We’ve featured in loads of books but haven’t really had the chance to chat about anything in depth. Paul made a really good job of this interview about logos and brand identity.
1. What do you think makes a good logo?
I think there are changing attributes to what makes a good logo. If we talk about it within the context of companies and products it’s hard not to mention brand. Historically you can look back at logo design and appreciate certain logos for having a clever idea or the style of mark making, but as our awareness of design and graphic language becomes more sophisticated, logo design is evermore reliant on the backing of a sound brand. One should inform the other and so the root of this stems from a sound business idea before a designer even puts pen to paper. A good logo should always try to be different, innovative and communicate the values of its owner.
I think there are changing attributes to what makes a good logo. If we talk about it within the context of companies and products it’s hard not to mention brand. Historically you can look back at logo design and appreciate certain logos for having a clever idea or the style of mark making, but as our awareness of design and graphic language becomes more sophisticated, logo design is evermore reliant on the backing of a sound brand. One should inform the other and so the root of this stems from a sound business idea before a designer even puts pen to paper. A good logo should always try to be different, innovative and communicate the values of its owner.
2. Which are your favourite three logos?
As a student I always loved the PTT postmark designed by Studio Dumbar. Although controlled in its execution, the application of the mark and identity is very freeform and doesn’t conform to the dogmatic rules of applying a corporate mark. I also like it because there was lots of last minute uncertainty from the client over whether the identity was right for them, but time and budget was exhausted, so the project went through unscathed and was a resounding success.
As a student I always loved the PTT postmark designed by Studio Dumbar. Although controlled in its execution, the application of the mark and identity is very freeform and doesn’t conform to the dogmatic rules of applying a corporate mark. I also like it because there was lots of last minute uncertainty from the client over whether the identity was right for them, but time and budget was exhausted, so the project went through unscathed and was a resounding success.
My second choice is the recent identity for the Walker Arts Center. This is not actually a logo, but a design kit of parts consisting of patterns and colours that contain words which can be composed to suit different applications. I like the ‘paint by numbers’ playfulness of the idea. I also like the boldness of an arts organisation being brave enough to want to create a very visible graphic language of their own without fear of overwhelming the artists work and exhibits.
My final choice is very different from the previous two and a return to a more traditional approach to logo design. It’s for the National Interpreting service recently designed by Browns. Designing a logo for an organisation that works in the business of multiple languages is a difficult task. Browns created a simple singular logo that uses multilingual symbols and characters added to the company name to convey the service of the organisation. As an idea it translates universally, without the need to replicate the logo in different languages. It’s a great example of solving a seemingly complex problem with a simple elegant solution.
3. What has been your most successful logo?
It would have to be a logo that we designed together a few years before we founded Peter and Paul. The client was Manchester Business School (MBS). MBS is renowned for a unique free thinking approach to lectures, encouraging open forums for debate and new ideas between teachers and students, known within MBS as the ‘Manchester Method’.
It would have to be a logo that we designed together a few years before we founded Peter and Paul. The client was Manchester Business School (MBS). MBS is renowned for a unique free thinking approach to lectures, encouraging open forums for debate and new ideas between teachers and students, known within MBS as the ‘Manchester Method’.
The concept was developed around this freethinking approach. The mark consisted of a purple hand drawn square that represented MBS and which alumni, academics and students at the school would contribute ideas to in the form of sketched doodles, drawing over, around and inside the box to turn the object into something new. The more interesting and innovative doodles were selected to be applied to a range of applications from signage to prospectuses. Before this project, the way in which we thought about logo identity work had been very formulaic but here we saw an opportunity to tear up the corporate manual. For us it had a profound effect on how we approached identity work from then on.
4. When approaching the design of a logo what inspires you?
The client or product is always the starting point for inspiration. Our process of working is often more instinctive than strategic. If the client has something interesting to say or communicate and you start the beginnings of a collaborative relationship with them the solution can often appear before you leave the meeting room. If this happens it’s a matter of crafting and the refining the ideas to see if they work, if not it’s a few more late nights!!!
The client or product is always the starting point for inspiration. Our process of working is often more instinctive than strategic. If the client has something interesting to say or communicate and you start the beginnings of a collaborative relationship with them the solution can often appear before you leave the meeting room. If this happens it’s a matter of crafting and the refining the ideas to see if they work, if not it’s a few more late nights!!!
5. In some cases there are many places that a logo may need to be applied – how much of a consideration is that when designing a logo?
It’s always a consideration more so now than ever as there are many other potential applications and platforms where a logo must work. In some ways it has also become easier as their seems to be a shifting trend in businesses buying into the idea that their mark can be malleable, evolve and grow as there business does. Which may mean designing a logo with no set typeface, or an unlimited range of colours, or no logo at all. On the whole clients now seem to accept there are fewer rules in logo and identity work.
It’s always a consideration more so now than ever as there are many other potential applications and platforms where a logo must work. In some ways it has also become easier as their seems to be a shifting trend in businesses buying into the idea that their mark can be malleable, evolve and grow as there business does. Which may mean designing a logo with no set typeface, or an unlimited range of colours, or no logo at all. On the whole clients now seem to accept there are fewer rules in logo and identity work.
6. What is the most important job for a logo to do?
To be noticed, to be engaging, to be remembered.
To be noticed, to be engaging, to be remembered.
No comments:
Post a Comment