a guide to creating

iconic brand identities

from david airey
Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities

David Airey

New Riders
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Berkeley, CA 94710
510/524-2178
510/524-2221 (fax)

Find us on the Web at: www.newriders.com

To report errors, please send a note to errata@peachpit.com

New Riders is an imprint of Peachpit, a division of Pearson Education

Copyright © 2010 by David Airey

Acquisitions editor: Nikki Echler McDonald

Development editors: Robin Drake and Jill Marts Lodwig
Production editor: Cory Borman
Indexer: Jack Lewis
Cover and interior design: David Airey

Notice of rights
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by
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excerpts, contact permissions@peachpit.com.

Notice of liability
The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis without warranty. While every
precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit
shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or
alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the
computer software and hardware products described in it.

Trademarks
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products
are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit
was aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the
trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in
editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement
of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey
endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

ISBN 13 978-0-321-66076-3
ISBN 10 0-321-66076-5

987654321

Printed and bound in the United States of America

About the author

David Airey, a graphic designer from Northern

Ireland, has been intrigued by brand identity since
the 1990s, when he enrolled in his first graphic
design course. Having honed his skills working in
the United Kingdom and the United States, he then
made a conscious choice to specialize in brand
identity design, where his passion lies.

Self-employed since 2005, David has amassed an

impressive global client list, including the likes of
Yellow PagesTM (Canada), Giacom (England), and
Berthier Associates (Japan).

He writes two of the most popular graphic design

blogs on the Internet, logodesignlove.com and
davidairey.com, attracting more than 250,000
online visitors per month and approximately
1 million monthly page views.
Contributors (a huge thanks)

160over90 160over90.com
300million 300million.com
Andrew Sabatier andrewsabatier.com
biz-R biz-r.co.uk
Bunch bunchdesign.com
Fertig Design fertigdesign.com
Gerard Huerta gerardhuerta.com
id29 id29.com
Ivan Chermayeff cgstudionyc.com
Jerry Kuyper jerrykuyper.com
Jonathan Selikoff selikoffco.com
Josiah Jost siahdesign.com
Kevin Burr ocularink.com
Landor landor.com
Lindon Leader leadercreative.com
Logo Motive Designs logomotive.net
Maggie Macnab macnabdesign.com
Malcolm Grear Designers mgrear.com
Michael Kosmicki hellosubsist.com
Mike Rohde rohdesign.com
Moon Brand moonbrand.com
Muamer Adilovic muameradilovic.com
Nancy Wu nancywudesign.com
nido thisisnido.com
Roy Smith roysmithdesign.com
Rudd Studio ruddstudio.com
smashLAB smashlab.com
SomeOne someoneinlondon.com
Stephen Lee Ogden stephenleeogden.com
studio1500 studio1500sf.com
UnderConsideration underconsideration.com

iv
Contents

Introduction x

I The importance of brand identity

Chapter one No escape! 2

Chapter two It’s the stories we tell 8

None genuine without this signature 9
A logoless company is a faceless man 10
Seen by millions 11
Only if the Queen agrees 12
Symbols transcend boundaries 13
Identity design as part of our language 18
Rethinking the importance of brand identity 21

Chapter three Elements of iconic design 22

Keep it simple 22
Make it relevant 25
Incorporate tradition 28
Aim for distinction 30
Commit to memory 33
Think small 34
Focus on one thing 36
The seven ingredients in your signature dish 38
Remember that rules are made to be broken 39

II The process of design

Chapter four Laying the groundwork 42
Shaking out the jitters 42
It’s all in the design brief 43
Gathering preliminary information 44
Asking the tougher questions 45
Give your client time and space 48

v
Logo Design Love

But maintain the focus 48

Homework time 48
Assembling the design brief 49
A mission and some objectives hold the key 50
Field research to the rescue 53
Bringing the details of client discussions to life 56
Culling the adjectives supplied by the client 59

Chapter five Skirting the hazards of a redesign 62

What are the reasons for rebranding? 63
Don’t squeeze too hard 63
When emotions run high 67
Answers often lie in focus groups 68
From “unresponsive” to “caring” 69
Maybe just some tweaking? 72
Remember your manners 75

Chapter six Pricing design 76

The design pricing formula 76
Hourly rates or a set fee? 81
Handling print costs 82
Receipt of a down payment 84
The money exchange 85
Spec work 87
Everyone makes mistakes 89

Chapter seven From pencil to PDF 90

Mind-mapping 90
The fundamental necessity of the sketchpad 96
The Tenth Commandment 98
Pinning the map 102
Internationally recognized 104
No set time 107
Dress for success 109
Black and white before color 111
Where Photoshop comes into play 114
The pen is mightier than the mouse 116

vi
 Contents

Chapter eight The art of the conversation 118

Deal with the decision-maker 119
Rule #1: Conspire to help 124
Rule #2: Avoid intermediation 126
Rule #3: Take control 128
Rule #4: Keep the committee involved 132
Don’t forget to under-promise and then 134
over-deliver
Swallow that pride 136

III Keep the fires burning

Chapter nine Staying motivated 144
Never stop learning 145
Be four years ahead 147
Create for you 148
Step away from the computer 149
Balance your life 150
Journey back in time 150
Show relentless desire 151
But don’t overwork yourself 151
We all get stuck, no matter who we are 152
Start on the right foot, and stay on the 153
right foot
Find common ground 153
Deadline looming 154
Think laterally 155
Improve how you communicate 156
Manage your expectations 156
Always design 157
Follow your bliss 157
Not everyone is as fortunate 159

Chapter ten Your questions answered 160

Similar looking logos 160
Rights of use 161

vii
Logo Design Love

Online portfolio creation 162

Seal the deal 167
Overseas clients 168
How many concepts? 169
Friends and family 170
Design revisions 171
Project time frames 172
Researching the competition 173
Internships 173
Worst client project 174
Tools of the trade 175
Handling the workload 176
Who owns what? 177

Chapter eleven 25 practical logo design tips 178

1. Questions, questions, questions 178
2. Understand print costs 179
3. Expect the unexpected 179
4. A logo doesn’t need to say what a 180
company does
5. Not every logo needs a mark 180
6. One thing to remember 181
7. Don’t neglect the sketchpad 182
8. Leave trends to the fashion industry 183
9 Step away from Photoshop 183
10. Work in black and white 184
11. Keep it relevant 184
12. Remember legibility 185
13. Be consistent 185
14. Match the type to the mark 186
15. Offer a single-color version 186
16. Pay attention to contrast 187
17. Aid recognition 187
18. Test at a variety of sizes 187
19. Reverse it 188
20. Turn it upside down 188
21. Consider trademarking your design 189

viii
 Contents

22. Don’t neglect the substrate 190

23. Don’t be afraid of mistakes 190
24. A logo is not a brand 190
25. Remember, it’s a two-way process 191

Design resources Help from elsewhere 192

Graphic design blogs 192
Iconic designers 193
Recommended books 194

Index Looking for something? 198

ix
Introduction

Brand identity design. Who needs it? Every company on the

planet. Who provides the service? You.

But how do you win big-name clients? And how do you stay
relevant? Design is an ever-evolving profession. If you’re like me,
one of your goals as a graphic designer is to always improve
your skills so that you can attract the clients you want. So it’s
vital that you keep learning and growing.

This book is about sharing with you everything that I know

about creating brand identities so that you can stay motivated
and inspired, and make smart and well-informed decisions when
procuring and working with your clients.

But who am I, and what reason do you have for heeding

my advice?

Well, for a number of years I’ve been sharing design projects on

my blogs at davidairey.com and logodesignlove.com. In these
blogs, I walk my readers through the individual stages of my
identity design projects. I talk about how I sealed the deal with
a client. I examine the details of a design brief. And I describe
how a client might sign off on polished artwork.

My websites currently generate 1 million monthly page views

and have a combined subscriber count of more than 30,000
readers. That’s quite a lot for a young lad from Bangor,
Northern Ireland. My readers tell me that reading my blogs
makes them feel like they’re getting to go “behind the scenes”

x
into my design process, and that it’s difficult to find such
insights elsewhere. They say that my features are helpful,
inspiring, and very much appreciated (and I didn’t pay them
for their comments, I promise!).

If you search through the portfolios of the most successful

design agencies and studios, you’ll find plenty of examples of
final design work. Some portfolios might even show one or two
alternative concepts. For the most part, however, we can find
very little of what actually happens between designers and their
clients: the questions they ask to get projects started on the
right foot, how they generate ideas after creating and studying
the design brief, and how they present their designs to win their
client’s approval. Such details are like gold dust to a designer.

And so, the idea for this book was born.

Never before have I gone into so much detail about my design

process, and never before have I studied the intricacies in such
depth. In the process, I’ve brought many talented designers and
design studios on board who very graciously have shared their
own thoughts, processes, and advice.

When you finish reading this book, you hopefully will be

well-prepared to go out and win your own clients and create
your own iconic brand identities. Had I known about everything
contained in this book when I first started my own graphic
design business, I would definitely have saved myself a lot of
worrying and restless nights.

xi
Part I
The importance of brand identity
Chapter one
No escape! (33 logos in 33 minutes)

Logos bombard us. Think clothes labels, running shoes, TVs,

and computers. From the moment we wake to the moment we
sleep, they’re an ever-present part of our daily routine.

07:01

The average American sees 16,000 advertisements, logos, and

labels in a day, said Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D., in his book
Brain Longevity.1

Don’t believe it?

To illustrate the constant presence of logos in our lives, I

decided to spend the first few minutes of a typical working day
photographing logos on the products I interact with, beginning
with my morning alarm.

The following sequence tells a story of its own, providing a

brief glimpse into my daily routine, which is not to say that
there weren’t plenty of other logos around me at the time—
on other food products, books and newspapers, TV shows,
and my clothing.
1
Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D. with Cameron Stauth. Brain Longevity: The Breakthrough Medical Program That
Improves Your Mind and Memory. (New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing, 1999).