Logo & Branding

In 2007 the official London 2012 Olympic logo was revealed, its funky feel and bright colours were designed to appeal to a new age, the internet generation.

Many people assumed it was just abstract shapes put together, however in just one night there were online petitions to have a new, better logo created. Almost 4 years later Iran threatened to boycott the 2012 Olympic games if the logo wasn't changed. This is because in it's abstract shapes it can form to read the word "Zion", a biblical term for Jerusalem.

According to the guardian "the logo, a jagged representation of the year 2012, has been said by its critics to resemble many things, from a swastika to a sexual act, but the Iranian government argues it represents a veiled pro-Israeli conspiracy."

Officials of the London Olympics committee expressed their surprise at how long it had taken to make the complaint since the logos revelation and stand by the logo design.

It just goes to show how interpretational logo designs can be, personally I didn't even realise it said '2012' until I started reading more about it.

While the officials stood by their choice, the public came up with more and more images that can be seen in the shapes of the logo. It has even been likened to the cartoon character Lisa and Bart Simpson performing an illegal act…

I would just like to point out that these colours were not part of the original designs, but the power of the internet allows people to create and share their own versions, so… has the target audience been reached? You can be the judge of that.

Mascots are a highly useful element of branding as they enable the viewer to understand what it is your company has to offer. A good mascot design will represent the company image, so it is important to think about what type of mascot most demonstrates your service, products and/or ideas.

Depending on how complicated or detailed the mascot needs to be, we will usually create the image as a vector. This way clients can resize and reuse the image without any hassles.

To start with, we get a general idea of the character that is wanted (a human, animal or anything in between) and what it should symbolise, and we begin with 2-3 sketches.

In this case, the company specifically wanted a bull with a cowboy hat and a rope. It needed to be simple enough to print on a shirt, but also to incorporate into a logo design. The initial sketches are very rough as this enables the client to make suggestions without the artist having to spend a lot of time on something that might not get used.  

Sometimes the client might combine ideas from each sketch, or they might pick one without wanting any changes. We encourage our clients to put forth their suggestions in the sketch stage as much as possible so they will be 100% happy with the end result.

Similarly, our illustration process starts off with the same amount of sketches and is then finished off in Photoshop as bitmap image. This allows for much more complicated figures and colour, however bitmaps cannot be enlarged in the same way a vector image can be.

When deciding which format to use, consider what the image will be used for, and if it is for one use only. A vector image can be easily resized without losing any details, so it is easy to incorporate into other designs. A bitmap will lose quality if it is resized and is usually used for posters, or web.

Sometimes a client will ask for a change, and then decide that they preferred how it was before. We are happy to make these changes but we strongly encourage customers to inform us of any major changes they would like before we get to the colouring stage.

In these vector examples, flat colours have been used in order to keep things simplified. The more shading we put in, the more detailed the image looks. This isn't necessary for all mascot designs as oftentimes simplicity is key.

If you would like to find out more about our Mascot, Logo or Character Designs, feel free to contact us and get a free qoute!

We have been working on a new logo for Jonathon Venter who is racing Formula Fords in Victoria this year.

This logo will begin Venters new brand in the racing arena and will be used for media purposes.

Here is a shot of Jonathons Formula Ford before the logo was designed.

We wish Jonathon the best of luck this year and hopefully we will see you at Hidden Vallery next year!

Logos play a crucial role in branding and identity, without a great logo design people may consider your business to be unprofessional and potential clients could be lost.

Small companies that are just starting out tend to put off logo development in order to build up a client base first, however it is that first stage that your company identity becomes most important. Having a professional logo design that stands out from your competitors will give clients and customers more faith in you and your business.

It is important that your logo reflects the services you offer, and you have a reason or story behind your logo. For an effective logo design, you will want something that ties in with your name, for example: a library might have pages or open books and people will easily recognise it.

Remember, not all logo designs need to contain your company name but it doesn't hurt.

The team at Zise has put together our top tips for your logo design and branding, they are:

• Sometimes simple is best. Effective logo designs are often use the 'less is best' method, for example Nike, or Apple.
• Make sure there is a connection between the logo and the company name. For example, a company like the Hilton hotel can have the letter H in it's logo as it makes sense. A company called 'Lemon' should not have the letter H as part of its logo as there is no connection (make sense now?)
• Be consistent! Once your logo has been made, try not to change the elements around for different uses, as it tends to look sloppy and unprofessional.

While a good logo design is important, you will still need to market yourself in order to get that logo out into the public minds. Having a good logo design will help the public link the company and image together, after all… We humans are very visual based by nature.

Ultimately, the logo you choose should encompass company's services and instill trust and reliability in the customers mind.

Contact Zise to find out how we can design the perfect logo for your business or advertise your brand.

Over the last few months Zise has been working closely with Leif and the School of Creative Arts and Humanities to develop the Merge Festival Logo. We have also had the pleasure of working on their new website and design which was launched in Darwin.
The Merge website gives users the ability to watch the Merge Festival Events Live through livestreaming technologies from anywhere in the world.

The Merge Festival runs from Feb 12 - 19th 2011 - Check it out their website and download their program at CDU MERGE Website

Merge Festival

MERGE (incorporating the MERGE Festival) is a multi-discipline initiative designed to cultivate art and performance within the heart of the community. MERGE endeavors to link multiple creative arts genres, multiple locations, multiple nationalities/ages, and community engagement/participation (both urban & remote) to serve as a podium to celebrate the unification of new media, visual arts, and music performance. MERGE is the primary mechanism at Charles Darwin University to connect creative arts practice with its developing area of strength in creative industry research.

Through enhanced community engagement in the festival and the joining of the young and young at heart through shared musical performance and creative art, a significantly positive impact upon health and social well being is anticipated. In addition, innovative communication technologies will be used to stream all MERGE events online, and offer live MERGE Festival viewing spaces at various accessible locations in the NT.

This year MERGE invites creative guests of international repute and aims to meld both research and practice into one, to link CDU with the community, and to excite the senses of all whom witness this inaugural event.