Identity design and what to discuss with your designer

The following might help you when considering contacting a design firm to develop a logo and corporate identity.

From a client perspective - if you are considering a designer to create a logo for you, please consider the following.

A logo is built from the following.

Concept themes

1. A concept which relates to what makes your company unique and what your company does.
A concept can be;
• abstract,
• style oriented,
• concept oriented,
• colour oriented,
• all of the above but not all with the same hierachy.

Abstract

As a logos' primary intention is to be memorable, then abstract can be a good option. Get people talking and seeing what ever they want to see in your logo.

Style oriented

This is where the style of the design is more important than a pictographic concept. A style might simply be a font style, or a shape style, such as a shape behind the text. Style oriented simply means that there is no specific idea other than style behind the approach.

Concept Oriented

Concept or idea oriented logos are those which draw upon a depth of meaning behind the image and typography.
For instance. Fireworks is an idea for a logo  - and the depth of meaning might be that the fireworks supports the idea of a business which has expansive possibilities. This is a concept.
Other popular concepts are things like; animals with particular physical, visual, cognitive or symbolic traits. Some animals over time represent a universal meaning for different things. Like the fox and the hare, the snail, the cheetah, etc. Allow your designer to guide you through concepts for your business which relate to your company. Should you have an idea, don't hesitate to make it known as a plan can be provided to incorporate that idea in a tailored way together with other concepts.

Colour oriented

This is self explanatory. Sometimes, colour is all that is needed to express the company brand. This is often used to stand out from competitors rather than to blend. There are many occasions where your logo may appear next to other logos. Colour is relevant for all forms of logos. It can obviously be applied to style oriented, concept oriented and abstract logos. And it can also simply be used on its own inside a rudimentary shape.

When meeting with a graphic designer who specialises in corporate identity design and logo and branding development - it is a good idea to have a think about these different approaches. It may save time to simply select one of the above which most resinates with your company.

A good corporate identity designer will be able to guide you through these different spheres and help you best determine what shapes, colours, tones, textures, ideas and themes are best for your business.

Design options

A design option is when a concept or theme has been selected. Lets say that the concept theme is Fireworks. This can then be explored in 1, 2 or 3 different options using the same concept.
By crystallising the concept at the outset, then there can be a specific focus on exploring optional possibilities. In this way, the designer can recommend the best option within the best concept.
The best of the best. Sometimes, the designer will simply discuss words with you prior to developing visuals. This is often a very smart approach so that the design process can begin in an expansive manner and end in a more narrowed focus.
If the design process ends up continually expanding. It is best to keep people focussed on the plan and the initial brief.

A good designer will prescribe a direction based on their professional knowledge and expertise. They will look to the clients business philosophy to clarify their creative directions.
An experienced designer will have definitely worked with countless businesses who are looking for something just like you are looking for. They will also know that the best reference for the direction to take will begin with your company and your unique style of business.

Nicholas Girling
Creative Director
Girling Design


"Logos always need to be memorable first and anything else - we can't remember"

Girling Design is inspired by mid 20th Century commercial art and poster art. We love a lot of Danish design, Russian Constructivism, and the illustration from Commercial artists such as Saul Bass, Paul Rand and Wim Crouwel to name a few. We love their work because it is bold timeless and memorable.

This is our company philosophy and is the measure we place on all of our design work.
Bold - because you need to stand out
Timeless - because we build to last
Memorable - so your brand message is front of mind to customers

If you are looking for a design studio to guide you through the logo and identity process with simplicity and a clarity of focus, look no further. Contact Girling Design

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When to advertise - for service based business

Demand for business services can fluctuate dramatically from month to month or between the yearly business seasons. Do you have the capability to advertise niche aspects of your company at different times of the year? It might be one of your most powerful advertising techniques.

Look to services like Google Trends to see the annual cycles for services like yours. Also look at the last few years of your business to see what projects you were doing at peak and off peak demand times. Then plot out the last few years and look for patterns in the type of business sales you were making.

This provides a great insight into what and when you might consider advertising.

Here is an example of an industry such as:

Promoting Video Production Services.

Niche your company at different times of the year.

e.g. When do most companies want or seek to produce corporate videos?
Advertise in print just before that annual cycle.

e.g. When do companies launch new products?
Advertise 3 or 4 months your TV commercial services prior to that date so you get in front of them when they are about to start looking for a production company. etc.

What other specific services do you offer? - Now think about when your customers generally do those things. Then plot a print campaign around them. Look at all of the things you bill for. Each one can potentially be advertised as a niche service offering at a relevant demand cycle.

Be in the magazines the companies you want to work with read. Avoid speculation about what they read. Hunt down the facts.

Send out questions to all your customers asking them what print material they read for business. Is it computer magazines, car magazines, top 500 business magazines? Look for a pattern.

How does your brand resonate with your target audiences? What is your USP? Don't assume people know how you are different to your competitors. Tell them.

Pretty powerful when you begin to think in a more planned way about how your customers think - and more importantly, when they think about what they need you to do. Be where they read and when they think.

When you begin to think about your own goals separately to your target audiences goals, you can start to look for patterns.

For more insights into corporate branding design, marketing and advertising services, contact Girling Design.

Top 10 reasons to use a multi-disciplined graphic designer

Many multi-disciplined graphic designers will have some area of their business where they have great experience. Essentially they are an expert in one area of design, but have an interest/experience in all things design. They see all  materials as tools for their design work and have likely experimented with materials and different media types in their own time. So when it comes time to working on a project, they may very well have experience in; materials, media types and styles of design.

The following are general points about what a typical multi-disciplined designer can achieve for their valued client. Some of these points are not necessarily specific to multi-disciplined graphic designers, however they are common with most.

Generally speaking; A multi-disciplined graphic designer will:

01. point out where there are cost saving opportunities.

02. have knowledge of what marketing techniques have worked on previous projects and why they have worked.

03. have knowledge of printing pitfalls and can warn you of potential rookie mistakes  - which in turn can save money and heart ache.

04. have a rich resource of specialists in a large cross section of creative industries; including trusted; copywriters, photographers, printing companies, fabricators, engineers, trade mark attorneys, finishing companies, seo specialists, digital developers and more.

05. know where their strengths are and will quickly communicate if they can or cannot do what you need done.

06. have a problem solving attitude where others may flounder under pressure.

07. have a great sense of timing for critical deadlines.

08. provide you with a variety of options - all which will work.

09. have a well orchestrated business methodology.

10. be an exceptional communicator having dealt with a vast variety of industries and clients.

And one extra.

11. will be able to make recommendations on situations based on their diverse knowledge.

Suggestion: As a potential client, the next time you approach a multi-disciplined designer - and before providing a brief - ask them how they would approach something like you are attempting to undertake from a business perspective. You will quickly gain a measure of their ability to either provide the status quo or build your business around effective work and thinking. They may even provide you with a better opportunity.

As mentioned, a multi-disciplined graphic designer deals with a great diversity of businesses and their management. They see consistencies and differences in the way businesses operate and what businesses want and need. They are a great asset to all size businesses as their task is usually to simplify and problem solve in areas where they have hands on knowledge.

Looking to work with a trusted multi-disciplined graphic design service in Melbourne Australia? Contact Girling Design.

What's important with logo design?

As a design studio with a focus on corporate branding, we are often asked, 'what is important to consider when designing a logo'?

Here is our current take on this question.

Logo design is often either 'logo-text' (logo-type) combined with a symbol. Designers often refer to the symbol associated with the 'logo-type' as the 'logo-mark'

When they are combined - they are the logo.

Logo-text on it's own can also be referred to as a logo or as Logo-type.

The logo-type is something which requires as much consideration as the logo-mark.

If both the logo-mark and the logo-type are complex, then the combined effect can be busy and low impact.

Often people attempt to make a logo-mark into something which is more like a pictogram rather than a memorable design element.

From our perspective we aim to keep logos; bold, timeless and memorable.

Bold doesn't necessarily relate to the font - it is more about the overall impact of the combined elements. To us, it refers to the iconic nature of the design.

Timeless: means that you don't want to run with something that simply follows a trend which may have already passed it's used by date.

Timeless also refers to the concept and the idea behind it. It speaks to the general look and feel, the font selection and the iconic nature of the design.

Iconic doesn't necessarily mean simplicity. A very complex logo-mark can be iconic. And so can a very simple and stylised logo-mark.

Memorable: refers to the iconic nature of the design. Does it leave an impression and can you remember it more than any of the other sketches you have done.

We believe that the memorable nature of a logo is the most important thing for the logo to be. We believe that the best logos are the ones which stimulate a passionate and emotive response. And too often logos are at the mercy of a a group decision where the decision makers are forced to decide on the least controversial design. We often encourage the most memorable approach as long as it satisfies the brief and encapsulates philosophy or style of the company within the concept.

Practical design

Think of where the logo will be displayed.

If the logo is to only ever appear on the front of the building, then take this into account in terms of what might be the best layout for the logo. Should it be tall, short, long, wide etc. But if it is to be applied to multiple elements, then take a good look at what they are and consider how to best prepare. Does the platform need to change or should the logo adapt to the platform?

Do not attempt to encapsulate everything into the logo. The logo combined reflects the company in the same way that a signature does for a person. 

The signature always has the name of the person neatly typed above it on a form. But often the signature itself is illegible. That's not a problem.

Logos don't need to be literal interpretations of the services provided.

For example, you don't need to use a plate of food in your logo for a restaurant.

Look at the clothing brand Lacoste. Their logo is a Crocodile. It is not a pictogram of a T-Shirt. There is a difference between a pictogram and a logo.

For some reason, the Crocodile for Lacoste communicated something intangible about the products the company would sell. To me, a Crocodile is strong, stealthy and iconic. They are arguably the only survivors of the golden age of dinosaurs. Perhaps this is how Lacoste sees their male customers and themselves as a brand. Resilient and timeless.

But how does a designer come up with the Crocodile. Wouldn't it be easier to just draw a T-Shirt? To answer that one, I can say yes, but the crocodile does something much better. It becomes a message and it tells a story  - and at the same time it is bold as a concept, timeless as a concept and memorable as a concept.

This then comes back to the companies philosophy and how they see their customer. Perhaps more importantly - how they resemble their customer. They place their flag in the ground to say - this is who we are. And all those who resemble or relate to that idea can be drawn towards their brand.

And look at Nike - their logo-mark is a tick. Why a tick. A tick is a way of saying - done, completed, correct, right, next, positive, decisive.

It's not a picture of a shoe.

A logo is at it's best when it is at it's simplest. It does not need to be recognisable as anything other than itself.

While the text in a logo needs to be readable - the logo-mark can actually be abstract and it can also be a stylised element. As long as it communicates something about the brand via the company philosophy.

For example - an abstract element might look highly considered and precise - or it might look whimsical and flamboyant. Or it might look fast and brash. You can imagine how an abstract shape can actually communicate something and can also be very memorable.

When you combine a design technique with something that is recognisable, then the logo can have a dual impact of both the creative approach as well as the concept. For instance - is the Lacoste crocodile in terms of the creative style of the drawing; highly considered or brash?

With logo design - It's very easy to get stuck on one idea  - especially when that idea is pretty ordinary.

Make sure that your ideas and approaches are very different to each other.

Not only in the concept, but also in the creative execution.

If you can't think of anything, look to the smallest detail, a crop, a texture, a pattern, a colour or change to a different pencil.

Looking for a bold, timeless and memorable branding agency in Melbourne. Contact Girling Design.

Offering your service as packaged services

When a service is offered as a package, it does not mean that it needs to indicate the price of the offering. In my opinion, the moment price is indicated, the service is somehow converted into a commodity. For some businesses, this is a must - and for others, this should be avoided.

When do I avoid presenting my company prices online?
• Where services are consultative in nature.
The allowance here might be that prices could be presented online for fixed components of the service. Other elements of the service which are deemed to be tailored can be easily withheld or indicated as an on request statement. Or an average price may be provided where it is absolutely necessary.

When do I present my company prices to the public?
• When your company is offering a commodity style product or a fixed price product or service.
• Or when an average price is provided to provide as a ballpark price.
• When there is no other way to differentiate your service from your competition. (unlikely).

If all your competition are basing their point of difference on price - then there is a massive opportunity to differentiate. It can sometimes be quite easy to differentiate in this scenario.

Differentiating is standing out rather than blending in. It is short sighted to think that price is the only factor determining engagement with your business.

Girling Design has indicated some package offerings for logo design and development for businesses, corporate companies and executives. Our package offerings are tailored to average requests and are designed to assist clients understand some of the approaches to design. While we do not provide prices, we do provide a consultative style of design services.

Writing up the information as packages also has an advantage in that text is more likely to be read by the customer. This is due to the customer seeking out if one of the packages is suitable to their own needs or if a more tailored approach to their needs is necessary. Package offerings can provide the customer with a clearer indication of their own needs and can better define your own services in the customers mind.

Presentation folder design - graphic design services

This was a great corporate services graphic design project for our client looking to present a variety of services within one presentation folder.
It is easy to think of a presentation folder simply being a logo plonked dab in the middle of a white back ground when it comes to a design. But a presentation folder can look so much better with a bit of finesse and photography. Presentation folder graphic design by Girling Design