Circular logo art has always been a main stay in the graphic side of advertisement because it is eye-catching, memorable, simple, and timeless. Most of the time people don’t recognize it, but many famous businesses have a circular logo art associated with them. Circular logo art fits almost all kind of businesses or companies, regardless of the industry they are into and is one of the more popular shapes in designing logos. Graphic symbols are often used to embody the message or service the company offers and it also serves as branding. The circle itself has been associated with logo design because it symbolizes infinity or eternity, and although used often, it is still very effective if done creatively.

Below is a list of five popular brands, which use circular logo art as symbol or branding. They use the circle as template then gave it a bit of twist to show the vast possibilities you can do with the simple, yet classy circle:

1. PopCap Games

Who doesn’t know Plants vs. Zombies? PopCap uses this simple circular logo art for its flash based gaming design company.

2. Coca-Cola

This huge beverage company that started in the late 1800s also has a circular version of its logo for branding.

3. Firefox

I bet you are using it at this very moment. Mozilla Firefox got a huge share of Internet browser users while maintaining its very iconic circular logo design.

4. Volkwagen

Beetle? The people’s car still uses its old school type logo, iconic and recognizable.

5. Motorola

Motorola also has a trendy logo art using the circular pattern. I also would like to include the controversial makeover of the circular logo art of also one huge beverage brand “Pepsi” in the year 2009, It redesigned its logo and paid the huge amount of $1,000,000.

Spot the Difference!

BEFORE                                     AFTER

Ronald Almendran is a seasoned writer specializing in different art media. He believes that the natural gift for design should be continuously nurtured through constant and active participation in several trainings and events.

More than a hundred years ago, football helmets were made of leather. Leather shoe makers tailor made them for the players. It was then that helmets were not that cool looking compared to the present helmet. The resemblance sometimes can be compared to a World War I fighter pilot, The only the difference is the thick padding.

Football helmets look really simple during the early days. But it all changed when the first football logo was painted on a helmet in 1948. Reinvention on the materials used for making helmets also changed dramatically during the course of time, from the types of leathers being used in making shoes to the present fiber glass material that improved the durability of the helmets.

Currently there are 32 NFL professional football teams, each having its own look to identify them and for branding. Having a good football logo always represents the type and mood of the team, if you have for example a devil looking logo, then your team maybe branded as a really fearsome competitor. Well, it really depends on the way viewers see the team’s logo, but most of the time they perceived it as “What you see is what you get..

Making your own football logo

Most fans love their team so much that they wear the team’s logo every time they watch the games. As a fan, you can create your own football logo by trying these few simple steps.

STEP 1.

First, you may search the Internet for clip arts that you think would help you create a template to start with. You can also sketch your ideas on paper that you can later scan to make use of the image on your computer. Maybe you can start drawing a simple shape of the football. It looks like an egg, but way larger, of course. After you made an egg-like shape, you can then enhance it with other images such as a bursting fire just outside the outline of the egg.

STEP 2.

Get some image you would see as something that can represent your team. A hotdog may not represent a serious football club, but if it represents the team and your club’s name, then why not? Paste or draw the image you want inside the egg-like shape you made. Tilt it the way you want and place it in the middle of the egg.

STEP 3.

Add texts on the top of the shape and the flame. You can either insert an arching word art template or custom made your own. Remember that your font style must be readable even from far away and the color combination must match the uniform your team is wearing.

STEP 4.

Lastly, put some color on your logo such as a mix of yellow, orange, and red for the flame; brown for the football and black thin outline for the whole logo itself to emphasize it. Color you team emblem the way you want it to look like and the team name can have a plain and simple color. Definitely, black would look great.

There you have it! Your own custom-made football logo!

Ernest Vargas is a design director who believes that every design element should effectively work together to create a masterpiece.

Bloggers and online marketers often decide to write all about sports because of how readers enjoy fast-paced athletic hysteria. In the United States, particularly, nothing is more hysterical with a professional baseball slugger breaking his bat and hitting a 150 km/h fastball straight into the hotdog stands for a homerun.

Baseball is a staple all-American pastime and bloggers find it exciting to report all Major League updates with their sports-themed weblog. Although most blog publishers focus on sports in general, others divert their whole energy in baseball alone.

Baseball-related weblogs employ on-page strategies to give fans a distinct, fresh web page look. An average baseball fan enjoys when his/her in-game baseball news are brilliantly decorated with sleek baseball logos.

For independent bloggers who are not into web design, here are a few tips on how you can make your logo appear as if a professional drew it.

• A silhouette of a baseball player pitching – A weblog that speaks about baseball must incorporate a logo that mightily promotes baseball mechanics. One of the most recognized defensive moves in baseball is pitching. Your logo may borrow ideas from existing images that show a player in his regular or unorthodox pitching stance. Revamp the whole concept. You can create a logo that depicts a baseball athlete throwing a slider, curve ball, or cutter.

• Outfielder, shortstop, or the catcher – Aside from the pitcher, your logo may use either outfielder, shortstop, or the catcher as the web site’s main logo. The logo may show an outfielder catching a fly ball, a shortstop diving for an infield hit, or a catcher catching a fastball. If you can compress the logo, then why not add the three defensive positions into one single logo?

• Different baseball rotations – Another good choice for your baseball logo is the different baseball rotations or ball movement. A particular pitch produces a certain spin that throws hitters off-guard. Try creating a logo that shows a sinker’s heavy backspin or a curve ball’s hook-like acceleration.

• The baseball umpire – If baseball officiating is the theme of your baseball weblog, then the game’s umpire is your most logical choice. Make a logo that sees the umpire signaling for a strike out or a foul ball.

Your baseball-themed website must not focus on a singular baseball action. Incorporate these baseball logos to internal pages tackling certain aspects of the sport. Represent baseball’s thrill with your blog and never forget to keep abreast with different baseball updates. You never know what kind of pitch or rule will be introduced next.

Lance Nickleson is a design consultant who writes for different design magazines.

Boxing is nothing but professional contact. Sluggers punch each other in different vital parts of the body. The crowd loves it when a fighter hits his opponent with a stunning uppercut. Announcers go wild when a knockout punch sends the boxer dazed and flat on his back.

Aside from mixed martial arts and kickboxing, boxing knows how to send sports fans and analysts frenzied. Every hard-hitting blow produces a shockwave to the arena. When a mouthpiece flies out of the ring, fans cannot help it but chant for the boxer to finish the weakened combatant and the round.

For sports fans, simply watching live telecasts of pound-for-pound fights will not satiate their thirst for blood. Some opened web sites catering to the sport itself and what fight must the nation watch out for next. Boxing is a global phenomenon and is considered as the modern man’s gladiator blood bath.

For web sites to capture the intense spirit of the sport, a boxing logo must appear on the home page of the URL. This is an indicator of how unique the web site is or how knowledgeable the owner is on the topic of boxing. Here are some hard-hitting boxing logo ideas you can design and paste on your web site.

• The finishing blow – Boxing is about clean and powerful punches. Heavyweights deliver the knockout blow while welterweights rely on speedy jabs and hooks. Finishing blows like one-two punch combinations and sneaky uppercuts to the chin destroyed several careers. The moves also catapulted the careers of legendary in-ring combatants.

A web site about boxing must incorporate the sport’s devastating arsenal of punches. The action will start within the logo. This will fire up visitors and read the web site’s content from start to finish.

• Sneaky defensive postures and moves – The sport is not considered exciting without the slippery defensive moves employed by its combatants. Boxing is not all about body blows. Defense opens up opportunities to strike down an opponent down to his knees. Quick parries and clinching comprise the sport’s basic defensive moves.

Incorporate a logo that will give importance to a boxer’s defensive state of mind. Draw an icon showing a boxer’s instinct to parry or block a hook. Move the logo with a bob and weave. Instill the value of defense is the best offense.

Luis Taylor can easily say if a logo or web design is interesting enough for its target market. Luis is a reputable freelance artist.

Creating music logos may appear to be trickier than crafting ordinary company logos. It is because most music enthusiasts usually have sharper sense of hearing more than they have a sharper sense of sight. Music of course, appeals through the ears, and it is not easy making a music logo appealing to the eyes.

However, despite these complexities in the nature of such logos, the general considerations in logo-making still apply: identity, creativity, and marketability.

Identity

Logos for music companies, or any logo for that matter, should carry the identity of the company or institution it represents. For this reason, the elements that are present in the logo must be the same elements that the organization possesses, carries, or proclaims. These logos cannot deviate from the distinct characteristics of the organization, which it symbolizes.

Creativity

Creativity is another paramount consideration when making logos for music companies. With this, a logo must not only display the identity and character of the institution; but it must also constantly exude a sense of creativity and style.

Creativity is thus the biggest challenge for music logos. First, identity, which cannot be compromised, must be combined with other elements in a design to make the music logo appealing to the eyes. And second, there is a little room for creativity to stretch out, given that the only options available when incorporating icons in a design are musical symbols, instruments, and devices. Nevertheless, this challenge will put any logo designer to a test.

Marketability

Finally, identity and creativity combined, the ultimate test for the logo is its marketability. Amid an ocean of music logos; an effective, marketable logo will be able to symbolize the company, retain its individuality, and compete against other logos. It is not to say that marketable logos will make sales alone. But being the cornerstone of the company’s marketing measures, a music company’s logo will let music be heard through its art.

Darwin Palmer is a logo and web design analyst who has been invited as a judge in many design competitions.

Logo design makers or icon generators help make the logo design process easier. These wares often come in cheap or no price at all. Despite of the low-quality logos and custom-made interface, people use the generators to launch their icons representing a product or service.

Despite producing poor logo quality, people still use logo makers as a shortcut to the design process. Since designing a logo is a laborious task, logo makers come to the rescue as part of expediting logo design procedures.

Furthermore, a logo design software contains premeditated commands and tools ready to aid the user in an instant. These tools vary in purpose and are user-friendly considering a logo design maker’s simple interface.

Professional logo designers poke fun at custom-generated logo makers because of how amateurish the design will look like. Plus, the logo will become subject to ridicule because of how miniscule the logo will appear at its final stage.

For logo experts and web design practitioners, here are some reasons why a logo created with the use of an automated logo design maker will destroy an individual’s worth, a company’s business, or a web site’s exterior look:

• Logo design makers often make use of mascots to represent a quirkier side to logos
• Logo design makers blend Photoshop elements to integrate designs with at least a touch of professionalism
• Each project executed in logo design makers look recycled
• Logo design makers do not improve the quality of an image. It produces the opposite effect.
• Logo design makers do not use tools, which can help beautify logos with a click of a button or two

Logo design makers continue to populate the Web with enticing slogans and banners. These are all merely diversions to make people compare logo design makers with programs like Photoshop and Corel.

Kenny Adams thinks that a creative mind can make something out of nothing. He has over 20 years of professional experience in the logo and web design industry.

Companies, businesses, and different products use logos to graphically represent them. But more than having company logos, businesses must also possess a unique logo design that would best illustrate their individuality and would help them establish their identities to the viewing public.For this reason, a logo design must entail a lot of understanding of the client’s business. A logo designer is encouraged to ask questions to his client so that he would be able to fully understand the client’s services and later on, meet his expectations. But ever wonder what questions must logo designersask his client to ensure the best logo design for his business? Below are few of the most common queries:

Personal Details

Initially, you need to ask the client for his personal details, such as his name, e-mail address, telephone, and location. The client’s name helps in initiating the conversation, while the e-mail address and telephone numbers will help you stay connected with him.

Company Details

After getting the client’s personal details, the next thing that you need to do is to ask about the company itself. For new clients, you need first to ask questions about the project and then try to figure out what the client is looking for.

Better ask for the company name, business type, and the products and services that they’re offering. You also need to know the company’s mission and vision, as well as the purpose of the business venture. In addition, you may also ask about the business’ target audience and their competitors. Both questions will help you get a feeling about what type of logo is prominent in their business field.

Logo details

As soon as you acquire the personal and company details, the next thing that you have to do is to gather information regarding the client’s opinion and demands on the logo design. You need to know the exact name and tagline that must be included in the logo. If the client wants a tagline, it would be best if he can supply the exact words that must appear on the design.

In addition to that, logo designers need to know the message or image that the logo must reflect. You can also ask if the client has any color preference or if he is avoiding a certain color tone. It would also help if you would know where the client intends to use the logo: website, print ads, t-shirts, or on cardboard boxes.

You can also ask the client of the qualities present in his competitors’ logosthat appeal to him the most. The designer could also note down the impression that such logo has on the client. If the client wants a particular look for his logo design, have him present samples or ask him to describe the design or details that he wants to see in the logo design.

These are just some of the most common questions that a client must answer when getting a professional logo for their business. The complete and accurate information supplied by the client will really help hasten the design process and provide a specialized logo design that perfectly fits their requirements. If there is a need to ask for additional questions other than those specified above, that is okay. Remember that communication is the key in a successful logo design. So, start asking and get those neurons working!

Lance Nickleson is a design consultant who writes for different design magazines.

A famous adage goes: “Old habits die hard.”

Indeed, it is true, whether the habit is a good or a bad one. Everyone gets into the habit over time sooner or later. Some habits are common to all, but there are others that are unique to a particular individual.

Breaking and reinforcing habits

Designers of logos, and other graphic arts for that matter, are no exception. Being artists, they are supposed to be both imaginative and skillful, and not just merely service doers. In addition, the habits that each of them possess becomes part of their human nature.

While negative habits are taking its toll, positive habits must be maintained. Habits are seen in everything a person will do or will not do, which affects the process of creating a logo design.

Thus, it is very important for people who seek to create their logos to distinguish the better, the good, and the worst of these habits.

Good habits

Forward-looking designers include the following:

Interactive designer

Designers should be able to keep a regular, real-time communication with their clients. Without interaction, clients will think they are being taken for granted.

Passionate designer

Successful designers always do what they love and love what they do. Passion, in fact, surpasses any craving for fame and fortune. Despite the consequences, they will still pursue what they want.

Focused designer

Focus means striving to provide top quality and excellent products. To achieve this, the designer should concentrate on developing quality clients, not on the quantity of projects. Customer satisfaction is his/her priority.

Determined designer

They are the type of people who will try and try again and again until they succeed. They never give up as they remain persistent to further improve their talents and skills.

Patient designer

Keeping a cool head by practicing the art of patience is needed to keep going at work. Nobody wants to be criticized, but criticisms are everywhere and come from all sides.

Bad habits

Designers who transmit a negative vibe include the following:

Disorganized

Designers should not only possess skills on how to use designing software programs, but organization management skills as well. If a designer is disorganized, more and more clients are lost because he or she is unable to prioritize.

Plagiarist

It is a crime to copy or steal someone else’s designs. Plagiarism not only destroys a designer’s credibility, but can also lead to legal and financial problems that directly affects his/her career.

Arrogant

Though confidence is a positive attitude, having too much of this puts the designer in a bad light. To brag one’s skills and abilities annoy other people; thus, repelling the chance to get more clients to work with.

Inhospitable

Developing trust and confidence is needed to generate more clients. Thus, the best approach is to be attentive to their needs and make them feel welcome. Without these, clients will surely be scared away.

Lazy designer

Customers always want their work done quickly. Thus, procrastination is certainly a bad habit. It causes severe damage to a designer’s career if they are unable to cope up with the deadlines due to frequent delays of the project.

For logo designers who want to stay longer in the business, one should be able to manage his or her bad habits and, at the same time, maximize good habits as well. Only by then can he or she earn the respect of colleagues and the public in general.

Darwin Palmer is a logo and web design analyst who has been invited as a judge in many design competitions.

Every web site or business card has a logo. This is what makes it special, that is, to have a mark of identification and distinction that helps the public to associate it with a brand of business.

Sometimes, seeing the logo is enough for the public to trust. It is, therefore, just right to ask logo designers on how can they develop a visual landmark.

Investing

Designing logos for businesses is cost-efficient because it provides a huge market without having the troubles of geographical boundaries.

Location

• Online business can be a great strategy to startup your logo designing, serving a client if he/she lives in a country far away

Equipment

• All you need is to have a computer with a graphic design software as well as access to the Internet

Time and energy

• You need to spend adequate time to learn more about your client and the nature of their business in order to convey certain attributes that connects the business to the logo you are creating for them

From beginner to pro

The truth is that you can become one of the skilled logo designers even if you do not have a background or a degree in graphic design. If you are a beginner, the following are some tips you may apply in order to level yourself up:

Purchase software programs that will help you to mix and match various elements to create a concept and subsequently assemble a logo.

Keep on learning graphic design techniques and skills, and try to merge the disciplines you have learned so far to produce amazing effects. Graphic designing is an art that is mastered with experience. Start with the basics until you eventually can do complicated techniques.

To avoid coming out with similar-looking logos, do not stick to using software programs that allow you to assemble logos quickly since these are widely used by many people.

Join a forum of graphics or logo designers. This venue allows you to ask questions and learn something from people who have longer years of experience in the business.

If you are not sure of something related to work, you can always seek the answers from experts who are delighted to share their opinions, and point you to what they think is the right direction, for as long you are not directly competing against them.

Look for business owners who need a new logo. They can be a relative, former colleague, friend, or a friend of a friend. Offer your services at a reduced rate or for free. The purpose for this is to know if they will become happy and satisfied with your work. This can also add to the list of the clients you have served, which will in turn attract more customers for your business.

Provide customers with more than just one design to allow them to choose an option to go with.

Martin Armstrong is a logo and graphic design critique writing reviews for a review web site.

With every flip of the calendar, various changes occur both in the advancement of web-based applications and technology. Both graphics and digital artists are gaining more resources in developing their craft. As such, new and more creative ideas are flooding the design mainstream.

Fusion of new and old logo concepts has been prominent in the field and designs are now more diverse and creative. The year 2011 has opened various opportunities and chances for improving logo designs. Here are some of the current logo design trends:

Vector and Animals

Icons that are commonly added to existing logo concepts are animals and other fancy creatures. Although not entirely a new idea, adding animals or other living creatures in your logo will allow customers or clients to co-relate an animal with your business. Further, since these animal figures are created in vector form, the concept is coupled with brilliant imagery and futuristic feel.

For example, look at your morning cereal box. Does it have the image of a rabbit or a bird on it? The inclusion of the rabbit to Trix’s logo and the bird in Cocoa Puffs’ has enabled these products to gain more recognition and familiarity among its buyers and prospective clients. Even the popular short messaging site Twitter can easily be recognized through its blue-colored bird icon.

Lettering

Apart from the striking iconic designs, it is also important to pay attention to the typography used in your logo design. Clients and prospective customers will definitely look at any striking or bold letters on top of your store’s signage or website. As such, ample consideration should also be given when crafting an appropriate typography for your logo design.

Fonts are the primary consideration when it comes to typographic logos. Since every typeface has a certain feeling or impression attached to it, one must carefully choose the typeface that relates well to the nature of one’s business. Nonetheless, it is also important to consider the image or impact that your logo creates.

Novelty

Creativity in creating a logo design for your own company can be based on another company’s logo. For instance, the musical note used for Apple’s iTunes can be a good starting point. The musical note can be modified and improved to create a new and more fitting logo design for a music sharing website. This type of logo concept is typically used by competing companies and or groups sharing the same field of business.

The growing numbers of logo and web designershas open venues for various prospective logo design trends and artistic works. However, it is always a good thing to remember that trends do fade and the best logo designs are still those that are capable of growing along with their respective companies. So despite the prevailing trends, always choose and consider the logo that best relates to your business and not something that follow suit an existing trend.

Darwin Palmer is a logo and web design analyst who has been invited as a judge in many design competitions.