So what's in a logo? Well of course it's a combination of things but for me it almost always ends with the old KISS principal - Keep It Simple Stupid. As exotic as we can make images and colours, our shading and ooh ahh gradients (which I am just simply allergic to - achooooo!) , and as c-r-a-z-y as typefaces can be these days (yep, crazier than Papyrus and Comic Sans I kid you not!), making your message clear and legible is essential right? Right. Our next step is to convey a feeling, if we can, about our brand name without saying the feeling - it gets conveyed with the choice of colour or typeface or imagery/logo. And then we say a word and people get it. They get the point of the logo, and some will even read into the meaning behind it. It's that easy. Ha! Well a lot goes into logo development (unless you go to one of those $5 jobs and you get what you pay for). Not all clients give a clear brief, so being a mind reader is helpful in this job. And clients who do give a clear brief have sometime overthought it (and that's not a bad thing) and getting back to the KISS principal is often required.
I have just completed branding for 3 Bees Early Learning Centre. This was a labour of love, a favour for a friend who once did a labour of love for my family several years ago asking for nothing in return. It is so gratifying that I get to repay that kindness (in a small way).
The branding was for a childcare centre which caters for a multi-cultural community. The B words (can't help but think buzz-words) are 'Belonging. Being. Becoming.' The thought was initially not to have the honey bee imagery, the obvious just made too much sense to ignore. And the obvious is really more meaningful than bees and Bs alone. It means the hive. The community. Working together. Helping one another. Sharing. The different types of bees (or people) that make up our world. It means sweetness. It means honey. It means a joyful ingredient used in many cultures around the world. So what will people remember the most? 3 Bees. Bees. Three words beginning with B. The colour of honey. All of the above? I hope so.
So I thought I'd share an image of the process along with the finals. This doesn't include the physical sketches which were done first.
Sweet and simple.
