1 00:00:01.08 --> 00:00:03.01 - Keep it simple. 2 00:00:03.01 --> 00:00:06.05 A simple drawing. One strong feature. 3 00:00:06.05 --> 00:00:10.07 The surprise is how difficult simple is to do. 4 00:00:10.07 --> 00:00:14.01 If I gave you an assignment to make a logo 5 00:00:14.01 --> 00:00:16.09 for an organization that's involved in 6 00:00:16.09 --> 00:00:20.01 the exploration and study of the natural world, 7 00:00:20.01 --> 00:00:22.07 that charts, what, climate change, 8 00:00:22.07 --> 00:00:26.06 that makes maps, that publishes a monthly journal, 9 00:00:26.06 --> 00:00:29.01 what do you think you'd come up with? 10 00:00:29.01 --> 00:00:30.09 How about this? 11 00:00:30.09 --> 00:00:32.08 This is so simple. 12 00:00:32.08 --> 00:00:35.07 Can you even call it design? 13 00:00:35.07 --> 00:00:37.03 Absolutely. 14 00:00:37.03 --> 00:00:39.06 An entire global enterprise summed up 15 00:00:39.06 --> 00:00:41.02 in a yellow rectangle. 16 00:00:41.02 --> 00:00:43.05 How cool is that? 17 00:00:43.05 --> 00:00:47.00 To get one strong feature, you'll need to edit 18 00:00:47.00 --> 00:00:48.09 because there will be a lot of things 19 00:00:48.09 --> 00:00:51.09 you want to say, and that you'll want to picture. 20 00:00:51.09 --> 00:00:54.04 For example, Kalgen is a travel 21 00:00:54.04 --> 00:00:57.06 management consultancy that didn't edit. 22 00:00:57.06 --> 00:01:01.02 So they have their name, ocean waves in there, 23 00:01:01.02 --> 00:01:03.04 a palm tree, their slogan, 24 00:01:03.04 --> 00:01:05.08 and the real thing they want people to see is that 25 00:01:05.08 --> 00:01:10.00 green plus, which to them, suggests more. 26 00:01:10.00 --> 00:01:14.09 So to fix this, they focused on the plus, and made this. 27 00:01:14.09 --> 00:01:17.07 This is very nice. It's a strong logo. 28 00:01:17.07 --> 00:01:20.04 It looks good. You get it right away. 29 00:01:20.04 --> 00:01:24.01 You remember it, and it'll work everywhere. 30 00:01:24.01 --> 00:01:28.02 While we're here, note the slogan is back on the page. 31 00:01:28.02 --> 00:01:32.01 It's at the bottom, but it's not longer part of the logo. 32 00:01:32.01 --> 00:01:37.01 It's a marketing statement, which is what it should be. 33 00:01:37.01 --> 00:01:41.02 When it comes drawing, which is different from idea, 34 00:01:41.02 --> 00:01:45.03 the three key elements are color, type and shape. 35 00:01:45.03 --> 00:01:47.04 If your logo is predominantly a color, 36 00:01:47.04 --> 00:01:51.07 and you use that color everywhere, it becomes a strong identifier. 37 00:01:51.07 --> 00:01:53.05 We're really tuned to color. 38 00:01:53.05 --> 00:01:54.08 We see it instantly. 39 00:01:54.08 --> 00:01:57.00 The mustard jar on the store shelf. 40 00:01:57.00 --> 00:01:59.05 You see the yellow before you read the label. 41 00:01:59.05 --> 00:02:01.04 T-Mobile does this. 42 00:02:01.04 --> 00:02:03.04 For the last few years, every time we see 43 00:02:03.04 --> 00:02:06.01 pink, we think of T-Mobile. 44 00:02:06.01 --> 00:02:07.09 This can be a workaround for you 45 00:02:07.09 --> 00:02:10.00 if you're unsure of your design skills, 46 00:02:10.00 --> 00:02:11.09 you might think about having color as your 47 00:02:11.09 --> 00:02:13.05 primary identifier. 48 00:02:13.05 --> 00:02:14.09 Like a sports team. 49 00:02:14.09 --> 00:02:16.01 Everything in the organization 50 00:02:16.01 --> 00:02:19.03 is going to be blue and gold. 51 00:02:19.03 --> 00:02:21.07 If you do this, stick to one or two colors. 52 00:02:21.07 --> 00:02:24.03 Bold colors are better than pastels. 53 00:02:24.03 --> 00:02:26.08 And use them everywhere. 54 00:02:26.08 --> 00:02:30.06 Shape is almost as strong as color. 55 00:02:30.06 --> 00:02:33.02 Pause the video and see if you can identify 56 00:02:33.02 --> 00:02:38.02 these logos just by their colors and shapes. 57 00:02:38.02 --> 00:02:44.09 Did you get Subway, Lego and Domino's? 58 00:02:44.09 --> 00:02:48.07 The basic shapes are circle, square, triangle. 59 00:02:48.07 --> 00:02:54.02 They can be physical shapes or they can be phantom shapes. 60 00:02:54.02 --> 00:02:58.01 Let me take you through them. 61 00:02:58.01 --> 00:03:01.05 The most basic shape and the strongest is the circle. 62 00:03:01.05 --> 00:03:04.09 The circle is unique. It's an endless line. 63 00:03:04.09 --> 00:03:07.06 No sides. No corners. 64 00:03:07.06 --> 00:03:11.01 The center is equidistant to every point on the perimeter. 65 00:03:11.01 --> 00:03:13.03 There's equal pressure all around. 66 00:03:13.03 --> 00:03:15.05 It's a natural focal point, meaning it draws 67 00:03:15.05 --> 00:03:18.02 the eye in, and speaking of eye, 68 00:03:18.02 --> 00:03:20.03 the circle is the shape of the pupil, 69 00:03:20.03 --> 00:03:24.05 the window of the soul, and it's at rest. 70 00:03:24.05 --> 00:03:27.07 Many many famous logos 71 00:03:27.07 --> 00:03:33.05 are in the shape of a circle. 72 00:03:33.05 --> 00:03:36.09 Elongate the circle and you get an oval. 73 00:03:36.09 --> 00:03:39.08 The oval is somewhat ambiguous. 74 00:03:39.08 --> 00:03:42.03 It's still an endless line, and still soft, 75 00:03:42.03 --> 00:03:44.01 but it's less focused. 76 00:03:44.01 --> 00:03:45.08 It's lost the strength that comes from 77 00:03:45.08 --> 00:03:47.09 that equidistance. 78 00:03:47.09 --> 00:03:51.01 Physical ovals are not common in logo design, 79 00:03:51.01 --> 00:03:54.08 although they do make good badges. 80 00:03:54.08 --> 00:03:56.07 Carmarkers like them. 81 00:03:56.07 --> 00:03:58.04 Pharmaceuticals like them. 82 00:03:58.04 --> 00:04:00.02 An oval is pill-shaped. 83 00:04:00.02 --> 00:04:04.08 Pfizer tilted their oval, although not the name, 84 00:04:04.08 --> 00:04:09.01 and this gave it a shot of energy. 85 00:04:09.01 --> 00:04:11.09 Related to the oval is the arch. 86 00:04:11.09 --> 00:04:14.01 a graphical arch will often be made 87 00:04:14.01 --> 00:04:16.06 with converging lines like you see here, 88 00:04:16.06 --> 00:04:18.06 meaning a line that's thick on one end, 89 00:04:18.06 --> 00:04:19.09 and thin on the other. 90 00:04:19.09 --> 00:04:22.01 Arches are hard to work with. 91 00:04:22.01 --> 00:04:23.05 What you don't want to do is add an arch 92 00:04:23.05 --> 00:04:26.03 to a dull logo just to give it some movement. 93 00:04:26.03 --> 00:04:29.03 That's a gratuitous use. 94 00:04:29.03 --> 00:04:32.02 An arch is its own thing. 95 00:04:32.02 --> 00:04:33.07 This is a beautiful example 96 00:04:33.07 --> 00:04:35.09 by designer Carolina Villamizar 97 00:04:35.09 --> 00:04:40.03 for the arches portray a railroad terminal. 98 00:04:40.03 --> 00:04:44.02 Type in an arch is very effective and popular. 99 00:04:44.02 --> 00:04:46.06 It's like the banner over the door. 100 00:04:46.06 --> 00:04:49.05 The announcement. The herald. 101 00:04:49.05 --> 00:04:54.00 A little bigger than life. 102 00:04:54.00 --> 00:04:57.04 After the circle, the most common shape is the square. 103 00:04:57.04 --> 00:05:00.02 A square has some very interesting properties. 104 00:05:00.02 --> 00:05:04.06 Four straight equal sides, four equidistant corners. 105 00:05:04.06 --> 00:05:08.05 A center. It's also a shape that does not occur in nature. 106 00:05:08.05 --> 00:05:11.04 It has a stable quality to it. 107 00:05:11.04 --> 00:05:13.00 It's on the ground. 108 00:05:13.00 --> 00:05:14.06 It's planted. 109 00:05:14.06 --> 00:05:17.01 Because it has no natural counterpart, 110 00:05:17.01 --> 00:05:19.06 it suggests the built-in environment. 111 00:05:19.06 --> 00:05:22.00 It's geometric. It's man-made. 112 00:05:22.00 --> 00:05:24.06 It looks like a structure. 113 00:05:24.06 --> 00:05:27.01 It's symmetrical, and it has something 114 00:05:27.01 --> 00:05:28.05 you may have never noticed, and that's 115 00:05:28.05 --> 00:05:31.08 four outward pointing arrows at the corners. 116 00:05:31.08 --> 00:05:34.09 So because our eyes follow lines, 117 00:05:34.09 --> 00:05:38.03 a square moves our eyes horizontally 118 00:05:38.03 --> 00:05:42.00 and vertically and diagonally outward 119 00:05:42.00 --> 00:05:44.00 while at the same time presenting a center 120 00:05:44.00 --> 00:05:46.02 that tends to draw our eye inward. 121 00:05:46.02 --> 00:05:50.02 So it's a lot more complicated than a circle. 122 00:05:50.02 --> 00:05:52.04 A square is suitable for things that want to convey 123 00:05:52.04 --> 00:05:58.00 precision or look built and purposeful. 124 00:05:58.00 --> 00:06:01.03 The edginess can be eliminated by rounding the corners. 125 00:06:01.03 --> 00:06:03.01 Now the arrows are gone. 126 00:06:03.01 --> 00:06:04.08 Round them more, and you get a hybrid 127 00:06:04.08 --> 00:06:06.06 between a square and a circle. 128 00:06:06.06 --> 00:06:08.05 Very soft. Kind of neutral. 129 00:06:08.05 --> 00:06:10.07 Not very masculine. Not really feminine. 130 00:06:10.07 --> 00:06:13.00 Great for children's things, all of which 131 00:06:13.00 --> 00:06:17.05 are characterized by round shapes. 132 00:06:17.05 --> 00:06:20.02 Skew the square and you get speed. 133 00:06:20.02 --> 00:06:23.04 Elongate it and you get more speed. 134 00:06:23.04 --> 00:06:25.05 This is the natural shape for things wanting 135 00:06:25.05 --> 00:06:30.06 to convey, well, speed, activity, energy, 136 00:06:30.06 --> 00:06:35.06 urgency, and so on. 137 00:06:35.06 --> 00:06:38.08 Turn the square 45 degrees and you get a diamond. 138 00:06:38.08 --> 00:06:42.02 This, too, is a simple shape, but you don't see it often. 139 00:06:42.02 --> 00:06:45.05 I'm guessing because it doesn't give you much working space 140 00:06:45.05 --> 00:06:48.00 and also because it's an unstable form. 141 00:06:48.00 --> 00:06:49.02 It's perched on a point. 142 00:06:49.02 --> 00:06:53.04 There's nothing level. In real life, it would fall over. 143 00:06:53.04 --> 00:06:55.09 We tend to like things a little more settled, unless 144 00:06:55.09 --> 00:06:58.09 a little off-balanced and edgy is the effect you need. 145 00:06:58.09 --> 00:07:03.00 Great for the X Games. 146 00:07:03.00 --> 00:07:05.04 Round corners will soften the diamond like they 147 00:07:05.04 --> 00:07:08.05 did with the square, and that changes it a lot. 148 00:07:08.05 --> 00:07:10.00 This is a more inviting shape. 149 00:07:10.00 --> 00:07:11.03 There's more room to work. 150 00:07:11.03 --> 00:07:17.01 No arrows. It'll make a nice label. 151 00:07:17.01 --> 00:07:19.07 Related to the diamond is the triangle. 152 00:07:19.07 --> 00:07:22.08 We often see phantom triangles, but not 153 00:07:22.08 --> 00:07:25.00 many physical ones. 154 00:07:25.00 --> 00:07:26.08 A pyramid like you see here is a very 155 00:07:26.08 --> 00:07:29.06 stable geometric shape in real life, 156 00:07:29.06 --> 00:07:33.05 but in design, the top feels very weak, 157 00:07:33.05 --> 00:07:36.03 like there's nothing here, and room for nothing. 158 00:07:36.03 --> 00:07:40.01 And it creates a very strong upward pointing arrow. 159 00:07:40.01 --> 00:07:43.07 So it has three conflicting characteristics. 160 00:07:43.07 --> 00:07:46.04 The base makes it stable. 161 00:07:46.04 --> 00:07:48.06 The angles make it edgy, and therefore, 162 00:07:48.06 --> 00:07:52.02 energetic, but then it just tapers off into nothing. 163 00:07:52.02 --> 00:07:55.04 Reebok uses a triangle which suits a high-energy 164 00:07:55.04 --> 00:07:57.07 product like athleticwear, but I'm surprised 165 00:07:57.07 --> 00:08:00.03 by how conservative they are with it. 166 00:08:00.03 --> 00:08:03.02 Delta Airlines uses a triangle too, and of course, 167 00:08:03.02 --> 00:08:05.00 it makes sense for them, given their name. 168 00:08:05.00 --> 00:08:07.04 But even here, it's not the dominant element. 169 00:08:07.04 --> 00:08:10.00 It justs snugs into the line of type. 170 00:08:10.00 --> 00:08:13.00 Even on the tail of the plane, where it's huge, 171 00:08:13.00 --> 00:08:17.01 it's in low-contrast colors, it's angled, it's cropped. 172 00:08:17.01 --> 00:08:20.02 So it really loses that sense of a pyramid. 173 00:08:20.02 --> 00:08:22.05 Very low-key. 174 00:08:22.05 --> 00:08:25.01 The most successful triangle logo I'm aware of 175 00:08:25.01 --> 00:08:28.07 is this one, which you'll recognize as Nabisco. 176 00:08:28.07 --> 00:08:31.04 But even here, it registers less as a triangle, 177 00:08:31.04 --> 00:08:37.00 but more as a box corner, which is how it's used. 178 00:08:37.00 --> 00:08:39.09 A variation of the triangle is the shield. 179 00:08:39.09 --> 00:08:43.07 This is a great shape mainly because of its associations. 180 00:08:43.07 --> 00:08:46.07 The shield has ancient roots in combat, 181 00:08:46.07 --> 00:08:52.06 in heraldry, in royalty, as a family crest. 182 00:08:52.06 --> 00:08:56.09 A variation of the three-point shield is the two-point one. 183 00:08:56.09 --> 00:08:59.03 Anytime you want to tap into tradition, 184 00:08:59.03 --> 00:09:02.00 into a sense of establishment, patronage, 185 00:09:02.00 --> 00:09:06.03 royalty, a crest shape is the one you want. 186 00:09:06.03 --> 00:09:11.02 It's great for badges, groups, clubs, all that. 187 00:09:11.02 --> 00:09:14.07 Those are the basic shapes. 188 00:09:14.07 --> 00:09:15.08 I mentioned phantoms. 189 00:09:15.08 --> 00:09:17.06 Shapes aren't always literal. 190 00:09:17.06 --> 00:09:20.03 They're more often phantoms. 191 00:09:20.03 --> 00:09:23.09 This handsome acronym is a phantom triangle, 192 00:09:23.09 --> 00:09:27.05 and the arrow, which looks triangular, 193 00:09:27.05 --> 00:09:31.03 is actually built in a circle. 194 00:09:31.03 --> 00:09:33.02 So the takeaway here. 195 00:09:33.02 --> 00:09:35.06 There are three reasons to think shape. 196 00:09:35.06 --> 00:09:38.02 One is that our eyes are tuned into shapes. 197 00:09:38.02 --> 00:09:40.04 We recognize them quickly. 198 00:09:40.04 --> 00:09:43.05 Two is that shape is an organizing force for you. 199 00:09:43.05 --> 00:09:44.09 It'll help you keep your graphics 200 00:09:44.09 --> 00:09:48.04 focused in one spot, and not sprawl. 201 00:09:48.04 --> 00:09:51.04 You don't want oddball shapes like an L-shaped logo. 202 00:09:51.04 --> 00:09:54.02 And three, shape is a visual force 203 00:09:54.02 --> 00:09:57.08 that can convey meaning and association.