My Useful Guide: Understanding Logo Design

Quite often beautifully simple logos are the best at communicating the most - Getting it right is important

The Amazon logo: a basic font, plain colours and a simple arrow - not much to it! Well, that primitive arrow actually tells us quite a lot. 

We all know Amazon as a vast company that sells pretty much everything and that’s exactly what that arrow is eluding to . . . they stock everything from A to Z it even makes the logo smile. Clever eh?! 

FedEx: have you ever noticed the little arrow in the negative space between the E and the X? They are quite literally going places - proof that simplicity is quite often key.

Logos are the first form of communication for a business and say a lot about who you are and what you represent - they are an important glimpse into a companies personality! It’s crucial that your logo projects the right image for your business with maximum effect and minimal fuss.

Important questions you need to be asking yourself about your logo?

What do you want to say about you as a business? Are you fun with a quirky edge, professional and to the point, are you long established with years of experience?

It’s important to think about the kind of audience / industry you are hoping to attract? Young, old? Males, females? Couples, families, individuals? Maybe you want to attract frivolous people with cash to splash, or those looking for high quality but at a great price. There is a huge number of potential clients out there - you need to decide which of them you want to target. 

Are there any particular colours you want to use? Colours are great for expressing emotions and targeting that key audience, as well as helping people to identify you in a sea of competitors.

How are you going to use your logo, where will it be seen, what will it sit with? Does it need to work in its entirety or does it need to be identifiable by just an icon?

There is a number of things to think about and this is purely a starting point, if you want to find out more about commissioning a logo design we have a brilliant pdf you can download that is filled with useful information. Or take a look at this months case study.

Choosing a logo shouldn’t be stressful, it should be a fun experience and we are a team of designers with years of expertise - ready to help. Whether you have a basic brief or a specific concept we can help you realise ideas or show you a number of unique logo possibilities.

Why not have a look at some logos we have designed. For more information and to speak to the studio why not give us a call.

Plinth and graphic panel design for the B&Q Managers Conference

This month saw the B&Q Managers Conference descend on the Manchester Central Convention Centre, showcasing the up coming retail products for Q4 2015 to an internal B&Q audience.

The New Fat were commissioned to design and build an exciting way to display a whole host of cleaning products and winter motoring essentials. To name a few, we had clothes airers, washing up liquid, dishwasher salt, car sponges, screen wash and even an alloy wheel complete with tyre! Some would say “not the most interesting of items” but that’s where our creativity came into play!

The solution was a trio of staggered wooden box style, freestanding shelving plinths which framed each product perfectly. These were purpose built, so the audience could handle the products from both sides of the display.

We also designed a range of racking graphics, shelf wobblers, price list graphics, pull ups and counter graphics to compliment the stands.

On the day before the conference, two members of The New Fat team travelled up to Manchester to set up and dress the stand. It is always a hive of activity at the exhibition set up stage, people, products and props everywhere. We are very proud to help create impact at the B&Q internal event and loved strutting around in our high viz vests!

The result was met with high praise from all and deemed a great success, not only in design but in preparation, creation and execution!

“Thanks very much for such amazing support and the stand looked amazing and so many people commented on how we made cleaning look really good”

B&Q - Lead Buyer

“I second that, it was great that on the Tuesday you were able to dress up the area with little intervention, it did look great.

In addition the POS created for the shelving and storage area really enhanced the display.”
B&Q - Visual Merchandiser

Penguin Random House Exhibition Stand for Brand Licensing Europe 2014

For Penguin Random House at the BLE14 exhibition held at Olympia, London this month we designed and installed a retro living room complete with a window and garden. The brief was to come up with something a little different on a restrictive budget which represented both Random House Enterprises and Penguin Ventures under the one roof. We didn't go as far as a roof, however the final result was a perfect showcase for the licensed product opportunities of both brands and their respective properties. A reception area bringing everything together kept everything professional and clean. Very homely indeed. We look forward to helping out again next year :-)

Brands Licensing Europe 2013 Exhibition

Here in the studio we love wall vinyls, and when the well known British brand of the Penguin Group asked us for some lovely logos to cover the walls of their stand we jumped at the chance! The display was called 'Penguin Licensing and Consumer Products' and was well received at the Brands Licensing Europe 2013 show.

New Apache ad campaign starts in Professional Builder

Really proud to show the world the first in a campaign series of adverts for Apache Industrial Workwear. Featuring in the lastest edition (October) of Professional Builder.

Focusing on the features of the products, we have given a quirky and eye catching way of catching the attention of the target audience.

THE PHOTOSHOOT

After lots of brainstorming, planning, mocking up, prop collecting and location searching it was finally time for the moment we had all been waiting for…the day of the all new Apache clothing photoshoot. The office was full of beautiful models, clothes left right and centre and a bucket load of creativity.

THE RESULT

The shoot was a brilliant success and the results led to a striking, rough and ready but uber cool set of campaign images to be rolled out across the year. Kicking it all off with the debut full page advert in Professional Builder Magazine…and it looks pretty good, even if we do say so ourselves! 

Keep a look out for the next advert in November issue :-)

Designing a good price list

Price lists and other text heavy information documents, like data sheets, although not the most exciting project for a creative design team, they are an equally big challenge.

Most price lists will be used in high volume over a long period of time so they should be designed with real care and attention to detail, ensuring data is found quickly and easily.
Things to consider when planning a design for your price list:
• General categorisation of sections
• Contents page
• Hierachy of contents on each page
• How will images/illustrations sit with their relating text and information
• Price options and breakdown needs to be as simple as possible
• Add price codes / symbols to make space work well
• Do not sacrifice good readability for less pages - a good balance is required.
• Will the document needs to be translated into other languages? Extra space needs

As well as the visual look of the content, thinking about the format of the document is also important.
What size would suit the target audience? Where will this be stored/kept when not in use?
Production things to consider are:
• Size of the finished article
• Is it a brochure or bound document?
• Would it work well in a ring binder or wallet?
• Will you be needing to update or add pages in the short term
• Should the pages be encapsulated or laminated to prevent against damage?

If you would like to speak to a designer about the best way of designing your price list contact The New Fat. We work all over the UK and also have international clients.

The New Fat are finalists at the Nottingham Post Business Awards 2012

The New Fat are very proud to be chosen as one of the three finalists for this years “Contribution to the Community Award”, part of the Nottingham Post Business Awards 2012.
The awards are an opportunity to highlight the many excellent businesses in Nottinghamshire, giving exposure to companies which make a vital contribution to the local economy.

A female owned design agency which was born and continues to thrive in this creative and exciting city - The New Fat love Nottingham.

Suze Moore, Creative Director is a strong advocate for getting involved with community causes - “As part of our company ethos we offer our time free of charge to various local projects and causes, we feel strongly about giving something back to society – keeping Nottingham a vibrant, caring and positive place to live and work.”

Projects which have helped the company get short listed include:
• Giving industry insights to students at New College Nottingham
• Designing a Logo and offering brand advice for Stonebridge City Farm
• Offering school and college work experience placements
• Designing T-shirts for local sporting events
• Setting up a not for profit Nottingham Business Networking group, donating to charity.

The whole company is very excited to be nominated, especially as a film crew will be coming round the office in a few weeks to produce a short clip to show at the posh doo on the 4th July at the Council House. On the night they will be up against E.ON and The Malt Cross for the award.

“It’s fantastic to be recognized for all the teams hard work, we will all have our fingers crossed on the night." Debbie Mawhinney, Managing Director