By Steve Nubie
Entrepreneur's Start-Ups magazine - September 2000
Sometime during the process of starting your
business, the words "do logo" will appear on your to-do list, if
they haven't already. It's exciting during those early days to
watch your logo develop into something worthy of displaying, like
a flag for your company. The question you have to ask yourself
is whether that combination of artwork and typography will stand
up through the years. You have to get it right the first time.
That's why we're engaging in Logo 101 here.
Using the example of "Robinhood Feast," a restaurant for which
I helped develop a logo several years ago, I'll walk you through
the steps from A to Z of designing a powerful logo.
According to Tom Charvat, a former senior
vice president at brand-marketing firm Frankel & Co. in Chicago
who helped with this project, a logo is typically a combination
of four elements: a brand name, typography, a brandmark (optional)
and trade dress (see Step 4-trade dress involves a lockup of artwork
and specific colors).
1. Your first step in the process is hopefully
done: You've already selected a brand name. We've selected Robinhood
Feast. This choice was driven by the business plan, which defined
the business as "a restaurant established in 1992 on the shores
of a Michigan lake, where the meals are served on long, planked
tables with robust servings, steins of beer and wine in glazed
mugs, all designed to appeal to people who enjoy the outdoors,
fish and game." All those considerations are important and guide
other decisions, beginning with step two: typography.
2. As this article demonstrates, different
type fonts impart very definite characteristics about the brand
name. "You need to select typography that fits with your brand
character with an eye toward readability," says Charvat. "Remember
that your logo will have to extend to various applications, from
signage to stationery." We toyed with a few different type styles,
such as Old World type, before deciding on this one, chosen for
its clarity and the traditional look of the serif (the lines at
the top and bottom of the letters).
3. This step is optional: developing a brandmark.
A brandmark is a symbol that complements an aspect of your business
or service such as speed, quality, value or personality. The symbol
we've chosen works on a number of levels. It includes an arrow
icon that evokes the legendary Robin Hood personality. The head
and tail of the arrow also work with the structure of a fish, representing
the seafood aspect of the menu and the restaurant's outdoors atmosphere.
You could also argue that the arrow represents speed of service
(straight as an arrow, right to your table), but the imagery of
the arrow/fish is what really drove the decision.
4. Step 4 begins with a combination of the
selected type font with the brandmark icon to create a lockup.
Charvat describes it this way: "I chose the shape of a platter
to lockup the elements within a restaurant theme and to evoke large
helpings." This example demonstrates the ability of a good lockup
to create a sense of cohesion between the elements. This lockup
also will eventually become the template for the colors of your
new brand identity.
Here again, look at the color(s) needed to
reflect the brand attributes. Earth tones made an easy-on-the-eye
palette, and numerous variations of browns, greens and neutrals
like white and black were considered (and used). The final colors
applied to the lockup of the brandmark and typography ultimately
define the trade dress of the logo.
One thing you need to watch out for as you
explore color options is cost. "A five-color logo may look terrific
on paper but can be extremely expensive to produce and will disappoint
in applications that allow only one or two colors," Charvat warns.
Try not to exceed three colors unless you decide it's absolutely
necessary. You should also perform a logo color test like the one
mentioned in "Color Me Happy".
It's not a bad idea to solicit some opinions
at this point in your logo's production, particularly from potential
customers and experienced advisors. If you decide to design the
logo yourself, you can use a program like Adobe Illustrator, but
you'll still want to seek professional advice from a designer or
a printer in order to anticipate any potential problems you might
have with printing and costs. It's also important to work closely
with a trademark attorney, like you did when you developed your
brand name for your new business.
Sounds easy, doesn't it? It can be. Just
remember to keep your customers and the nature of your business
in mind when you put it all together. In time, you will have succeeded
in building equity in your trademark, and it will become a positive
and recognizable symbol of your product or service. When that happens,
cross it off your to-do list.
Color Me Happy
Your logo can appear on a variety of media:
signage, advertising, stationery, delivery vehicles and packaging,
to name just a few. Remember that some of those applications, like
black-and-white newspaper ads, have production limitations. Make
sure you do a color study. Look at your logo in one-, two- and
three-color versions.
Also, remember to do a trademark search and
register your new trademark. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
(www.uspto.gov) is a good place
to start.
Corporate
Identity Design 
