Logos Must be Adaptable
Logo design is a deceptively in-depth process requiring research, conceptualizing, mock-ups, revisions, etc. Nothing new to the seasoned design professional. Adaptability is key when creating a logo; it is perhaps the most important characteristic necessary for a solid logo. I recently finished work on a new logo for Dan, The Aquarium Maintenance Man, which I’m going to use to illustrate why adaptability is so important.
Dan likes getting paid; he has to have some way to bill his clients. Naturally, he writes up an invoice for his services. Let’s say Dan’s business starts growing and he wants some nice custom invoices with his logo on it, but he doesn’t want to pay an arm and a leg for them. Multi-color printing costs a lot more than 1 color. Also, invoices need to be fax-able (yes, people still do use fax machines, especially lawyers); color & multi-shade documents don’t fax too well. Take your logo and make it solid black. One color, no shades. Also size it down to fit in a 1.5″ square space.
Dan likes repeat business. He has to have some way for his clients to keep his contact information handy. He orders some calling cards that he can leave with clients and tells them to keep it with their aquarium supplies. Take your logo and put it in a 3.5″ x 2″ space with a 0.25″ margin. (standard business card specs). Make sure to include Dan’s phone number in there too.
Dan has a good customer base now and buys a new van to carry all his cleaning supplies and tools around in. He doesn’t want to look like a creepy van stalker, so he wants his logo on the van. Car decals are done with vinyl. He can get either a graphic printed on a large sheet of vinyl or cutout pieces of single-color vinyl. Single color vinyl happens to be cheaper per square foot and Dan likes saving money. Dan likes new customers too, so also make sure to put his phone number on the van somewhere as well.Take your logo and put it on this van using only flat colors:
Now ask yourself these questions: Does my logo retain the same feel on all of them? Does my logo retain the same visual identity on all of them? Is the logo text big enough on all of them? If my logo went through a fax machine, what would happen to it? What would it look like on a computer monitor? What about a cell phone screen? Can it be used on a web page? If that van drove by, could I read it in 5 seconds or less? How many different fonts am I using? Can I easily read the smallest letters at all possible sizes the logo might be used at? Does the logo contrast well on white? What happens if I put the logo on top of a photo, can I still read it easily? What if I make the logo 1 color only; what’s it look like when it’s just white, just black?
If you can confidently answer “yes” to all these questions, start asking other people as well. Design, especially logos, have to be successfully perceived by a very wide range of viewers, not just you. Design is not just art, it is the conveyance of information. It needs to be understood by “everyone.” Design is the art of explanation.