Why Designers Shouldn't Have Their Own Logos
I'm sure you noticed that the top of my website does not feature any sort of fancy logo mark for my brand. As a designer, my personal opinions, knowledge, ideas and creativity are what makes me unique. I am my own brand, and my name represents Me. As such, it is a valid argument to say I deserve my own logo. I agree only so far as to say, keep it a simple type treatment. An over-designed logo mark will just get in the way.
Since my name is my brand, I want it to be as clear as day. Hence, the huge serif ITC Cheltenham Handtooled. My own name is especially tricky for many people, due to the overwhelming lack of vowels (it's really not that bad, but I empathize with those who have trouble with it). As such, I want people to be very clear who they're dealing with. It's me!
Branding for designers is similar to photographers, artists, lawyers and those businesses who rely heavily on the actual owner's being to be successful. If I hired world-renowned wedding photographer to shoot my wedding, I sure don't want to see his assistant show up and do the job without him! (However, walking into a Sears portrait shop, I expect nothing but to have my likeness captured by whoever is manning the equipment.) The business is powered by the brand of the owner's name.
My great uncle was an avid art collector. One day while looking at one of the dozens of (I thought, hideous) paintings on a wall, he came over to me, and surprisingly to me since I thought he loved his collection, he said, "You don't like that, either, huh? You know why it's worth so much?" And he pointed with authority at the signature on the bottom right. While he didn't like it, it had a certain value ascribed to it because it was created by a certain artist. (I was little. Don't remember who it was.)
Your name is your brand. The clearer you make the name, the better. Don't muddy it up trying to make a unique indecipherable shape.
Polite debate in the comments is more than welcome. :)
Comments
I completely agree with you. I've seen people practicing their 'creativity' with their initials...... No need to say what, in my personal opinion, comes out of that. ;)
Perhaps I am being overly optimistic; I operate under a company name. This allows me to grow, and even to sell the brand if I am wildly successful. But, at any rate, this allows me to hire help. As a company, I want a simple-to-comprehend logo that says something about my company.
Hey Nancydru! Thanks for visiting! Honored to be graced with your presence. :)
I think when a designer gets behind a company name, rather than his/her own name, it's a different story.
Beyond the potential growth that I mentioned earlier, there is another reason for using a company name: in my case, the business is not supporting me in the way I would like, so I have been looking for a regular job working for someone else. That means throwing my resume around. It was pointed out to me that a lot of company gatekeepers see "Self employed" as the same thing as "Unemployed." So I simply gave myself a name and list myself as the CEO. Now my resume says I have been working.
Good point NancyDru. I can definately understand where Tevi is comming from, but another consideration is how your business is set up. If your company is you, then if at some point in the future you get sued (which can happen these days even if you don't do anything wrong), then you yourself are getting sued. If you are just an employee (even if the only employee) of Widgets LLC, then it's probable that only Widgets LLC will get sued.
Enjoyed the article.
You are right. My personal openion is that we should not emphasise our name in personal wesite.
Very good point and I agree but in my case I am the name of my brand. I have gone by the pseudonym "noble soul" for many years, it is a title my sister gave to me and something I'm very proud of. When I was trying to decide on a name for my graphic design/art business it was obvious to me that it could only be called this. The logo demonstrates my ability to create graphic images and becomes a self-promoting portfolio piece. I understand that just because it's personal doesn't mean that it communicates well, but I'm hopeful my logo and logotype becomes an extension of my own creativity.
I would be interested in your view on this statement.
By the way, the ancient dolphins is a personal addition dedicated to a lifetime growing up on my parents boat and my former occupation as a diver.
Thank you, David Lewis {www.noblesouldesign.com}
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