4 ms·

Rules of Logo Design

35 points by jwilliams 18y ago

fjsjex 18y ago
"Use sharp lines for sharp businesses, smooth lines for smooth businesses." What is that supposed to mean?
- whacked_new 18y ago
  use vague descriptions for va... ... blog articles.
eventhough 18y ago
Too many rules. Examples would work better than a list of rules.
- jfornear 18y ago
  I'm sure you are supposed to assume he follows his own rules and that examples are in his portfolio. That being said, after looking at his portfolio, I was not impressed. Some of the logos he created did not seem memorable at all, had unnecessary detail, etc. You can't just follow a set of rules to come up with a nice logo. You kind of need to have talent and an eye for colors, typography, etc. Nevertheless, give him credit for listing out some helpful things to keep in mind for designing things. The one thing I would say differently is that if you really like a certain logo's style, it isn't a crime to adopt similar styles for your own. All art is influenced by others in some way, and don't stick with something that sucks merely because it's 'original'.
  - jwilliams 18y ago
    Yeah. The most interesting ones were ones of practice rather than design - check it in b&w, scale it, mirror it, etc. All perhaps obvious to many.
  - reazalun 18y ago
    IMHO, being "memorable" is something objective. Even badly designed logos can become very memorable over time.
huhtenberg 18y ago
Hmm .. let's see .. rules demand logo to be recognizable, unique, timeless, bold, confident, surprising in presentation, solid, simple, not distracting and balanced visually. If you are having trouble with memorizing all these cool adverbs, just stick to the rule #42 .. ready ? .. It should be honest in it's representation. A list that is perfect in its complete and utter uselessness.
- apmee 18y ago
  Pedantry Corner: They're adjectives, not adverbs.
  - huhtenberg 18y ago
    Damn right they are :)
maxklein 18y ago
His logos suck. A good logo should be recognized from it's outline - like BMW, IBM, Apple, Mercedes, the Nazi Party. Using a nice font and adding a butterfly is not a good logo. So I prefer not to take advice from someone who is not even particularly good.
neilk 18y ago
Every successful design breaks at least one "rule". Because information is retained when it's distinct from the norm. Talent in design consists not in following rules but knowing when and how a rule can be broken. IBM's logo is way too busy. Apple's original logo has too many colors and isn't serious enough. GE is almost antique. UPS has that dull brown.
manny 18y ago
Was I the only one who read this as "Rules of Lego Design" only to have my excitement crushed into a fine powder?

35 points by jwilliams 18y ago

fjsjex 18y ago

"Use sharp lines for sharp businesses, smooth lines for smooth businesses." What is that supposed to mean?

whacked_new 18y ago
use vague descriptions for va... ... blog articles.

eventhough 18y ago

Too many rules. Examples would work better than a list of rules.

jfornear 18y ago
I'm sure you are supposed to assume he follows his own rules and that examples are in his portfolio. That being said, after looking at his portfolio, I was not impressed. Some of the logos he created did not seem memorable at all, had unnecessary detail, etc. You can't just follow a set of rules to come up with a nice logo. You kind of need to have talent and an eye for colors, typography, etc. Nevertheless, give him credit for listing out some helpful things to keep in mind for designing things. The one thing I would say differently is that if you really like a certain logo's style, it isn't a crime to adopt similar styles for your own. All art is influenced by others in some way, and don't stick with something that sucks merely because it's 'original'.
- jwilliams 18y ago
  Yeah. The most interesting ones were ones of practice rather than design - check it in b&w, scale it, mirror it, etc. All perhaps obvious to many.
- reazalun 18y ago
  IMHO, being "memorable" is something objective. Even badly designed logos can become very memorable over time.

huhtenberg 18y ago

Hmm .. let's see .. rules demand logo to be recognizable, unique, timeless, bold, confident, surprising in presentation, solid, simple, not distracting and balanced visually. If you are having trouble with memorizing all these cool adverbs, just stick to the rule #42 .. ready ? .. It should be honest in it's representation. A list that is perfect in its complete and utter uselessness.

apmee 18y ago
Pedantry Corner: They're adjectives, not adverbs.
- huhtenberg 18y ago
  Damn right they are :)

maxklein 18y ago

His logos suck. A good logo should be recognized from it's outline - like BMW, IBM, Apple, Mercedes, the Nazi Party. Using a nice font and adding a butterfly is not a good logo. So I prefer not to take advice from someone who is not even particularly good.

neilk 18y ago

Every successful design breaks at least one "rule". Because information is retained when it's distinct from the norm. Talent in design consists not in following rules but knowing when and how a rule can be broken. IBM's logo is way too busy. Apple's original logo has too many colors and isn't serious enough. GE is almost antique. UPS has that dull brown.

manny 18y ago

Was I the only one who read this as "Rules of Lego Design" only to have my excitement crushed into a fine powder?