Hey, I still can't seem to grasp the theory behind how big/where to place text and icons in a logo design. By this I mean how large to make the main text, where to put the tagline, and how to position the icon and such things. If I take one of many logo design inspiratino galleries, all of the elements are purposefully placed and sized to create a nice looking image : http://www.attitudedesign.co.uk/50-inspirational-logo-designs/ Can anyone help me with this? Thanks!
That gallery of logos is brilliant isn't it, some really inspirational stuff in there! The general rule looking at them is to place the text either to the right of the logo image, or below it (centered usually.) If you feel you can't get your text to flow with the image itself, maybe you need to try looking at using some new fonts? Many logo designers will use professional fonts for the text, which imo makes a BIG difference when compared to using most standard/free fonts (agreed, these fonts don't come cheap - but are well worth it and will pay for themselves in the long run.) Other than that, all I can suggest is practice, practice, and more practice! Try recreating your own versions of the some of the logos in that gallery, and see how yours compares to theirs, and what it is that is different - this may help you to see exactly what you're missing/doing differently. Best of luck
I agree. Just keep trying. Some creative designs come accidentally. I'm a graphics designer but making a logo as good-looking as those on the link takes me lots of time and experiments.
When it comes to logos - there aren't any definite rules. But there are some important things to keep in mind: 1). It must be readable at all sizes! If people have to look at your logo for more than a couple seconds to figure out what it is/says - you've failed. Brand recognition is very important. 2). Consider colors carefully. What happens when someone prints your logo on a black and white printer? Do all the elements still show up? Does the logo still look the same as the colored version? Logo design is an art, for sure. Good luck!
For those who are interested, I sent an email to David Airey and he said that he would consider writing an article on it. I also contacted David Pache over MSN and he gave me some advice on how he does it, and he was very specific. He says that he uses the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci numbers. Some specific advice was that he makes taglines 61% of the main text. I'm sure you can research more into this if you're interested, seems quite interesting. Be sure to check out both David Aireys' and David Paches' portfolios, they are two of the best around and they both do articles showing how they've made specific logos.