In initiating this series I
took time to sort through box after box of old projects in
my basement and look back on
nearly thirty years of income producing design. While in
high school and college I did get paid for art, illustration
and design work. However, I don’t think I would have
considered myself a professional until I was literally working
as the graphic designer for the advertising department of
my college’s daily newspaper in the late 1970’s.
From as early as grade school I was interested in art and
design. As a junior high school entrepreneur I created ink
line drawings of historic structures in my hometown as gifts
for family friends and to sell at the  annual local art fair.
The drawings were printed on note cards and marketed, in
packets of ten, at local gift shops and galleries under the
name “Salem Scenes.” With the first packaging
project of a 15-year-old boy came the creation of my first
logo. Although the name reads more as “Scenes Salem” due
to the text treatment, I do see early hints of the pleasure
I still get today from combining letterforms and graphic
elements in a somewhat clever manner to produce the identity
for a business. My earliest logo effort combined an illustration
executed with a rapidiograph pen and very rough letters made
from x-acto knife cut graphic border tape.
As I moved into high school work on the student newspaper,
and independent study in art classes, I learned that “commercial
art” was a potentially viable field of endeavor. While
a senior in high school, at the Salem Public Library , I
came across the book “Graphic
Design” by Milton
Glaser. Glaser’s fun illustrations, lettering styles,
publication designs and logo for the Russian Tea Room captivated
me and
gave a name to what I now wanted to be when I grew up. The
humor and playfulness in his work seemed to tie into my own
personality.
Learning more about the work of Milton Glaser introduced
me to Pushpin Studios and the logo images of his business
partner Seymour
Chwast.
I soon learned that even as a high school kid I could get
a free subscription to a design industry publication
called “U&lc” which featured the work of
Glaser, Chwast and some many other designers I would come
to admire and idolize. With each issues my eyes were opened
to the work of U&lc editor/designer Herb Lubalin, Saul
Bass, Lou Dorfsman, Mo Lebowitz and so many more incredible
designers, artists and typographers. Additional information
and examples of the work of many of these designers can be
found on the AIGA site in the section on AIGA
Medalists. Soaking up everything in the publication,
I learned to look at design, typography, packaging, signage,
logos, art
and culture with a different eye. The recent book “U&lc:
Influencing design and Typography,” edited by
John D. Berry, brought back many memories of the excitement
I would experience in receiving the tabloid
in the mail when little about graphic design was being taught
in my high school.
Off to college I went and, while learning the basic principles
of design in class, a great deal of time was spent in the
art library learning about the design work of individuals
such as Paul Rand, Ivan
Chermayeff & Tom Geismar,
Walter Landor,
Primo Angeli and other industry leaders. My schooling took
a bit of a detour from the Fine Arts department to the
advertising and publication courses of the Journalism School.
From my professor Roy Paul Nelson, who wrote the books “The
Design of Advertising” and “Publication Design,” I
learned a great deal about the principles of design and typography.
Much of my new knowledge was put to the test as the ad designer
for the daily school newspaper. I didn’t get a great
deal of exposure to logo design but I did get to create a
few less than stellar, quick and dirty, identities for local
businesses – mostly hand drawn and using hand-lettering.
Still, I was getting hooked on this design thing. In my first
logo design competition, for the University’s Chinese
Student Association, my logo design - consisting of C,S and
A letterforms creating a stylized dragon – was proclaimed
the winner. Soon afterwards I got my first logo design commission
when I was asked to design a new logo for the Eugene/University
Music Association. In those early creations – all done
with ink on illustration board - I was already establishing
something of a style and exhibiting that I might actually
be learning something from my studies and personal research.
Once I completed school, and moved on to Portland in 1980,
I continued my self-education when it came to logo design.
I began my collection of identity and logo design books for
inspiration and individual study. I able to afford subscriptions
at the time but the local library provided a resource for
reading Communication Arts, Print and other industry magazines
for continuing education and examples of great logo work.
A few logo projects did come my way as I began my career
as an independent designer. When starting any identity design
effort, four major pieces of advice from college always stuck
in my mind:
- The old K.I.S.S. principle of “Keep It Simple,
Stupid.”
- Make sure that sucker works well in black
and white before even considering colors.
- Design the image
to clearly convey the desired message in all sizes.
- When
designing the graphic, give serious consideration to
all possible uses of the logo by the client, from print
to
embroidery to signage.
In digging through boxes and files
of old projects I did find most of my first professional
logo designs. Although
the images are nearly 25 years old, or older, they do seem
to still work as well today as when they were originally
introduced. Some do exhibit the telltale signs of the boldness
and geometric shapes used in many identities of the 1970’s
and 1980’s. Unfortunately, the logos are no longer
used to represent the entities in question or the companies
represented are no longer in business.
The image of a bottle of India ink within a circle was my
first attempt at a logo for myself in 1979. I decided to
use the business name artworks, ink to represent my design
and fine art work. The top portion of the graphic also formed
the letter “A.” I used the image, rubberstamped
on all my business materials for a couple of years before
I was encouraged to introduce my design work with my given
name. My logo for the accounting firm Kohnen Larson was one
of my first paid logo design projects after college. The
abstract “K” and “L” served the firm
well for many years. The assignment from the owner of Al
Bauer Advertising was to also design an abstract image to
represent his firm. In fact, at one time he considered using
one of his daughter’s modern paintings as the image
for his firm. When shown the design he ended up selecting
he said it was “perfect” and represented the
fact that in advertising “everything is all neat and
orderly, and then something goes out of whack.” Two
weeks later Bauer called to say he had just realized the
logo was actually abstract lower case “a” and “b” letterforms.
The successful design was blind embossed on all stationery
items for the company. The design for the Robinwood Shopping
Center, consisting of a tree image created from flying birds,
identified the mall in signage and advertising for many years.
The logo for the Unity National Insurance Company was meant
to convey a solid image for a new division of an existing
insurance client’s business. The interlocking shapes
were usually only seen as a “U” and a “N” after
a second look by the viewer. Being commissioned to create
a logo for the La Patisserie initiated an on-going interest
in identity design for restaurants and the hospitality
industry. One of the first espresso cafes in Portland,
La Patisserie was recognizable by its unique logo design
until it closed in 2002 after 20 years in operation. The
Tel-Med icon, consisting of a stylized human form and telephone
keypad, represented the local medical information hotline
for a number of years. I was always told that the simplicity
of the design gave it the longevity. Combined “S” and “N” letterforms
created the logo for Samuels & Nudelman Public Relations.
The logo provided the firm a strong, bold identity as it
entered the local market.
It was interesting for me to revisit these designs, in some
cases over 25 years after their creation, and examine the
strength of some of my early design efforts. Using hand-drawn
imagery, pressure-sensitive type, adhesive-backed art films,
and typography produced by a typesetter, I got a good start
to what would become my passion in this industry. It would
be over 10 years before the first computer, a Macintosh IIsi,
appeared on my desk. By that time I had been working as a
designer for nearly 13 years. In 1995 I would make the decision
to concentrate on logo design.
A variety of logo designers have continued to inspire me
over the last 25 years. David
Lance Goines’ poster
and logo designs have always fascinated me. The work of
Michael
Schwab has always forced me to push myself a bit
harder in my
own efforts. The elegant designs of Louise
Fili should inspire all designers. I am always inspired
by the work of the Willoughby
Design Group, Sayles
Graphic Design, Hornall
Anderson Design Works, Sandstrom
Design – Steve was employed as the editorial
cartoonist at the student newspaper at the same time I
was on the
staff back in college – and so many more. I hope
to bring you examples of their work, and their perspectives
on identity
design, in future Logo Notions columns.
Logo design book review:
Logo
Design for Small Business 2: A Designer’s Reference
Guide to Practical Logo Design, by Dan Antonelli
It may be a bit odd for me to reviewing a book that includes
quite a few examples of my own work. However, with my own
logo designs in over 70 books at this point. my selection
of logo design volumes to consider for  review might end up
being somewhat limited. With the follow-up to his first book, “Logo
Design for Small Business,” Dan Antonelli does not
disappoint the logo designer with his second offering, “Logo
Design for Small Business 2.” Antonelli preaches what
he practices. I appreciate the fact he is educated as a designer,
has worked in the industry for a number of years and is in
business as a sign maker. He understands, and is able to
convey, what a designer needs to accomplish – and,
from his own unique perspective, what a vendor needs as a
final product. The author provides a great deal of advice
in regards to the business of logo design for small businesses,
as well as displaying examples from a variety of designers
for inspiration. Don’t be put off by the rather short
length of this book – it’s 72 pages of useful
information. Those just starting out in logo design will
benefit from the excellent advice of Antonelli. For seasoned
pros the book is a reminder of many things we should consider
in our day to day designing of identities. All logo designers
will recoup the cost of the book on the first project produced
after reading the book – and it should be on the reference
bookshelf of anyone interested in the design of logos.
Other suggested logo design books:
With each Logo Notions update a few possible additions to
your identity design book library will be suggested:
Blue is Hot, Red is Cool:
Choosing the right Color for Your Logo
by David E.
Carter.
Through numerous examples, Carter educates the
designer about the emotional impact of color in logos
and what various colors may communicate, intentionally or
unintentionally, to the viewer.
Identity
Solutions: How to Create Effective Brands With Letterheads,
Logos and
Business Cards
by Cheryl Cullen & Amy Schell.
The work of 96 firms is displayed to provide designers
with solutions and advice
that will enable them to satisfy their clients while designing
powerful, effective new identity systems
TM: Trademarks
Designed by Chermayeff & Geismar, by Ivan Chermayeff,
Tom Geismar and Steff Geissbuhler. This book, basically
a monograph of the firm’s 40-year
history, provides a collection of over 200 pieces of identity
design eye-candy for the logo designer seeking inspiration.
Future logo design book releases:
Be on the lookout for these upcoming titles from logo design
book publishers and for reviews of the volumes once the
books are released.
Letterhead & Logo Design 8
This Rockport Publishers volume, from Peleg Top and Top Design
Studio, is scheduled for release in paperback on June 20,
2005
Logos
Redesigned: How 200 Companies Successfully Changed Their
Image
David
E. Carter’s latest book from Harper Design
International has a July 1, 2005 release date.
Logo Lab
by Christopher Simmons of the design firm MINE,
is scheduled to be released on July 1, 2005 by HOW Design
Books.
Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for Jeff
Fisher LogoMotives, has received over 475 regional, national
and international graphic design awards for his logo and
corporate identity efforts. His work is featured in more
than 75 publications on the design of logos, the business
of graphic design, and small business marketing.
Fisher is a member of the HOW Magazine Editorial Advisory
Board and is also on the 2005 HOW Design Conference Advisory
Council. His own book, The
Savvy Designer's Guide to Success,” was released
by HOW Design Books in late 2004. An excerpt from the book
may be found at CreativeLatitude.com.
More information about Jeff Fisher LogoMotives is available
at www.jfisherlogomotives.com.
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