Logos

Creating a logo or graphic to represent a company or product is a common task for a graphic artist. A great logo is so memorable we can quickly identify it even if we only see part of the image. Try for yourself with the Logo Quiz.

Unfortunately, a poorly designed logo can do just the opposite and cause people to question the quality and commitment of the company or service being offered.

Here are some recent new logos and the previous logo for comparison:

QUESTIONS

1. What are your thoughts on the redesigned Grey County logo, specifically, what do you like about the logo, and what don't you like?

2. When you think of Bruce or Grey County, what comes to mind? Do you think the new Grey County logo represents the area and what it has to offer?

3. On the Grey County logo, if you removed the text and just had the purple diamond, what kind of company or product do you think the logo would represent?

4. Looking at the Port Hope logos, which do you prefer, the new or the old? Explain your choice.

5. Is there anything about the new logo that might be considered offensive to the citizens of Port Hope or people with Dyslexia?

6. What are your thoughts on the new Hudson's Bay logo?

7. Simply typing the word's "Hudson's Bay" using a common font (Adobe Garamond Pro Bold) from Microsoft Word produces this result:

If you paid $100,000 to a professional graphic artist to create a new and fresh logo and they came back to you with this ... what would you think/say to them? Is it money well spent if artist can explain their thinking and research behind the logo?

Read these related articles for some background information and continue answering the questions below.

1. New Logo for Grey County | Staff Defend Logo | New Branding for Grey County

2. Port Hope Rejects Logo Design

3. Hudson's Bay Logo

QUESTIONS Continued ...

8. Grey County Councillors voted in favour of the new logo, but Mayor Paul McQueen and his council wanted more options before voting. Would you have voted in favour of the logo? EXPLAIN your reasoning.

9. What is the purple diamond and the nine sections supposed to represent?

10. In the second article about the Grey County logo, Ashleigh Weeden says "the thorough research by Y Factor helped to create an all-encompassing logo." What do you think that means? What kind of research would they conduct to ensure the logo is "all-encompassing"?

11. Why was the Town of Port Hope so eager to rebrand themselves?

12. Use Wikipedia and look up Port Hope and read the Economy section. What famous WWII project might Port Hope have contributed to?

13. The Town Council for Port Hope wanted a new logo to promote the town as "safe, healthy, and a fun place to be." Do you think the logo was successful in projecting this? EXPLAIN your reasoning.

14. At the end of the article, payment of $7280 owing to Weave Communications was being questioned. Do you feel the town should have to pay the amount owing? What if you spent a week designing a logo and then the client, who hired you in the first place, just said forget it ... we're not paying you ...

15. Do you agree with the Marketing Professor David Dunne that the Bay "going back to their heritage" by fully writing "Hudson's Bay" instead of just "The Bay" is a good idea? EXPLAIN your reasoning.

16. What else could have been done with the logo to draw attention to their rich history as "North America's longest continually operated company?"

FINALLY, choose one of the above clients and use Photoshop to make your own redesign. Post you question answers, new logo, AND an explanation of you new logo on your website.