| logos and design - important guidelines to preserve the authentic
character
>> the logo stands for the firm as such and is as such related to the
company in the eye of the public. The design should breathe the
industry it is in and reflect the taste and expectations of the
target group. It should generate trust and communicate stability
and endurance. A perfect logo lets clients associate with it and
therefore with the firm. Additionally it should have unique
identifying elements and be designed for a long term usage. However
it takes more than simply a good logo to achieve branding in a
broad sense.
Test the design of the logo on the message it communicates to the
target group. Having a logo that is sorted by 80 people to a toy
shop, when only 100 are interviewed, but the firm is active in
Content Syndication, then this would be stated as a negative test
result. To change a logo that is even in such a bad shape needs a
sensible approach because a logo is not something you can just dump
without any consequences.
I really do not like my logo
We are approached many times by people that do not like their logo
at all. They bought a real cheap logo to start with and did not
recognize then the important contribution it has to their business.
Or they have an own story related in their memory to the logo which
is not perceived by their clients at all and therefore does not
have the desired impact. A logo is like a clingy spouse, when
established as the symbol for your company, hard to get rid off.
When you have a firm that is already established for more than 2
years, counting a number of steady clients your own, do not change
the logo too drastically but always leave the identifying factor
untouched so the logo looks rejuvenated or grown up, balanced,
stabile and credible but the basic forms should be still there.
When a logo is changed too often the company image is projected as
to be fickle and clients might think the business is not very
dependable or consider it as financially unstable.
File format of logos and CMYK color mode
All logos designed by Visual Orange are delivered as a vector
graphic to make usage for a wide variety of media channels
available. Vector graphics can be enlarged without loosing quality
and sharpness ...and your needs and the memory of your workstation
are the only limits to blow this logo up.
For print you require the file in CMYK to be able to take it to the
printer and receive a perfect print result. It is therefore very
important to choose a color scheme that is available in offset
printing to vibrate the true colors and to achieve consistent print
results. These colors are mostly grouped in Custom Color Systems.
Ask your printer which one he uses and what the output resolution
and other settings should be. There are a whole range used, also
depending on your location defines which Custom Color is used most
commonly and also your specific target media plays a major role,
like print for:
- continuous stationery
- or gloss art paper prints
- natural paper
- and newsprint.
Custom Color Systems for printing your logo
- The PANTONE System can render 1114 CMYK colors and is used for
spot-color reproduction.
- The FOCOLTONE System can render 763 CMYK colors.
- The HKS swatches System, mostly used in Europe has a specified CMYK
equivalent.
- The ANPA-COLOR System mostly used for newspaper applications.
- The TOYO Color Finder 1050 System used in Japan.
- TRUMATCH Color System is able to achieve 2000, computer-generated
colors. Mostly used in USA.
Insisting on a color scheme that does not fulfill these
requirements will produce dissatisfying print results and colors
will loose their vibrancy and unique identifying factor when
printed. We get confronted with this fact quite frequently when
logos are ordered and designed for the web only, as they are
cheaper, but when the business takes off and print is more and more
required then the limiting borders are reached quickly. Therefore
taking good care of your business is mirrored in the care you
dedicate to your logo.
Logos and stationery for digital printing
