The Design Process of a Great Logo
The practice of interviewing interesting and relevant bloggers isn't new. It's a great way to generate new content, promote your blog/website, make new friends and build lasting relationships for you and your blog. Traditionally this was done over emails but took much time and effort on both parts. Now there is a social network to do this more efficiently and hassle free - Peopleized! I'm proud to be part of this new website with the logo I've designed and here is how it came about:Months before Peopleized launched, I received an email from on of the site's creator, Halil, for an interview to be published once his site was completed. At first I thought he was preparing for a blog where he would interview different bloggers and provide a "behind-the-scenes" perspective to their readers. However, I was told, that this will not be the case. Peopleized is a totally new network of bloggers who have very good content on their blogs but still have a problem reaching out to new readers.
After completing my interview, as a natural born freelancer I took the opportunity to offer my graphic design services and help improve the look of this interesting new concept. An effective logo one of the most important branding tools. It provides an easily recognizable identity for your blog or website.
The following logo (P!) was in place before I took over my tablet and started photochopping. In my opinion, this logo showed a serious attitude, lacked the flare of a Web 2.0 startup and didn't reflect the "fun factor" that is in interviewing, and getting interviewed by fellow bloggers. A well thought out logo should promote those qualities you want people to associate with your site.
My initial reaction to this logo was that it's not good enough for the brand. It's not interesting enough to make a strong impression, and didn't deliver a clear message. What makes a great logo as opposed to a good logo is that it has to make an immediate impact. Your logo should catch the viewer's eye and hold the viewer's attention. In addition to impact, a good logo must be good to look at.
The smiley face with the tongue sticking out is easily recognizable as the first letter P and also welcomes all internet users with a form that is familiar to them. Not only it evokes a positive image but also a sense of goodwill. Yet, something was missing from the logo and did not have that certain "unique" feel to it. In order to be recognizable, the logo must be distinct.
To reinforce the brand identity, the next "common sense" step was to incorporate the star shape in the logo. The star accurately represents the "promote yourself" bit of being interviewed and connecting with other bloggers in the meantime. Moreover, this shape instills a positive feeling in the users that resonates long after they have seen the logo.
Though, dealing with a non-standard shape like a star (compared to a circle or square) was trickier than I thought so I kept on trying different things. For some reason, it was not coordinating well with the smiley face. I tried making the star bigger..
..and bigger..
..until I found the right size, stylized the P letter a little bit more, and can we have the drum roll please!
I must say I'm very pleased with the final outcome and so were the people behind this website. Even Seth Godin, the godfather of branding and marketing, liked it! Special thanks to Halil and Euripidis for fitting the graphics just right into the code. If you look close enough, you will see the amount of detail that is taken into consideration:
In addition to the logo, I also designed the favicon, icons and buttons on the homepage. My final tip about logo designs is the following: In order to ensure your logo will have enduring and "timeless" appeal, employ a professional graphic designer. This initial investment will save you money in the long-term.
So, what are you waiting for? Get "peopleized" and enjoy this new way of promoting yourself via interviews. I'm already a member and look forward to the opportunities that it has for building an online presence. Feel free to look around my profile and fave my interview (fave my and I fave yours?) that was published along with the launch.
