1. Aesthetic standards
An excellent logo must be beautiful. Generally speaking, artistic logos are more attractive and infective, giving people a strong and deep impression. The high degree of artistry of logos is the need of the times and the progress of civilization. It is the embodiment of people's increasingly higher cultural literacy and the needs of aesthetic psychology.
It includes the beauty of image and the beauty of imagery.
Image beauty means that the graphics of the logo conform to the rules of form and modeling, that is, in terms of image, scale, proportion, color, texture, etc., it is based on diversity and unity, contrast and harmony, balance and balance, order and consistency. Repeated, dynamic and stillness and other formal rules are processed to make it highly concise and expressive. Give it the power of artistic appeal and visual impact.
The beauty of imagery refers to the ability to accurately reflect the characteristics and properties of the design object. If the logo of a basketball league originally feels like the logo of a football league, can we say that this logo is successful? Obviously the answer is no.
Some logo designers, in order to cater to leadership ideas, overly pursue the full expression of connotation when designing logos. However, insufficient efforts have been made in the formal aesthetics of the logo, and the designed "works" can be imagined. They have many superficial contents, rigid and outdated forms, and lack of aesthetics. There is no beauty of imagery or form at all. Some designers, in order to pursue the artistry of graphics, ignore the industry characteristics, corporate philosophy, market strategies, etc. of the design object, resulting in the logo lacking a certain connotation, which is not conducive to the improvement of brand competitiveness.
An excellent logo should also handle the relationship between content and form.
"'Using ideas to create shapes and shapes to express meanings' is the relationship between content and form. A good logo always has a beautiful form. No matter whether its function is direct or indirect, it always expresses something. A specific content, otherwise it will lose its value of beauty. ”①
If it lacks the beauty of image content and has no poetic realm, it cannot make people leisurely and fascinated; it lacks formal beauty and has no organized organizational order. , cannot make people happy and comfortable. There is no doubt that the beauty of imagery is intrinsic and provides universal practical significance; the beauty of form is figurative, providing a visual sense of form and specific characteristics, both of which are content and form. unified. ②
To sum up, an excellent logo should achieve the perfect unity of content, image and form. If the logo does not have a good sense of form, even if the designer gives a more "perfect" logo interpretation, it may only be a beautiful expression in words. If a logo has no connotation and charm and is just a formalist symbol pattern, it will only be short-lived.
Of course, just as people have different feelings about beauty, the aesthetic standards of logos vary from country to country and from era to era. Different groups live in different environments, form corresponding social and cultural concepts, and have different feelings and evaluations of logos.
So, is it enough to have the beauty of form and image of a logo? Not yet. It also needs to meet practical standards.
2. Practical standards
The essence of a logo lies in its functionality. Although artistically designed logos have ornamental value, the logo is not primarily for viewing, but for practicality. Some signs are for human use, such as public place signs, traffic signs, safety signs, indicative signs, etc.; some are specially used for countries, regions, cities, nations, and families, such as national emblems, regional emblems, city emblems, etc. Emblem and other signs; some are used exclusively for social groups, enterprises, benevolence and activities, such as emblems, monograms, factory logos, social logos, etc.; some are dedicated for certain commodities, such as trademarks; and some are used for collective or personal items. Special ones, such as seals, signatures, monograms, signatures, brands, etc. They all have unique and irreplaceable functions. Some are to distinguish different enterprises and business departments of similar products; some are to distinguish different qualities of similar products; those signs with legal effect especially have a special mission of safeguarding rights and interests. If an indicative sign cannot serve as an indicator, no matter how beautiful it is, it will lose the meaning of its existence.
“Another characteristic of modern trademark design is that it not only requires adapting to the decoration of the product itself, but also closely cooperating with commercial activities-computers, neon lights, transportation and various advertising and publicity technical measures. Create a Dazzling visuals convey information and achieve impressive artistic effects in an instant.
”③ ??
Also, when many companies design logos in VI design, they often only pursue the beauty of the logo itself and ignore the connection with reality. Many problems arise in subsequent applications. Unable to go in depth. For example, some logos look better at appropriate sizes, but when they are enlarged or reduced, the visual image of the logo changes and even some information may be lost.
Therefore, when designing a logo, the feasibility of its implementation must be fully considered, and corresponding design methods should be adopted based on its application form, materials, and production conditions. At the same time, other visual communication methods (such as printing, advertising, imaging, etc.) must be taken into consideration. Network, etc.) and the visual effect when zooming in and out.
3. Market standards
Logo design, like other design projects, can never exist in a vacuum; It may be divorced from the social, cultural and business environment in which it operates.
In this regard, as the company's market share increases and its market positioning changes, the company's logo will also change. Make corresponding adjustments. For example, Ningbo Youngor has updated its corporate and trademark logos three times since 1991. In October 2001, it launched a newly designed "Longma" logo, abandoning the traditional progressive model (that is, retaining the logo). In order to take into account the public's sense of identification and dependence on the corporate brand), the company resolutely decided to abandon the original logo and design a new logo. It is an important step for Youngor to actively respond to the challenges of joining the WTO and implement its internationalization strategy.
In this regard, the Olympic Games logo designed by Mr. Chen Shaohua and others is no exception. "Form" or evaluated from the perspective of "content", it is undoubtedly a masterpiece. Even Mr. Chen himself once said that if he were asked to redesign the Olympic logo, it would be difficult to surpass this logo. Such an excellent logo, why? Is my country's 2008 Olympic Games Organizing Committee recruiting a new hosting logo? What is the reason for this decision? I think, apart from other factors, this move has a lot to do with the Olympic marketing strategy. The Shen logo has been used for a long time and has a high "exposure". From a marketing perspective, although the positive effect that comes with high "exposure" is popularity and recognition, "exposure" Excessive "degree" may bring about various negative effects such as numb reaction from the audience and a sense of neglect in the market. The Sydney 2000 Olympic bid logo also experienced this "experience".
The author believes that redesigning the logo is a way to let It is a correct decision to reposition the packaging of a product that is no longer newsworthy and make it refreshing. But having said that, some logos may also have other problems. For example, China Telecom’s logo has problems with the ownership and use rights of the logo, which leads to the rebranding. Design logos.
Of course, the evaluation standards for logos are not static. With the development and progress of society, people's consumer psychology and aesthetic tastes have also changed, and our evaluation standards for logos should also be adjusted accordingly. Adjustment. The evaluation criteria for logos are not limited to the above three. When the evaluation objects and perspectives are different, the evaluation standards are also different. The above three standards cannot be followed rigidly.