Management:

Time to complete: 2-3 days

Objectives:

The student will:
-Learn about the types and purposes of trademarks/logos.
-Understand positive design qualities.
-Design trademarks.
-Develop rough and comprehensive layouts.
-Prepare camera-ready copy of the new trademarks.

Materials / Equipment Needed:
markers paper
drawing pencils
colored pencils
computer with: paint, photoshop, or photo editor

Activity Instructions / Suggestions / Description:

Originally trademarks were used to identify products only. However, over the years the uses for trademarks have grown to include identification of organizations, corporations, companies, institutions, and services. Designed correctly, trademarks can be an extremely powerful tool. Approximately 95 percent of the people in the United States would be able to immediately recognize the McDonald's arch trademark. In fact, more people probably know the McDonald's trademark than the name of the President of the United States.

How many of these trademarks can you identify?

The symbols you have been asked to identify are called trademarks or logos. Quite often a trademark can mean the difference between success and failure.

In order to stimulate new growth an old oil company decided to design a new logo. Hopefully this new logo would assist the marketing department to create a new fresh image.

The new logo consisted of the word SUN with a beautiful sunrise in the background. They put their new logo on company stationary, business forms, and their huge oil storage tanks around the country. Primarily due to the new image created by the new logo, people began to take notice of the Sun Oil Company, and business has been growing.

Trademarks/logos can be classified into three groups: descriptive, symbolic, and typographic. These three types of trademarks can be found individually or combined. Examples of all three are given below:

Descriptive trademarks are those that visually describe an organization's product. These trademarks are generally used with companies that produce only one type of product. The trademark should be simple and easily recognizable.

(See the Barnards wire fencing example.)

A disadvantage of the descriptive trademark is that product may become outdated or change. To change your trademark every time you change your produce would be confusing to the public, thus, weakening sales and profits. Generally, it is better to design trademarks that suggest the character of the organization rather than its product.

Symbolic trademarks may be more appropriate, especially for organizations that provide skills, services, information, or a wide variety of products. The wool trademark shown associated a natural raw material with craft qualities of hand knitting. Another common symbolic trademark is the one owned by United Way. The message conveyed is simple, Please help by lending a helping hand and bring a little sunshine to those who may need it.

The key to a well designed trademark is to keep it simple and easily recognizable, while including as many desirable characteristics of an organization, its products, or services as possible.

Typographic trademarks use letters to form impressions on people’s minds. Letters can be a word or words, initials, or just special letters. Examples might be the golden M or arch of McDonald’s, the Circle K, or GM for General motors vehicles. Typical letter uses many include distorting, modifying or creating original letter shapes to develop exiting trademarks. When letters are used in a trademark, the design must provide a feeling of unity and continuation. This is achieved by eliminating any letter designs that may cause a visual distraction. Typographic trademarks depend on the eye viewing all letters of the design from left to right smoothly with no interruptions.

Design Considerations:

Before exploring possible trademarks/logos designs, it usually is necessary to first research the organization, product(s), or services. Typical questions to answer before any design takes place might be:

1. What is the anticipated audience for the trademark (local, national, international, or worldwide)?

2. Will the mark be used with any other existing marks, take the place of other existing marks, or be entirely new?

3. Is the mark to be used for a product, service, or organization?

4. Is the mark to incorporate letters, words, or just a symbolic design?

5. If the mark is to identify a product, could it possibly become out dated?

6. What is the estimated range of uses (signs, stationary, posters, highway signs, etc. )?

7. What are the positive qualities of the product, service, or organization that are the most important for the design of the trademark?

Another important consideration for the design of a good trademark is its ability to be reduced or enlarged and still be recognized.

Once a design is developed, the secret to success is to get it out to the public for inspection. The trademark needs to be viewed by as many people as possible over and over again. In order to protect a successful trademark from being stolen or closely copied by another organization, it may be registered with the United State Patent Office. A U.S. patent gives legal rights to the design for a period of 20 years. However, a trademark does not have to be registered to have legal rights to exist.

You are the member of a team that creates designs for companies. (Later on, you 'in manufacturing will be able to design a trademark for your own copy). Your agency has been given the task of designing trademarks and company names for four different organizations. Remember that a trademark is a symbol that makes it easy for the public to identify the company. The company name should reflect the products or services offered by the company.

1. Create a company and design a trademark for.

Your Company
Recording Company (makes tapes and records of popular songs).
Mountainbike Company (sells and services mountainbikes).
Video Game Company (sells a new console the "Ninsega Station").

2. Develop trademark/logo design using thumbnail sketches and rough and comprehensive layouts.

3. The trademark/logo can be descriptive, symbolic typographical, or combined.

4. All illustrations must be done in colored pencil or felt-tip marker.

5. All designs must be original.

6. Trademark/logos will be no smaller than 3" X 3".

7. All designs must lend themselves well to reduction (to the size of a postage stamp).

8.  Place trademarks in a PowerPoint presentation for the class to see.

Related Careers:

Graphic Designer
Sign Maker
Technical Illustrator

Vocabulary and Definitions:

Trademark / Logo Rough Layout
Comprehensive Layout
Camera-Ready Copy
Descriptive
Symbolic
Typographic
Thumbnail Sketch