Okay, so time for another redesign! This was for a client, Kruger Armor. They basically build custom cars that can withstand bomb blasts and sniper fire. here is the original logo:
Once again, given their business, this logo has many appropriate characteristics… and many issues.
THE GOOD:
• Metallic look and feel, similar to, you guessed it, ARMOR.
• Powerful typeface, thick and solid which again lends itself to the service they provide
• Some potentially interesting letters – the “R” in particular has ‘unique’ written all over it
THE BAD:
• Lack of consistency in the letter bar thicknesses
• Curved letter elements are all over the place – no consistency
• KERNING…that is the spacing between letters.. it is terrible. Something tells me we have an ‘out-of-the-box’ font posing as a logo.
• Their business is in the material world. specifically cars. Cars exist in 3 dimensions, the logo needs some depth.
SO… lets fix this.
The image above highlights the big issues.
#1 is the weird spacing between the letter “R” and the other letters. The “R” is cool, but not integrated. we need to fix that.
#2 is the center of the letter “A”. The basline and the cross bar do not conform to any of the other letters…there are no rules guiding this logo.
#3 is the letter “G”. whoa…seriously? That letter is just a total disaster.
#4 is the spacing issues between the horizontal bars of the letter “E”. they are not consistent between the top and bottom.
#5 is the most apparent kerning problem, but this problem persists throughout the logo.
SO… lets revisit the rules of logo design:
1. THERE SHOULD BE A REASON FOR EVERYTHING.
2. EVERY ELEMENT EXISTS IN RELATION TO EVERY OTHER. THEY NEED TO BE CREATED WITHIN CONTEXT.
3. CREATE A SET OF RULES THAT GUIDE THE GENERATION OF EVERY LOGO. FOLLOW THEM PRECISELY.
4. IF THE RULES COMPROMISE THE EFFECTIVENESS OR READABILITY OF THE LOGO, CHANGE THE RULES.
So I created a bunch of rules for this logo. They have to do with spacing, bar sizes, Leading Letter sizes, etc., etc…
If you are interested in what those rules are, I challenge you to develop the rules I followed based on the resulting logo.
So… lets normalize the letter bars and spacing, the curves, the size of the leading letters, etc.
So,, here we normalized the bars, lead lettering and angles… now for the curves:
Using the “R” as an example, this is how I normalize curves. Find a base letter then rotate it as needed to accommodate all curved letters in the logo. Now, one of the big questions is how the letters will relate to one another. Here is an example of the possibilities. It is important, when dealing with a logo that is the name of a company itself, to try all sort of potential relationships. The aim and goal of the process is consistency and fluidity throughout the logo.
So once you have some options, you put the whole logo together accordingly. The answers, the ideal look and feel – they pretty much present themselves through this process. So here is the finished wireframe of the logo:
Notice the consistent spacing, the various applications to the “R” to make it work in different situations… the FLOW.
Now, to color it and add some sense of depth…BAM!
SO… before and after:
WOW. what a difference…Now, this is not DONE, we’ve discussed icons th go with this, SUVS, target icons, etc…but I’m still waiting to get paid on it, so that is all for now!
Visit me http:www.coggancreative.com
Have you got any recommendation for when I do use this?
Rebuilding a logo is always a tricky path to weave; you want to make it infinitely better, while at the same time, it must remain more or less the same. When do you use this? If by this you mean my protocol for designing a logo, you use it ALWAYS. The reasons and benefits of taking a prescribed approach to any type of design are numerous.
For you as a designer, it will speed up your process (eventually), provide you with a solid framework which leads to more consistent designs, and having a set of rules to guide you will most definitely foster your growth as a designer. As an analogy to this, think of the various requirements (i.e. rules) that a client might insist on – these colors, this type of font, this style, etc… etc… I myself used to think of that kind of guidance as road blocks to my creativity! How dare they tell me how to create!
The reality is, when you approach these client demands as a challenge rather then an obstacle, the designs you create are far more evolved… After all, you had to address elements of the ‘design environment’ – the clients demands – as constants as opposed to variables; this challenges you as a designer to deal with those constants… in much the same way a set of standardized rules will foster the growth of your design process.
If you create a set of standards and a common protocol, it will also get you in the right mindset to deal with client demands. That might be the over-arcing benefit that you really profit from in the long run.
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