At Blumagenta we love designing Logos and conceiving Visual Identities. Here you can find some examples that define what it means for us, accompanied by a selection of logo designs that Blumagenta has crafted in the past years.
Simple doesn’t mean easy, beautiful doesn’t always mean right: our approach to Logo Design
A good Logo doesn’t necessarily have to be complicated, on the contrary, it should be easily recognizable, original and timeless. That’s why we don’t follow design trends as we are not particularly fond of special graphic effects; we don’t copy from logo design books (we’d rather prefer to be in them). The investment you make today by deciding to redesign your existing logo, or to get a brand new one for your Start-Up Company, is a long term one; a crucial one. And while the benefits of getting it right might be slow to come, and typically build up over time also depending on advertising investments, the costs of getting it wrong are immediate, severe and the consequences long lasting. That’s why to design a good logo is not a simple task and it requires a deep Visual Culture understanding and lots of expertise over good graphic skills.
At its core, our approach to logo design is quite radical: elements that do not add something relevant to the meaning or do not help the purpose, so are discarded. In most cases, the logos we design are rather essential and minimalistic in terms of both shapes and colors, must always work even when reproduced in black and white only, or in small dimensions, or when seen from distance. Indeed our challenge is to make something as simple and as solid as possible. Given that the essential qualities that make a Logo powerful are originality, readability, and recognizability, above all, a good logo design must clearly communicate the identity of the brand and connect with its own audience.
Getting to the right proposal for a new Logo: our process
The logo design process should always start with a deep understanding of the the client, its needs, its market, and its goals, even before the actual design phase begins. Therefore is very much a made-to-measure sartorial process. Frankly, we don’t believe in dozens of design proposals for the client to choose from. There just can’t be twelve different right logos made for the same client, at the same time, from the same creative team.
As a logo design firm, If you got properly briefed, you understood the brief correctly, you know what you are doing and you are doing it well, there is only one proposal you should bring to the table, perhaps with some variations to be evaluated further together, on the basis of nuances of the tone that the client would ultimately like to set. Lastly, meticulous fine tuning and final refinements will conclude a proper design process.
The importance of having a Style Guide in your toolbox
A comprehensive Style Guide is a fundamental element to correctly manage the communication of your business and the presence of your Brand. Having a good Logo doesn’t mean much if it is not used properly; Hence, the fundamental importance of providing a Style Guide to our clients: a brand’s user manual, a document with a set of rules on how to correctly and effectively use your new logo in accordance with the other visual communication tools at your disposal.
Nowadays, fewer and fewer Graphic Design Studios decide to include a Style Guide in the package they offer to their customers, thought of to keep their prices down and make their services seem more affordable. They are not. Eventually, the price you’ll end up paying by poorly handling your Visual Identity will be high in the long run. That’s why we always offer to develop an appropriate Style Guide alongside with the design of the Logo. Our success is based on yours.
Assembling a Brand Book for your Company
While a simple Style Guide contains all the elements that make up your brand’s Visual Identity: the logotype, its variations, color palettes, pictograms, symbols, emblems, iconography and other visual elements. A Brand Book goes beyond that, as it defines your Brand’s Image and helps determine its founding principles: mission, values, vision. It is a reference tool for the entire Company, from collaborators to vendors. Therefore, It is an extremely valuable compass for setting the route of future expansion.
In some cases, we’ve been involved in the conceptual genesis of the brand itself, working alongside with Companies CEOs and Marketing Managers. To be asked to contribute to the birth of a new brand and its visual identity from scratch is a great honor and a significant responsibility that we take great pride in. Whether it is to help conceive a Brand Book, or simply to assemble one, our expertise is at your disposal.
Some of the logos you see in this page, have been featured/published in “Innovation in Logo Design” (Rotovision), “Spaghetti Grafica” (De Agostini), “Tres Logos”, “Los Logos 4”, “Los Logos 6”, “Los Logos Compass” (Die Gestalten Verlag), “Freewave” (Booth-Clibborn Editions).