Are logos overrated?
The Nike swoosh when first created in 1973 by a graphic design student wasn't received very well. It was more like, "I guess that one will work." But over the long haul, through advertising, through it being placed on a good shoe it gained popularity.
Graphic designer, Michael Bierut says, "Logos are really about being empty vessels and then you pour the meaning into them." He argues that people getting into arguments over logo design are misguided. "They think they're engaged in judging a diving competition, but really they're in a swimming competition. It's not what kind of splash you make in the water, but how long you keep your head above the water." Logos need to be designed for the long haul not for a few people that get to vote on it to like today. What makes a truly great logo?
This makes me think of the updating of Precision Planting's logo that happened about 4 years ago. I believe it was necessary, but perhaps not for the same reason as others. We needed a mark that could stand on its own and also two versions of the logo that could be used when needed, stacked and all on one line. Our old logo also had challenging colors and didn't reproduce well when it got really small. I believe we addressed all of these issues while still keeping with some of the original essence of the first logo, but we did lose the "see say" of Precision Planting with the evenly spaced plants and the line below them. Was this a good decision? We'll see.
Graphic designer, Michael Bierut says, "Logos are really about being empty vessels and then you pour the meaning into them." He argues that people getting into arguments over logo design are misguided. "They think they're engaged in judging a diving competition, but really they're in a swimming competition. It's not what kind of splash you make in the water, but how long you keep your head above the water." Logos need to be designed for the long haul not for a few people that get to vote on it to like today. What makes a truly great logo?
This makes me think of the updating of Precision Planting's logo that happened about 4 years ago. I believe it was necessary, but perhaps not for the same reason as others. We needed a mark that could stand on its own and also two versions of the logo that could be used when needed, stacked and all on one line. Our old logo also had challenging colors and didn't reproduce well when it got really small. I believe we addressed all of these issues while still keeping with some of the original essence of the first logo, but we did lose the "see say" of Precision Planting with the evenly spaced plants and the line below them. Was this a good decision? We'll see.