Endless LED
Brief from client
Client wanted a lightbulb (sigh, not like THAT'S ever been done before right?) and wanted to use eco friendly colors to stress the point that they save clients a large percentage of energy usage and cost.
So anyway I tried doing some clever things in there to make the light bulb less like every other freaking lightbulb logo out there. Tried to leave some of the image shape up to the viewer to connect the dots since that pulls in viewers and gives them a little "ah hah" moment. Used the infinity symbol as the illuminated center to play off of "Endless" and used leafs in the dome of the bulb that far away will either look like a solid block of color or glass. Wondering if maybe I should've made the leaf outlines a bit thicker so they read better at small scale? How are the fonts?
7 Comments
Sorry, but a first thing that I saw was light bulb # 8.
Why do you think the typography does not work? Would this help to stop the immediate reaction of reading an 8?
It stopped an 8 and start a propeller - now there is a light bulb with a propeller.
I'm sorry but this isn't working for me either.
Your symbol doesn't work because it's basically too complicated. With the thumbnail version, I see an 8 with an afro. These very veiny leaves totally disappear when the logo's reduced in size. They just complicate things.
The font work isn't really working because these two types don't compliment each other. It's just too bold sans serif fonts. You need to create more contrast, by pairing very different fonts, for example. Check out this site www.fontsinuse.com
I agree with you that the brief is a bit stupid. Especially when you make LEDs, what's the point of having a frigging lightbulb? But it's the kind of brief you get from 99Design, am I right? =)
Ok this is an issue I'm trying to understand and it's driving me crazy. How complex is too complex? When looking at sites like
https://www.logolounge.com/trend-reports.asp
or taking a look at just about any craft brewery logo:
https://cdn.evbuc.com/eventlogos/54341744/sunking.jpg
http://99designs.com/designer-blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/beer3.png
It seems like the more and more reviews and articles I read the more I'm hearing "needing to deal with a logo that functions in one color is not a rule anymore" or I see tons of detailed logos (if it's appropriate for the brand). On another website similar to this one I had made a comment on a logo saying to maybe simplify it more and was responded to by someone else saying that while yes this is a basic rule of graphic design the world is changing with production of print materials and also outlets where we would ever need a small scale logo (referencing that small scale logos are being replaced by icons...such at the "G" for google instead of the whole wordmark, things of this nature). That person said that trends are also changing and detailed logos are fine for certain brands. So i'm just trying to get a better grasp on this, because it seems on brands of the world the overwhelming feedback on many logos including my own is to simplify simplify simplify. Then I go to another site and they say that is old school and not always the case anymore. What are your thoughts on that?
My general opinion on this would be that if you want a logo to work over all types of media it should be kept relatively simple especially if its needed to go on small things. I agree that a lot of logos are becoming more detailed but they are done in a much better way than how you have produced yours. if you do a google search for detailed logos you will see some great logos there that have lots of detail in them but still look good in thumbnail size. Its all about how you create the details in the first place and getting that fine balance from stopping it becoming too detailed. Also Shawali made a good point about your symbol having to many elements i.e. leafs, 8 and light bulb. Try to stick to one element or combine more than one element together so that it still looks like one element, not 3 separate objects. I hope this gives you a better understanding. :)
Simple or not simple is a question you are going to have to develop an instinct for. A good example is your logo here, you have to think about the end user, not the client but the client's customer. If this is going on products displayed on a shelf somewhere like Home Depot there are 100 competing products displayed there. You have a split-second to get your customers attention and retain recognition for their next visit. Same with TV spots, internet ads and so on, that's why people say keep it simple on something that relies heavy on brand recognition. Some designers will point to a typical craft beer label as an argument for a complicated logo, but I'd like to point out that's a label, part of a brand identity but not a logo. I have noticed this is a source of confusion among some of my mentees (I hate that word), logo v.s. brand identity. For what you have here your brand identity could be a complicated leaf pattern on packaging, promos or POP displays, but the logo would be simple and stand out for recognition and retention. Same logic may not apply to the complicated beer logo/label, how many times have you been standing in front of a shelf full of different bottles thinking to yourself "I know it had a horse on the label" as you search for that beer you had a couple of weeks ago.
You may take the time to search for a beer, but not for light bulbs.