It’s not over…’till it’s over, they say. This process of inviting input online, is a very interesting form of interaction. A reason why someone likes one design vs. another is very, well, personal. Design is abstract. Why do we respond to certain colors? Why does something just “feel right”, yet you can’t pinpoint what it is? Why does someone else like another design better? You will always get different opinions on design. Especially, if you invite it.

Take the recent uproar on The Gap logo. The main reason that it became so controversial, was not that people hated the new one, but it was that they weren’t prepared for the change. The old logo was here one day, and a new one appeared the next day. There apparently wasn’t any press on the new transition, or why they were doing it. Transition is the key word. People have a hard time with change. So even though we have evolved from wheels made of stone, like on Fred Flintstone’s car, we sometimes just need to be brought along, or included, in what’s next.

The premise of creating a logo online through Facebook was a daunting thought to me–after I decided to do it. It created a very vulnerable environment for me, opening up to the opinions of others, none of whom were the actual client. “What have I done?” I thought to myself. However, it did do something new and interesting. It included people in the process of change.

The reality? It was an incredibly fun project for many reasons. 1). I had an amazing client to work with, that actually had a marketing background, so we were in simpatico on the design process. Mucho kudos to Mary Anne Davis of Madison Designs Jewelry! 2.) I had such positive, insightful and honest input from the community of people who took the time to make comments on the Brook Design Group Facebook page…thanks so much. I hope that I replied in an equally responsive way. After all, this IS how we build community–through online social networking or offline, over our neighbor’s fence.

The final design that Mary Anne chose is below, including the last little “tweaks”. Thanks to Brenda Horton of Nevada County Online Business Strategies Group for her continued support and infectious enthusiasm. Next meeting, I’m buying HER lunch!

The Final Logo!

There’s the story of filling a bucket with tiny pebbles, that when sifting and sifting out the sand, you wind up with a few large beauties. And so goes the process of designing a logo. Why does one lettering style works better than another? Why does the particular arrangement of a group of letters start to look exciting, compared to what might otherwise be a ho-hum design? Or why does one particular letter, with a tweak here, an added design there, and packaged into a concise symbol, seem to be the icing on the cake? Sometimes it’s hard to understand, let alone rationalize why a certain logo design works, or why it doesn’t. The one thing we do know, is that we all respond to good design and strong branding, whether we realize it or not. It’s why we choose one brand on the shelf over another. It’s why (among other reasons) we feel better in one vehicle over another. And why, when we are making a choice with going with “the best”, we are influenced by the overall “feeling” that we get from a particular product. This “feeling” is the brand–the promise of an experience. And it is the job of a good logo design, to reflect that brand.

The original goal of the brand of Madison Designs Jewelry, was to look elegant, yet affordable, in a design that would be one-of-a-kind. Below are the large pebbles that we sifted down to. To see the grains of sand that it took to get there, read the other posts…then, you decide. If you’d like to cast your vote, please go to Brook Design Group’s Facebook page, and enter your comments, and we’ll see if the client agrees with you.

Until then, back to the sandbox.

The Incredible Logo Makeover, Final Choice Logos

The last design for the Incredible Logo Makeover project that I started nearly 3 weeks ago…this is the part that gets interesting. Through the natural process of designing a logo, many of the elements that worked in the previous designs rise to the top (and the ones that didn’t, bite the dust!). It’s always a matter of sorting out what visually is most appealing, and also accomplishes the original criteria (see blog below, “In the Beginning“). Sometimes the last design is the most effective…yet then again, the first design inspiration can be just as strong. Go figure. Take a look at the final process below, and you decide.

I will be posting the final 3 choices on my Brook Design Group Facebook page on Monday. So check back in to make your vote…yet most importantly, which one the actual client, Mary Anne Davis of Madison Designs Jewelry, chooses in the end.

The Incredible Logo Makover, Design #3 Process

Sometimes it’s hard to stand back, and realize all of the steps I go through when doing a logo design. I just assume all designers do this. Do they? It’s great to fall back on drawing something myself, when I can’t find a font or design that exists. Design #2 below details that process. I really hope that drawing classes come back into primary schools someday, as it’s an invaluable tool for simple communication, if nothing else. Take a look at my designs below, and feel free to make a comment on my Brook Design Group Facebook page.

The Incredible Logo Makeover, Design #2 Process

The Incredible Logo Makeover, Design #2 Process

After reviewing my pencil sketches, I’ve started on the first design, for Madison Designs “Logo Makeover”. Since I wanted to document each step I go through for the viewer, I was amazed at my own process of exploring and “tweaking” a design, until I am happy with it. (this doesn’t include all of the sketches I did that have not been shown here either!). Here’s a bit of the process, though the final design that I am presenting for Design #1. There will be 2 other designs presented in this project. For a better view, or to make a comment (or watch other’s comments), go to the Brook Design Group Facebook page and join in the fun (I hope!).

Hard to believe that anyone still does pencil sketches anymore? Since my background in art school focused heavily on doing rough “comps”, we learned how to quickly rough out lettering and design, before doing a final presentation in markers (yes, in markers!) for the client. Even though the computer allows you to do design work in a finished mode, I love to doodle before I work in the computer. The value? First, it’s a quick “mind dump” of everything that comes to mind for the project (you never know what gem might come out of it). Second, it allows you to quickly play without constraints (nothing more frustrating than a program that won’t quite do what you want). Last, it encourages me to use some form of hand-drawn art in my design in the end, rather than just using a font and a stock illustration from the internet, thus creating a logo that is unique and trademarkable.

For Madison Designs Jewelry, I had images in my mind as soon as I met with Mary Anne. The challenge was to get them onto paper as soon as I could, to allow everything to be considered. These are (only) a few of my first sketches.

My criteria was:

–to create a unique logo, as opposed to the stock font she currently uses

–to appeal to women age 20 and up

–to look beautiful, yet affordable

–to have a configuration that would work well in any format, including in a Facebook icon format

Options:

–a logotype (an alteration of fonts that creates a-one-of-a-kind lettering configuration)

–and/or a stand-alone symbol (in this case, the “M”)

Stay tuned for refinements that will follow, in three final designs for Mary to choose from (comments are welcome on my Brook Design Group Facebook page). (see earlier posts on how this project got started!)