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The Butchers Block Logo Design

Logo Design Company London — Fri, 14 May 2010 08:33:38 +0000

Today I wanted to analyze a logo design project that we worked on the whole of past month called the The Butchers Block logo design. The Butchers Block is a butchers company based in London serving meat to individual restaurants and small trendy bistro type pub chains. Competing against the likes of William Rose, Nigel Fredricks, Select, Rare, also located in and around London, The Butchers Block wanted a simple and smart logo with maybe a trendy cupcake company type feel.

Unfortunately, because of a printing mistake and some delays by our printer, the client canceled the whole project and requested a refund. So we retain copyrights to all the designs we came up and also registered the copyrights.

The client, to start with, did not want any traditional butcher stripey designs or cartoon characters. They were keen to see at least one design of a black outline of half a cow, pig and lamb with each animal divided up with white chalk like lines and writing naming the cuts of meat.

The London based Logo Design team set to work on this project and after an in-depth research into the butchers market segment and the target audience being the local restaurants and London bistros, we came up with a whole bunch of logo design concepts that ranging from the simple text based logo design to the more illustrative logo designs.

The clients felt that the top design is the closest but to what they had in mind wanted to have a black background with a outline of just a cow with the parts named as above. They also wanted the outline to be as though it is chalked on a blackboard and the font as if it was hand written with the name “The Butchers Block” then sitting under the design. The logo designers then went back to the drawing board and came back with a fresh set of logo design concepts as seen below.

The client was extremely happy with these new concepts and wrote: “Thank you for the lastest logos – we love number 3, its fab, thank you, just as we had pictured. …Thank you very much for all your hard work on this logo.” The client also wanted to see a version with the name “The Butchers Block” above the cow and with the parts be named in the font ‘radiohead’ or similar. We then provided the client with the first revision round as seen below.

Following from the above revision, we provided the client with 10 more revision rounds tweaking the design as the client saw fit and making sure all parts were anatomically correct and labelled properly. On the 11th revision round the client finalized the design as seen below.

Finally we went ahead and created the stationery design including business card, letterhead and envelope design as seen below.

Brand Facelifts: Do They Work?

Logo Design Company London — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:01:03 +0000

All over the UK, companies are giving their stores ‘facelifts’, changing the appearance of their locations and even product packaging without making other, more substantial changes to the brand and logo design. This trend has to make small business owners ask themselves whether this strategy can be right for them. How effective are these modifications? Do they pay off enough to make a significant difference in the future of a company?

Many British businesses seem to think that the answer is affirmative. Fast food giant Wimpy’s is spending a significant amount of their branding budget to remodel stores to resemble classic American diners, a move that they hope will make the entire dining experience more pleasant and memorable for patrons. Even US chains, such as McDonald’s, seem to be jumping on the bandwagon. This fast food restaurant business has spent an astounding £200 million in redoing store decor just over the space of a few years. All UK branches will be completely refurbished by 2011.

Why is store decoration and appearance such a vital part of marketing? With customers more and more identifying with brands rather than individual companies, traditional marketing methods no longer work with the same efficacy. Traditional advertising gets mixed up in the millions of marketing messages that flood life all over the UK. Designing a brand by creating a store that is a brick and mortar representation of it seems more authentic and improves the customer experience immensely. Just as important, these overhauls generate buzz and give communities something to talk about.

Sometimes this facelift is part of a whole new branding strategy. As the coffee giant loses business to smaller, local shops with ambience, Starbucks is leading the pack in using stores to present a new, modified brand. London’s ‘heritage’ store has been so successful that the coffee store plans to remodel all UK locations. In this case, the philosophy seems to be ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’. In other words, if customers prefer the feeling of a small, local coffee shop, that is exactly the experience that Starbucks will give them.

One key drawback to this strategy is that it requires an immense input of time and energy. Few small businesses have the multi-million pound budgets that it would take to refurbish several locations. Even larger brands with the resources to support these changes find that it takes several years for the changes to become a major part of the public’s brand perception. However, if the cosmetic changes are accompanied by changes in other aspects of the brand, they may create significant momentum for the business in question.

The past has shown that cosmetic changes are most effective when they align more closely with brand values, or when the brand itself is modified to reflect the changes. While the physical appearance of your locations is certainly important to the perception of your brand, it should never be the only consideration. Other aspects, such as your service, the quality of your products and your logo design, weigh just as heavily in customers’ minds and hearts. Unlike beauty, branding is never skin deep.

British Pork Logos

Logo Design Company London — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:02:12 +0000

While much has been written about British Food Logos and British Restaurant Logos, very little has been written about three very important logos to recognize when purchasing British pork products. Because the UK has higher standards for animal care than most of the European Union, local meats tend to be more expensive but also of generally higher quality. In this case, logo design is performing a very powerful social purpose: helping people to identify more humanely and safely raised British meat by looking for one of the following three logos.

1. Red Tractor Logo Design

When you see this logo on a food, you will know that the animal in question was an Assured British Pig. The Red Tractor is an organisation that regularly inspects farms to ensure that the animals are being treated according to high standards of care and welfare. Be sure to look for the Union Jack in the logo; otherwise, the stamp could represent a farm that is not British but meets the same standards.

2. Quality Pork Standard Mark Logo Design

When you see this logo, you can rest assured that the pork in question meets UK standards for health and safety and that the animals were humanely treated. As with Red Tractor, the farms are inspected to ensure compliance. Again, look for the Union Jack to ensure that the pork indeed is of British origin. These icons, though a little weak on the impact side, are good enough to provide a distinguishing marks.

3. Freedom Food Logo Design

This logo is different from the others in that it lacks the classic British flag as an indicator of farm’s location. This is because the stamp logo design refers not to the animals place of origin, but to the fact that the animal was raised in a facility that has been inspected and approved by the RSPCA. This stamp assures quality and the wellbeing of the animal, but you will have to look harder to find exactly where the pork is from.

How important is buying British pork? Well known and respected chef Jamie Oliver has recently became an advocate of buying only British pork as a way of assuring that your pork is humanely and safely raised, something that is virtually guaranteed of British pork but lacking in many other countries. Looking for a logo design indicating the place of origin makes this an easy decision. Not only will you be making a decision that is better for the pig involved, you will be doing something great for UK farming communities as well.

While many people think of logo design as something frivolous, there is nothing frivolous about knowing important information about the brands you support. People increasingly look to logos as assurance of quality and other important values. Whether you are a business owner trying to communicate important information about your products or a consumer deciding which brand of bacon to buy, logo design is an important tool when making choices in a world that seems to contain an infinite number or them. Think of it as a language, one that is very important for success in London and all over the UK.

Cosmetic Logos Get Exposure through Tutorials

Logo Design Company London — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:55:51 +0000

Nothing is as important to a beauty brand as public image. Because the business is basically selling a certain look, all visual parts of the brand must be en pointe. However, traditional marketing techniques are not always successful with this fickle, image conscious market. This means that beauty brands in London and the UK must find new and exciting ways to get their brand and their beauty logo design in the public eye.

Popular cosmetic brands Stila and Dior have found success using video sharing giant Youtube as a marketing venue. The brand offers tutorials on how to apply different products to achieve specific looks. This gives consumers better results from the brand’s products, making them more likely to become repeat customers. Moreover, a customer who accesses a video to find out how to use a particular product will be introduced to new and exciting makeup lines that complete the look, increasing the number of items sold. Youtube is such a hot platform that many of its more popular posters can become overnight celebrities, showing the possibilities that the website offers.

A welcome side effect of offering tutorials to market makeup is that it makes the brand appear to be an expert in the field. They are not just a company offering products, but teachers and mentors in the use of the products. People viewing the tutorials will view the brand as a professional choice that gets professional quality results. If the video tutorial in question is sensibly branded, the brand and the logo design will be getting exposure with every single view. This differentiates the brand in question from the many others on the UK market.

Makeup giant Stila decided to take this tutorial based marketing scheme to another level with the Makeup Player. Users can dock their iPhone in this makeup kit and immediately access tutorials and exciting new options for using the makeup in the kit. Because the kit includes the products needed for the basic tutorials, customers are able to get a very satisfying result while also being encouraged to try new Stila Products. This is very complimentary to the ultra-modern, savvy Stila brand and logo design.

Creating and offering these types of experiences can be expensive for newer companies with smaller marketing and development budgets, but there are certainly lower priced options. Offering tutorials through Youtube, as discussed above, is completely free and can offer a lot of exposure for the amount of time investment.

All makeup buyers want to achieve a certain look, so giving them the knowledge and tools needed to achieve that look will build brand loyalty while encouraging customers to make more purchases. This option is so low cost that companies can introduce new looks on a regular basis, gaining a following in these social media sites while offering their brand more exposure and more relevant exposure than any other option. If you are looking for new ways to market your brand and get more exposure for your logo design, social media and other free options offer a lower cost and more relevant way to market your makeup brand.

Logo Design Basics

Logo Design Company London — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:39:44 +0000

Having a logo designed for your business can feel like a confusing and overly complicated issue. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Going through the logo design process can be simple if you keep the following factors in mind.

What are you trying to say? When someone sees your logo, they should be able to identify exactly what you are trying to say. Whether this is information about your company or an appeal to emotion, your logo can say anything when it is designed by a professional who understands the language of graphic design. Your customers will feel drawn in by a logo that speaks to them and turned off by one that gives the wrong message. The simpler your message, the more successful it is likely to be, so try to condense all of your ideas into a few words. It is crucial that you know what you are trying to say before entering the next stages of the logo design process.

What colours, ideas, and themes relate best to my message? While your logo designer will definitely have ideas about this, no one understands your brand as well as you do. If a certain image or a particular colour truly speak to you, it is highly possible that your designer can make them part of your logo design.

A flexible logo is the most successful. This is sometimes the hardest thing for new business owners to understand about logo design. You spend a great deal of time choosing colours only to be reminded that the logo will often be seen in black and white, and therefore should be designed to maintain its power without colour. Similarly, the logo should also be scalable—that is, it should look equally attractive when blown up very large and shrunk down to a small size. This will allow you to use the logo design in the wide variety of situations that come up when managing a business in the UK.

Trust your designer. Business owners always have an idea of how their logo design should look, and this should absolutely be shared with your logo designer. However, your designer understands the basic principles of logo design and has the responsibility of making sure your logo ultimately works. Share your preferences, but be open to new ideas and allow your designer to follow their own instincts. You have nothing to lose from giving new ideas a chance, but a lot can be lost if your logo design isn’t as good as it possibly can be.

Live up to your promise. Your logo design ultimately will be making a promise to the consumer, of a certain type of product, service, and price range. If a customer feels that you do not live up to your promises, they will not be likely to return. If, on the other hand, their shopping experience is congruent with your brand, they will be likely to return and even to talk about your company to others. In London and the UK, word of mouth buzz is the best advertising available.

Another Olympic Logo—For Better or Worse

Logo Design Company London — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:27:13 +0000

Russia has at last unveiled the logo for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Sochi. After the controversy over the London 2012 Olympics logo, many were watching to see if bad sports logo design was becoming a worldwide trend. The logo is the first Olympic logo to feature a web address, an obvious appeal to the younger, digital generation.

The logo can hardly be called unprofessional. It was designed with a branding consultant as well as an entire brand council appointed by the Sochi 2014 organizers. While the logo appears very plain, it actually has several aspects designed to create a brand for the 2014 Olympic Games.

First, the word Sochi is mirrored by the numbers 2014, which represents Sochi’s reputation as the place where the mountains meet the sea. If you look at the ‘hi’ that ends the word Sochi and the 14, they are drawn to almost perfectly reflect each other. This adds yet more visual interest. The ‘.ru’ and the Olympic rings are secondary to this, placed on the right side so as not to detract from the image. While many object to this marginalisation of the classic Olympic image, it nonetheless is highly visible as the only splash of non-blue colour in the logo.

While the letters seem plain, they are reminiscent of Russian constructivism, a movement that continues to influence the nation’s aesthetic sense. The letters are also rounded, which together with the all lower case lettering creates an informal, inclusive image that will invite people to visit the country. The blue is similar to the blues used in the Russian flag as well as the Olympic rings, tying the event into both its host company and the tradition behind the Games. This blue is calming while being reminiscent of both the mountains and the sea, the two images that the designers are trying to invoke.

Many people feel that this is yet another ugly and inappropriate Olympic logo design following the dismal reception of ours, but as you can see the Sochi 2014 image actually ties into modern Russia in several ways. This is not just a beautiful setting for the 2014 Winter Olympics, but a chance for modern Russia to showcase its strengths in a very global setting.

In the end, the way to judge an Olympic logo’s resonance is the sales of branded products. In this case, sales have only just begun, so we will have no way of seeing how young people feel about the attractiveness of this logo. On the other hand, the London Olympic logo has been selling at a steady pace despite its lack of public favour. Perhaps this is no longer an appropriate barometer; nonetheless, Russia is likely hoping that their economy is bolstered by hordes of tourists buying bag upon bag of branded souvenirs.

What do you think about the Sochi 2014 Olympic logo? Is it better or worse than the London one? Will you be buying a Sochi 2014 t-shirt with the new logo?

War of the UK Grocery Brands

Logo Design Company London — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:16:51 +0000

Sainsbury’s and Tesco are the two most prominent grocers in the UK, with locations in almost every city and town. Both chains have recently rebranded as an attempt to gain a larger share of this competitive and image-based business. Today we are comparing the two brands and looking at what makes them both effective but very different parts of the overall company marketing study.

The Sainsbury’s supermarket logo design has a straightforward, almost newsy font that is rounded to give a slightly more approachable feeling. The company’s tagline is written beneath in an even friendlier font: ‘Try something new today’. The lack of hard lines or concrete images puts the attention solely on the name and tagline, while the bright orange colour is attention-getting, but muted slightly for a more modern feeling.

The message of this logo is that Sainsbury’s is an approachable store where customers can try new things. There is nothing threatening or formal about this logo, which opens the door for experimentation. This message resonates with customers all over the UK, where trying new foods has become something of a national craze.

Tesco supermarket logo design is a very different store with a logo reflecting their unique qualities. First, a colour scheme reminiscent of the Union Jack advertises the company’s heavy roots in the UK. The wording is bolder and thicker than that of Sainsbury’s, showing a more serious and stable side. A line under the company name is divided by slanted dashes, giving a feeling of movement while drawing attention to the name. Last, Tesco also includes a tagline in their food and drink logo design: ‘Every little helps’. This is written in a casual font that appears to be handwritten. Whether the tagline refers to the company’s recent environmentally oriented changes or to the company’s stated goal of cutting one’s grocery bill is unknown. However, both are key part of the company’s values, making this a great tagline either way.

The message of the Tesco logo is that this is a British company dedicates to helping British people. All of the elements are combined to create an image of stability and to push the image of this market as a pillar of the community with a heavy dose of social consciousness. This is a highly marketable message in the UK, although very different from the equally marketable message put across by Sainsbury’s.

Do you shop for fun and experimentation or simply try to get your supplies at the lowest possible price? This question sums up the key difference between the two supermarket brands. While the two stores are very similar in both products and service, the emphasis makes all the difference. If these brands are successful, people who want to play with their food will be attracted to Sainsbury’s while those who want to economize will tend to favour Tesco. These people may not realize what they are doing or how they are being affected by these marketing messages, which makes these brands all the more effective in shaping customer opinion and influencing consumer behaviour.

The London 2012 Olympics Logo: Winner or Loser?

Logo Design Company London — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:03:07 +0000

The London Olympics 2012 logo was a bit of a shock when it was initially unveiled in 2007. This logo is different from virtually every Olympic logo heretofore. First, it has a pop-inspired colour scheme that is both bright and attention-grabbing.

Second, its sharp edges and lightning-like images are uniquely representative of London retro. Instead of the Olympic rings taking centre stage, they are dwarfed by the image and instead placed inside the zero. However, several groups have pointed out issues with the logo, which include:

Potential harm to epileptics. The advocacy group Epilepsy Action feels that the colours are too bright and that they may contribute to seizures in people living with epilepsy. Commercials using the logo have been reported to have caused seizures in several people with the disease. The fact that the Paralympics held the same year have a similar logo with an identical colour scheme means that many people living with this disease will have to be exposed to an image that has potential to do them serious harm.

Resemblance to racist images. Many groups feel that the roughly square image with hard edges jutting out is just too similar to a swastika. Although seeing a swastika in the logo requires a stretch of the imagination, this is certainly not the impression that Londoners wanted to portray to millions of visitors to Great Britain.

Resemblance to a children’s show logo. Yet another image that the abstract London 2012 Olympics resembles is that of the popular show Tiswas. The two images share jagged edges and lightning bolt details as well as generally bright colour palettes, although the colours themselves are very different. This logo attempts to market to young people, so it is easy to see how the themes may be similar without actual copying.

Lack of tradition. Many expected the London 2012 Olympics logo to incorporate traditional British colours and symbols into the traditional Olympic rings. Whether it was the shape of well-known British landmarks or the colours of the Union Jack, there are many ways that key aspects of British culture could have been the central part of the Olympics logo.

It should be noted that the logo has many positive aspects as well, such as an ultra-modern colour palette that represents the fashion-forward population of London. For the handover ceremony, the colours of the Union Jack were indeed used with great applause. In addition, the dynamic shape has allowed the logo to be more saleable, with Olympics gear practically flying out of clothing stores all over the UK.

The London 2012 Olympics logo is a winner in one key way: it has everyone talking. Will this image rally people to support it, or will it continue to be a source of disagreement? Only the next few years will tell whether the logo garners the support and enthusiasm that Britain needs to perform well in the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, or whether the controversy and bickering will continue.

The Queen’s Logo Design

Logo Design Company London — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:45:01 +0000

Let us face it. The personal standard used by the Queen is nothing but a logo design. A mark that represents the Queen as an individual and not associated with her role as the Queen of the United Kingdom.

The logo design is the crowned letter ‘E’ in gold, surrounded by a garland of gold roses on a blue background, with a golden fringe. The crown is a symbol of the Queen’s rank and dignity, whilst the roses symbolize the countries of the Commonwealth.

The design is used as disc and appears in the Royal Standards of Australia, Barbados, Canada and New Zealand.

The flag was created upon the Queen’s request in December 1960 to symbolize her as an individual and not associated with her role as Queen of the United Kingdom.

Over time, the flag started to be used in place of the Royal Standard when the Queen visits Commonwealth countries where she is not head of state and for Commonwealth occasions in the United Kingdom, and symbolizes the Queen’s role as Head of the Commonwealth. When the Queen visits Marlborough House in London, for example, her personal flag is raised and not the Royal Standard.

Scottish Police Force Unveils New Logo

Logo Design Company London — Thu, 29 May 2008 16:35:35 +0000

Lothian and Borders Police is under fire for adopting a new logo design to make it more recognizable to the public. This Scottish police force is the 2nd largest force which serves the areas from Blackridge in the West to Newcastleton in the South and covers the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian, Midlothian and the Scottish Borders.

Lothian will drop its existing logo design which features the traditional crest with blue and white checks Saltire or that x-shaped symbol known as St. Andrew’s Cross. It will be replaced with a more modern and simple logo which highlights its name “Lothian and Borders Police”. If you’re wondering about that weird half-curved design at the top, it’s supposed to be the combined concept of protection and Lothian’s geographical area. It will also use a new tagline, “work with us”

The controversy lies on the amount spent on the redesign. According to a news article, Lothian has spent £120,000 to avail the services of consultants and designers. Though its Deputy Chief said this is a “modest investment” to create a modern image, some police officers and branding experts find this initiative absurd and a complete waste of money.

Given these negative feedbacks, Lothian has decided to phase in the new logo slowly over the next few months so it won’t antagonize the police force.