Logo Design: Lola London Photography
The lovely Lola London, an LA-based photographer recently commissioned me to design a one-color logo for her business. She wanted a logo that was clean, modern, and easy to drop onto a variety of surfaces (most importantly, as a watermark for her photos).
*Logo copyright 2007 Lola London Photography.
When developing a logo, there’s nothing wrong with keeping things simple; if anything, take out anything and everything that’s not really needed. Some of the most popular logos are super minimal. Think of the McDonald’s golden arches, the Nike swoosh, or the Apple…apple. A good logo should stand out without ‘screaming,’ it should be timeless, and it should be legible at varying percentages of the original size. Is the logo still defined and easy to read at 50% of its original size or blown up to 200%?
When I design a logo, I try to keep the following concepts in mind:
1. Can the logo be repeated to create a pattern?
This can be useful for the back of a business card, related packaging, wrapping / tissue papers, and textile patterns. Even though the final outcome Lola needed was one color, she can easily use her L’s in fun patterns and play with varying hues:
2. Are the shapes of the logo simple enough that it’s easy to interchange colors?
Consider the eventual possibility of branding different parts of your company with the same logo in differing colors. (For instance, a photographer might have a division of art editions and a division of stock photography.)
3. If there’s text accompanying the logo, does it have the potential to look dated really fast?
Stick with classic Serifs and very basic, clean Sans Serifs (yes, Helvetica is a viable option!) Corporations are constantly tweaking their logos.
4. All those so-called rules that were covered in art school can help with a logo design.
Think about repetition, harmony and balance. Don’t be afraid to have fun with gradients and pops of color. Experiment and create a variety shapes.
In closing: A logo is always a sound investment; think of a it as a way of defining and differentiating yourself from your competition.
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18 People have left comments on this post
That last logo is really effective.
I just wanted to drop by and say I really like some of your work. Good stuff! x
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Aimee Marie: Thanks for dropping by! My fave is the last one also…
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Excellant post on logo design. You are both wise and considerate to educate your readers and potential clients.
My company just obtained a local logo designer client. I’m trying to get him to blog or at least post frequent news items, even of stray observations or random insights, to his website.
It’s hard convincing and motivating clients to add fresh, relevant, helpful content to their sites. You are a good example of blogging and using a blog to display and explain your expertise.
I spend way more time in Twitter and music making these days, but your blog has captured my attention.
Today I received the new issue of Art Forum and Book Forum. Yay!
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i love this logo! i am a first year design student and reading your blog has given me so much motivation. so thank you!
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Any suggestion of a logo for my new blog client NewsAnchorMom? I need a logo for myself actually, too. Maybe we can do a bit of business? Thinking…
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You have hit the nail right on the head with logo design being as simple as possible and timeless. I’ve been interning at a design studio this week and its been great to see the development of logo designs from initial research to roughs, and especially trying to justify design decisions to a client.
I haven’t done much commissioned work yet, but I’m learning all the time. Thanks!
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Anastasia: Thanks for the feedback! It makes me happy to provide any sort of inspiration / motivation because I get so much in return from other designers.
Vaspers: Definitely, I’ll email you very soon…
I’m always up for new freelance work and talking business in general!
Lisa: Logos can be tough! They need to convey so much in such simplistic elements. I always try to keep things simple, but in the end, it’s what the client wants that matters most. Interning at a design studio is such valuable experience– I wish you all the best!
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you rock! soooo much. thank you for taking the time to share something with other designers like me who are wondering and seeking information. you’re beautiful, too!
thanks again
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Oh, wow! Such a great logo. I really like the example alternative uses you did with it. Makes me wish I was Lola London
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H. Klinton vs. Obama. How you think who will win elections?
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I’ve got to design a photographer’s logo but was a bit stuck as I want to avoid cliches so when I searched on Google for photographers logos – lo and behold your site came up, which is a massive coincidence as my friend just told me about your site last week!
I really like the logo you’ve done for Lola London – very clean and iconic.
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I’m new in the internet business field. I’m skilled in the graphics side, but I need info to learn about this business. I was going through your post and got a few pointers.
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