But eventually they decided to change to the nickname that everyone was using: FedEx. This opened up a world of opportunity when they rebranded. What started as a weak logo, was redesigned and is now praised as one of the best.

You can see with the FedEx example, that choosing a short brand name can be beneficial. But, it is not the only consideration. The name needs to make sense to people, it needs to have an available domain name, etc. You also may have a company that has successfully been in business for a long time and it doesn’t make sense to shorten your name! (You probably don’t have FedEx’s budget for marketing, nor their promotional opportunities on the sides of trucks and planes across the globe).

Should you have more than one version of your logo?

Harkening back to design school days again, I remember being told that while a wide rectangle is the ideal shape for a logo, you should always have a version that can fit on the side of a pen. Pens are frequent giveaway items at trade shows and some businesses do rely on this type of promotional item. Nowadays, it’s more common to need a horizontal version within a web site banner or header.

It is reasonable to have more than one version of your logo. You probably already have more than one version— such as a full color version and a black and white or one color version. With careful planning, you should be able to create several, tightly related versions of your logo so that you always have the best fit for the application at hand. Here is an example of both a wide and stacked version of British Airways logo (note there is also no highlight on one version, which might be necessary depending on the application).

Looking around on the web I was also able to find a picture of the British Airways headquarters that had the stacked version, but with white type.

On this page you can see a complete run down of all their planes with the logo applied. It is always the horizontal logo, but the actual placement of the ribbon graphic and the size and relationship between the graphic and type changes based on the physical structure of the plane.

Click here to see British Airway's fleet and how the logo changes slightly on each plane.

6 Tips for logo usage

The fewer the variations, the better. It is still ideal to have one version of your logo and be able to apply it in every case. This is the easiest way (especially for a small business owner) to ensure the correct usage and maximum impact.
But… make sure you have different versions that present your brand in the best light. Just like you have different color versions, based on ouput, you may need to have different lockups (the groupings of the typography and graphic). For example, if you only have a circular version of your logo, and you have a wide rectangular space to work with, your logo will appear very small. This is probably not ideal in a place where you are trying to maximize exposure. Having a secondary, wider version is good.
Consider the applications that are critical to your business. For someone like British Airways, a wide logo is great for placement on their planes. If you give away a lot of pens make sure you also have a good horizontal version of your logo. Think about the applications for your logo: large scale signage, uniforms, business cards, etc.
Create masters and then stick with it. Try not to make too many variations of your logo. This will weaken your identity. Ideally, have your designer create a complete logo library that includes things like: color version, black and white version, square avatars and logos with and without the tagline.
Prioritize your logo options. It’s best to consider one version of the logo to be the “master” and then the rest are secondary versions. The master has the ideal grouping of type and icon and is in your corporate colors. Always attempt to use the master first.
Make sure people understand the importance of consistency. Whether it’s the business owner, the marketing department personnel, or your web site designer, make sure the people who apply your logo have access to the right files and understand which version is the best to use.

Tags: British Airlines, FedEx logo, logo, logo design, logo shapes, square logos
Posted in Branding, Design Basics | 11 Comments »

Warren Jeffs: In the News, In Our Book Design Portfolio

August 12th, 2011

For the past few months we’ve been working with Chicago Review Press on their book, Answer Them Nothing: Bringing Down the Polygamous Empire of Warren Jeffs. It recently hit the book store shelves, right before Jeffs was convicted of child rape.

Chicago Review Press has been a client for years, in fact they were one of my very first clients when I started Visible Logic. We’re thrilled to have designed book covers and book interiors for them for nearly ten years.

The cover images for this book came from both Getty Images (stock image) and editorial sources. The design is fairly straightforward, but the blurred court officer in the background works to show that Jeffs is under trial or part of a hearing in this image.

In addition to the book cover we designed the interior of the book, which is mostly running text with a photo insert.

Here is a behind-the-scenes look at the process of designing a book cover.

The book cover design process

One question I always get is, “Do you read the books before designing the cover?” The truth is, that never happens. There is just not enough time (I’m a slow reader). I am often given the manuscript to read and I try to skim it. In addition, I’m usually given a brief overview such as a summary or sample chapter. In some cases, the text of the book is actually being written at the same time as we are developing the cover. In addition, most publishing companies have experienced marketing teams that have thoughts on what type of angle they want for the book.

For this book, we also designed and typeset the interior of the book. While I’m doing that, I often read some or all of the text. And I gotta say this, this book sucked me in, as there are many first person narratives from the women involved with Warren Jeffs and his religious community.

For the book cover design, the publisher knew that they wanted to feature Jeffs’ face, as it has been seen in the news frequently. Also, they wanted to cast him in some sort of menacing light, making him look a bit evil or at least wrong-doing.

We initially had a hard time locating photos that we were able to use, so that made the process a bit more tricky. Here are some of the earlier rounds of designs that Visible Logic presented.

Round 1, front cover design

Please click on any of the images for a larger view.

Round 1, concept 1

This first design follows fairly traditional conventions for a biography, in that the featured person’s face is large on the cover, portrait style. The original photo was of Jeffs with his lawyers’ hands on his shoulders. To de-emphasize that secondary person, and make the book look darker and his face shadowy, I blacked out the background with soft edges.

Round 1, Concept 2

The second design used a much more forceful looking photo of Jeffs. I tinted it red to make him look develish, and to suggest blood on his hands. I made the main title very small, while emphasizing his name in the sub-title. This publisher tends to prefer a more traditional treatment of the title and subtitle (ie larger title), so that didn’t go over too well.

Round 1, concept 3

The third design presented was an even more evil portrayal of Jeffs. We found an image that showed him with a very menacing look on his face, and I again turned it into a red and black duotone. I then slashed the photo apart, splicing the text within the image, to suggest the bringing down of the cult.

Round 1 feedback

Apparently I went a little too far with portraying Warren Jeffs as evil. While the publisher liked the tension in options 2 and 3, it was a little too over the top.

We took those concepts and scaled them back to make them less frightening. Below are a few of the versions shown. In reality, we go through many more iterations at this point, but this gives an overview of the process.

Round 2 book cover designs

Round 2, version 1

For this version, I went to a black and white version of the photo, and chose a portrait that was strong and serious, but not quite as menacing. The type still used the red and the photo was still chopped. Overall, the effect was still strong, but not as evil looking.

Round 2, version 2

This design continued to move to a more straightforward approach. The photo returned to a more traditional, full color look. The angled shapes and different sized typography were simplified.

Round 2, version 3

We continued to hear pressure from the marketing department to scale it back. So the design evolved to a more traditional biography type of look. The red swath and extreme close-up photography still kept a feeling of alarm.

New photos arrive, round 3

At the eleventh hour, the author and publisher were finally able to secure some additional photos. First came the main photo. There were several in this series, from a recent hearing, but this one worked the best.

Round 3, version 1

At this point, you can see clear ties with the final cover. However, additional photos then arrived and those were put into place in alongside to the main image. These new photos showed his compound as well as a woman in traditional dress taking an oath in court.

Round 3, round 2

With the new photos to work with, we adopted a more earthy color palette. It’s more suggestive of the dessert area that the compound is located in and less about the devilish look. In addition to the having the small images at the bottom (which is what was chosen as the final design), we tried them at the top. It made the main image of Jeffs too low on the cover, like he was falling off the page.

Round 3, version 3

We also tried this version, which brought back some of the angular box shapes from previous versions.

The final book cover design

At the top, you can see the final book cover design. In addition to the photo and layout changes, the publisher changed the wording of the title from Cult to Empire.

Most publishers try to complete the front cover well in advance of going to press. This allows them to market the book on their web site, to book sellers, etc. Once the interior book design is complete, we finish the back cover and spine. In this case, the book is a hard cover book so there are flaps as well.

Which book design did you like best? Do you think the publisher went with the right one?

Tags: book cover design, book design, book layout, Warren Jeffs
Posted in book design, Design Trends, Portfolio, Recent Work | 1 Comment »

What To Do When Your New Web Site Sucks

August 10th, 2011

Unfortunately, I’ve been hearing the same scenario frequently from some potential clients who are requesting estimates for web design work.

We just had our web site redesigned recently, but we hate it! Can you help us redesign and redevelop it?

With prospects like this, we usually set up a time to talk and walk through their current site. We look at what they like (if anything) and what’s not working. These are some of the typical things we see:

The design is just not working. These issues usually come back to the basics of good design. Making the most important things most prominent. Good, readable typography. Layouts that show balance. Color palettes that work together. Not using cheesy clipart or poor photography.
The web site is not user-friendly. Sometimes the navigation is difficult to use (example: roll-overs that are twitchy). Or, the content is not organized well so it is difficult to find. Or, the names used in the navigation are not clear what content they refer to.
The web site is supposed to have a Content Management System (CMS) but the client can’t figure out how to use it. The problem here can be caused by poor training, or poor expectations about what and how you should be able to update content. Or it may be that the developer chose a CMS that is not very user-friendly.
They are not seeing the results they expected. Web traffic may not be increasing, or viewers are giving them feedback that they cannot find the information they need.

I have a poorly designed site, what should I do?

As I review the site with the prospective client, the conversation often then goes like this:

“We just spent $5,000 on this site, can you use any of it? Because we can’t afford to re do it.”

Unfortunately, they are often stuck because there are so many problems with their web site that we can’t really salvage much. The design is poor, so we’ll need to start over again. Which means we can’t use the HTML or CSS code as we’ll be redeveloping that in conjunction with the new design. And, they don’t like their CMS so we’ll probably be introducing a new one, which means we’ll need to move all their data to a new system.

Since they’re not getting the results they want, we need to look even deeper. They often need a copywriter to make the text clearer or more compelling. They may be relying on product photography that is unprofessional and needs to be re-shot. They may need to rewrite headlines and page titles to make them more SEO-friendly.

The harsh reality: You just wasted a whole lot of money.

What we are often finding is that they need a $10,000 web site solution. And they already wasted $5,000 on a version that is worthless.

It’s usually a case where they didn’t fully understand their own web site needs. Or, they tried to cut corners by using a web design firm that could not handle all the tasks that go into a comprehensive web site design: good design, content review, user interface creation, content management recommendations and implementation, etc.

What to do?

I wish I had better solutions to offer.

Sticking with the same CMS system, and receiving training on how to use it, will definitely make redesign process more cost effective. Sometimes we take that route (but it has to be a CMS platform we understand).

Other times, we plan a complete web site redesign and redevelopment, but we do it in a phased approach. We streamline and reduce content and functionality for the initial launch and then build it back in as the client can afford it. It is far better to have a smaller but more professional and more effective web site.

Sometimes we have to just put the project on hold until they can afford the whole package.

Tags: web site design, website redesign
Posted in Business, Design Basics, Web Design | 1 Comment »

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