I was familiar with Tom Geismar’s work before listening to this podcast but not his design principles and approach. His incredible career brought some of the most iconic logos of our time and singlehandedly shifted the way institutions present themselves. Some of my key takeaways from this podcast include:
- People react to the institution and what it represents, not mark itself. He referenced that even though Enron had a great logo, not many people mention it when discussing the great logo design. They don’t have respect for the company, so the logo gets dismissed.
- Build on what there already is. I think this is an interesting and simple point. Why completely re-design a logo if components are already available.
- Offer options and explain the pros and cons of both. If an opportunity arises to share your favorite, do so but don’t start with that. As creatives, we often think our ideas are best and want to push them. At the end of the day, the client has to live with the work. Stop and listen.
- Try to do things that are clear and simple. I love the simplicity of this approach.
- Be appropriate
- Be distinct
- Make sure it works in all sizes and variations.
- Interview the client to try to understand the business and culture fully. Ideas often come from casual conversations and jokes.
As I sit with my sketchbook trying to come up with ideas for my IMA logo mockup, I will, for sure, take the tips and tricks presented in this podcast. I’m glad I listened to it before diving too deep into the project.
I started to explore the new NYU IMA logo designs this week. I landed on these two. The binary code spells out IMA, which I thought was a playful way to nod at the students’ work in the program. For the first logo, I piggybacked off the famous torch logo. For the second one, I leaned fully into the binary code, which I think is more successful.
