Logo Critiques

Domino's Pizza: Domino's Pizza is the first logo I have chosen to critique. Overall I believe this a strong logo. The fact the name is written and incorporated into the design makes it clear to an audience what company and products it is representing. The idea of incorporating the actual domino image into the logo exemplifies it's name and causes it to be memorable. Originally, the idea for the logo was to use the dots on the dominos to represent each of the individual stores that was open, however, as the company expanded rapidly, this became impossible. The color scheme of red and blue also causes the domino and the white lettering to stand out. Domino's Pizza has recently started using an updated version of their logo in which they drop the section that has the typography on it and only use the domino pictogram style image. The fact they can do this and it still be easily recognizable represents the company's success. Overall, I believe this is a strong logo design

Starbucks: I believe there are both good and bad aspects of the Starbucks Coffee logo. Similar to Domino's Pizza, the fact the name of the corporation is included within the logo in an aesthetically pleasing way leads it to be successful, as this clearly presents what product they are selling. The color scheme is also good in my opinion. The green, white, and black cause it to stand out and be memorable. I do, however, believe there are less effective aspects to this logo. I have heard countless times people questioning what relevance the mermaid figure in the middle represents or has to do with coffee. This is not clear without researching the history of the logo, although, after looking this up, it makes sense. The significance of the mermaid represents the pacific North West Heritage, as the company began in Seattle. The crown the mermaid is shown to be wearing also represents the product, as it symbolizes the Statue of Liberty, exemplifying how the coffee is both American branded, and founded.

Vans: Vans is a California based shoe manufacturer. It has a variety of logos that are associated with it but the word "Vans" is always written in the original design. Due to the popularity of the company, the word "Vans" causes anyone to know what it is representing. I personally think their logo captures and highlights the laid-back, surf and skate culture around the coastal area, therefore, proving it to be successful in that aspect. The skateboard incorporated into the logo with the typography "Vans "Off The Wall"" also keeps it aesthetically appealing and relates to the items they are producing and selling. The color scheme of red and white is bright and vibrant, causing the logo to stand out and be memorable. This logo was developed and updated many times since the founding of the company in March, 1966, and by the 1970s was appealing to the skate crowd through the rugged looking design of the shoe. This shows how not only the logo, but also the angle the company is selling and advertising towards gets changed and influenced due to public demand and interest.

Hollister: Hollister is a famous clothing company, in America, being the second best selling for US teenagers. Within the clothing industry, the logo is popular and instantly recognizable. I believe this is partially due to the simplicity of the logo- a flying gull, representing costal California, where the company is based. Within the logo, there is also simple, customized typography, saying "Hollister California." Like many of the others, I believe this helps the logo to be successful as it makes it evident which company it is representing. The color scheme is maroon and silver, originally designed to represent bravery, sophistication, power and happiness.

Target: The final logo I have chosen to critique is Target. I believe this is a very strong logo from all aspects. Firstly, the image is literally a target, representing the name of the store directly. The color scheme- much like the Vans "Off The Wall" logo- is red, sometimes backed on white, standing out and being memorable. Its also incredibly simple, causing it to be instantly recognizable and universal if it was to be seen on the side of a store or a billboard. On many occasions, the name of the company (Target) is also written underneath the image, causing it to be even more obvious.

Five Company Ideas

Yoga: In particular 'Hot Yoga' or 'Bikram Yoga,' therefore, "Heat Retreat" could be a possible name. This would focus on the health and relaxation side of yoga; connotations of detox. Calm, cool colors would be used for the logo to exemplify this theme. This company would be marketed towards a generaly large audience, however, due to the nature of yoga, the focus would naturally consist more of young females adults/ teenagers interested in having a healthy body and mind. Sleek and modern design techniques would be employed.

Smoothie: The main idea with this one is to create fresh, healthy, tropical, fruity smoothies, in a range of flavors. Similar to the yoga idea, this would have a target audience of many, but would probably draw those interested in health. With regards to imaging and color scheme, lots of bright, warm colors would make it effective; yellows, oranges, reds. This paired with images of juicy fruits and sunny, sandy beaches or beach themed items would also cause it to be appealing and fit the stereotype of smoothies in the summer. A possible name for this company could be "Summertime Smoothies" or something to this effect. I could possibly follow the tropic vibe and go for a theme, such as Hawaiian and name it "Aloha" to appear inviting and exotic.

Skate Shop: I believe this idea has a lot of potential with regards to the logo design. There are a lot of images that could be incorporated; any thing to do with the skater, laid back, beach lifestyle that is typical among board riding. It could sell a range of items within this theme/ lifestyle; not just skateboards, but longboards, baseball caps, backpacks, shoes, laptop/ surfboard stickers...etc... There is a large target audience for this company, and therefore, there are a lot of options and possibilities available that I could incorporate into the design and branding of the company and it's products. I could go with a more cliched name for this, such as using sibilance to make it memorable, e.g. "Sarah's Skate Shop"

Hairdressers: Everybody needs hairdressers. This is a competitive field though, so I would, therefore, like to make my brand/ company stand out if I were to follow through with using this as an idea. I would want to represent this as sleek and modern. It would need to look trustworthy, a place with talent and experience, as I know better than any; one has to be able to trust someone to let them cut or dye ones hair. Stylish would therefore be the main goal. As there are so many hairdressers around and available to a mass audience, I would need a catchy, memorable name. Something that remains professional, yet fun. Similar to some of my suggested ideas before this one, for this company, there would be a lot of opportunity to incorporate images used in this trade into the logo. This would largely help in branding.

Brownie Shop: I feel there would be lots to go with this one. I could focus on the variety of flavors that would be available to customers, incorporating different tastes, such as nuts, fruits, mints, etc... This would therefore suit everybody's individual tastes! I would decorate and make them with attractive designs so they would stand out from the crowd. A little like cake designers, except with delicious brownies. Unlike the others, this is a much more concentrated audience; those who enjoy brownies (Who doesn't!) Due to the design and style aspect of this company, I feel a name such as "Beautiful Brownies" would be self-explanitory and appropriate, however, if I choose to further develop this idea, would seriously consider and brainstorm more titles, in order to make it sound more witty and memorable.

Introduction

My name is Sarah and this is my blog. I grew up in England, not all that far away from London, and decided- for a change- to come to the University of Tampa to study and further my Education. I immediately got involved in the school, trying out for the cheerleading team in the summer and joining a sorority when I finally got here.

After deliberating for a long while over what to major in, I came into the school with the intent to study Graphic Design, however, as the classes progressed and the semester neared the end, I changed to major in Advertising and Public Relations as I felt this broadened my options in terms of deciding upon a career- because I still have NO idea what I want to do with my life other than travel. From taking this course in Beginning Digital Arts I hope to expand my knowledge about computer aided design. I would like to learn more about how to use and operate software such as Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.. I learned the basics of how to use these programs last year at my school in England and was pretty good at messing around with it and figuring something out if I wasn't sure how to use it, but I would like to actually gain a better understanding of what I'm doing. I feel this will be helpful in figuring out if this area of work is a path I want to go down in terms of a career or job after college. I expect to learn a lot from this class and think it will be helpful to me.