What is logo ?

A logo is an identifying symbol .

A logo is the image which identifies an company, organization, product by the use of a symbol
signature or mark

It is face for the personality

Face = logo

Brand= personality

What are logos for?

logos are meant to represent

The identity of an organization ,product, brand or idea

The logo is an shorthand way of referring to a company, organization, product

They provide an anchor point for people to recognize the brands

Recognition

You do great work. People need to know it’s you doing it.

Differentiation

There are others doing similar work. But they aren’t you.

Visual Shorthand

“What type of organization is this? Ah, I can tell from the logo.”

Credibility

“Is this a real organization or just someone with a website?”

Organizational Pride

You know who you are as a collection of people. This is who

you are under one banner.

What are the social and economical contexts of logo design ?

The logos originate from pre historic wall drawings of early humans

Depicting hunting scenes ,animals and other activities of their life

After humans settled down and started farming ,there arose a need for different

Trades and artisanal work, thus with growing commerce ,competition and diversification need for
standing out tradesmen and artisans used different symbols to differentiate and make themselves
recognizable in market economy.

Also we see that in when human societies reorganized themselves as tribes, nations, ,kingdoms and
empires the Emperors, Kings, Sovereigns & ruling classes ,aristocracy started using certain symbols
,insignias, emblems etc. to differentiate themselves from the ruled and common people for
representing their wealth, power and authority also as most of the nobility and aristocracy was
heavily involved in military of the ruler as warriors and commanders as they lead largely illiterate
soldiers they had to use visual signifiers for identification of enemy and friends on battlefield

The need for logos and visual symbols also came out from the necessity to communicate the

Messages in society where literacy is not very widespread

The development of language also went from pictorial to abstract as can be seen in the examples of

Egyptians developing hieroglyphics, a formal writing system, where images represented words or
sounds, but they were also prolific artists. Their paintings and sculpture included specific symbolic
images and colours that held specific meanings.

During the same timeframe, the roots of calligraphy in the form of characters developed in China.

The Indus valley civilization script too is a pictorial script ,

Even now in modern roman , Devanagari and all other scripts the alphabet or grapheme is a pictorial
representation of sounds and vowels in a particular language

What are different types of logos

Symbolic & descriptive

Wordmarks /logotypes

Where letters and fonts are used as logo elements

Pictorial where a

Abstract iconography/ideograph
Logo systems/Identity System/Theme

How is a logo made ?

Structure of a Logo
Logos are usually some combination of three elements:

the symbol, the wordmark and the tagline.

Concept part

1. Think “essence,” not “literal.”

Avoid thinking of the logo as a
montage of all your work or your vision. But a good logo needs to be
something symbolic that captures the essence of who you are, without spelling it
out
2. Think about things like “Tone,” “Mood” and “Association.”
A good logo engages emotions. People will shape their
perceptions from the overall subtle combination of each aspect, and not just from
the individual elements.

. 3. Identify your primary audience

The logo needs to work for everyone but
you may need to identify who your primary audience is.
4. It’s not about you.
Your logo is about how your organization is to be perceived by your target
audience and not about your personal likes and dislikes as a designer. It should reflect the
purposes of client or organization for which the logo is being made
Technical Part
Research
Analyse and define what
you are trying to represent
Think, write, and sketch
Develop a list of attributes
and characteristics that best
represent your goals
Every thought and idea is
relevant in this stage and brainstorm

Think about fonts

• Type the name of your company, product, or organization in
several different fonts. The personality and attitude change with
each font.
• Experiment with serif, sans serif, and novelty typefaces.
Think of the type as an image.
• Choose a few directions that seem appropriate, and start
combining type with icons or symbols.
• Try typing in uppercase and lowercase. Capital letters can make
a mark look more serious or formal, while lowercase letters often
feel more casual and relaxed.

Turn your ideas into forms and identify colour

• Try starting with icons and symbols that are recognizable,
but add a personal twist for your company, logo, or group.
• Combine letterforms with graphic and color elements to create
a unique logotype.
• There are many viable solutions when designing a logo.
Don’t be afraid to try several different directions.

example of exploration process

Finalize design
Think about how your logo will be used and create a simple logo to avoid potential problems
as your logo goes public.
Does the logo work well in different colors?
Is the logo legible at small sizes?

GOLDEN RULES OF LOGO DESIGN

A logo should clearly represent an organization’s identity.

Keep it simple, keep it simple, keep it simple

Logos should be effective at a large and small scale

Logos should be effective in colour and black & white

Not a thumb rule but two colors are used by 95 percent of the most recognizable logos
It should be memorable
It should be organization ,product appropriate