Jump to content
SiouxSports.com Forum

What makes a great logo?


The Sicatoka

Recommended Posts

I saw this brought up in another threat.

It's a good topic (and maybe someone on some committee will read it).

So: What makes a great logo, and what are sure-fire ways to "logo fail".

What makes a great logo? Something that doesn't need a city or team name surrounding it and yet it's STILL easily recognizable the moment you see it.
  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are some thoughts on the subject "borrowed" from this website

 

Distinctive: "Consumers need to be able to recognize a logo. Therefore, a great logo must be distinct, easy to read and understand. ... unique enough to avoid confusion with other companies’ logos." This last part is why I struggle with the interlocked "ND". It's gets confused with "Our Lady of South Bend" too often. 

 

Usable: "A good logo must be flexible enough to work in any situation/medium required." The Ben Brien logo was great until you had to try to produce that detail on a two inch or smaller size, say on a hat. 

 

Timeless: "To be effective, a logo should stay with the business as it grows. ... A well-designed logo will persevere for years to come." Everyone remember the Buffa-slug Sabres logo? Too trendy. They went back to their timeless logo. 

 

Effective without color: "A good logo not only needs to work in black and white, but it should also still be effective. If color is needed to communicate the message then perhaps too much emphasis has been place on it." Not much more to say. 

 

Memorable: "Your logo should make a statement about your company. It should be engrained in the consumers brain when think of your industry." Say the old nickname and Ben Brien's artwork probably pops into your mind. We need that kind of logo. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are some thoughts on the subject "borrowed" from this website

 

Distinctive: "Consumers need to be able to recognize a logo. Therefore, a great logo must be distinct, easy to read and understand. ... unique enough to avoid confusion with other companies’ logos." This last part is why I struggle with the interlocked "ND". It's gets confused with "Our Lady of South Bend" too often. 

 

Usable: "A good logo must be flexible enough to work in any situation/medium required." The Ben Brien logo was great until you had to try to produce that detail on a two inch or smaller size, say on a hat. 

 

Timeless: "To be effective, a logo should stay with the business as it grows. ... A well-designed logo will persevere for years to come." Everyone remember the Buffa-slug Sabres logo? Too trendy. They went back to their timeless logo. 

 

Effective without color: "A good logo not only needs to work in black and white, but it should also still be effective. If color is needed to communicate the message then perhaps too much emphasis has been place on it." Not much more to say. 

 

Memorable: "Your logo should make a statement about your company. It should be engrained in the consumers brain when think of your industry." Say the old nickname and Ben Brien's artwork probably pops into your mind. We need that kind of logo. 

I think you kind of finished your own thread - not much to add to this list until we have something to tie logo ideas to

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Original.  This goes for the name as well.  How many different bulldog, huskie, eagle, wildcat, etc logos and names are there out there.  That is the one thing I think is important when selecting a new name and logo.  Find something original.  It might be a daunting task, but if the powers that be can pull it off and come up with a logo that is unique and cool, fans will support it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How to screw up a logo - some of these are opposites of the five success factors you already posted, and I'm no branding expert but:

 

- Isn't distinctive enough - UNDs current logo has some people thinking Notre Dame

- Doesn't really match the team name - like if you go with the "Fighting Artichokes" as your team name, the logo has to have a sense of humor, too.

- Is too detailed or complicated to be used in multiple ways. Has to look good on t-shirts, letterhead, helmets, billboards, etc. Simple is good.

- A university logo also has to look as good on a football helmet as it does on a volleyball uni or a hockey sweater. You probably need multiple logos for different uses that all have common elements - color, font,  image, etc. - that tie them all together.

- Too focused on a mascot. The Michigan M, the Wisconsin W, the Gopher M are all instantly recognizable to fans without any hint of a mascot. Having both the mascot image and an iconic alphabetical logo gives lots of flexibility.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMO it needs to be simple and clean, easy to identify both close up and far away.    As someone mentioned, the most excellent recent Indian head logo was great, but did get a little busy if you were far away or if it was small.

 

I like simple and clean logos.   Some examples of excellent ones are the MN Vikings, Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Packers, Colts, etc.    Some that I think are bad are the Jaguars, Broncos, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

dagies is spot on - it's all about simplicity. When you look at the iconic logos like Cowboys, Red Sox, and even the Vikings, they're all basic. If UND goes with something like Nodaks as the new nickname, it really opens up the options since "Nodak" isn't really anything specific. You could use the outline of the state with a Nodaks wordmark, or you could decide on the outline of an item or animal and just call that a "Nodak", similar to what the Minnesota Wild have done.  If UND goes with Rough Riders, the iconic image of Teddy's hat would be an example option of simple.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

a logo that is difficult for opposing teams to pervert... as much as I love the Fighting Sioux logo and didn't find it offensive to me or used offensively by UND, the fact is opposing fans will find a way (small pox)

 

And fighting pioux, fighting whioux, and fighting Sue.  Pretty much any name can be perverted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

dagies is spot on - it's all about simplicity. When you look at the iconic logos like Cowboys, Red Sox, and even the Vikings, they're all basic. If UND goes with something like Nodaks as the new nickname, it really opens up the options since "Nodak" isn't really anything specific. You could use the outline of the state with a Nodaks wordmark, or you could decide on the outline of an item or animal and just call that a "Nodak", similar to what the Minnesota Wild have done.  If UND goes with Rough Riders, the iconic image of Teddy's hat would be an example option of simple.

 

Let's try to do a lot better than the minnesota mild though....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...