After my latest newsletter about icons, I had a response from a reader. It is always very nice when someone spends their precious time to answer or comment on what I’ve written. What was especially pleasant about this particular response, was that it came from a client, who wrote:
This was a good article, what about making a sequel about the logo/icon you did for Valdmanis & Co? Then the reader will see even more clearly how you think and why it is smart to work from scratch instead of buying a “ready-made” logo from someone who just spit something out, like a machine.
This is music to my ears. Thanks, Edgar!
I created a logo for “Valdmanis & Co” just over a year ago. The difference between an icon and a logo is the level of responsibility. While an icon is responsible for representing a function, a product, or a service, a logo should carry the task of representing your entire business. That is why it is so important for a logo creator to get to know as much as possible about the business which is to have the new logo. Or put differently; That is why it so important that the business owner requiring a new logo is able to define to himself and others what is the CORE of his business. Obviously, a logo cannot show every attribute of a business, that would have become a “logo-comic”. We need to choose some keywords to represent totality.
For “Valdmanis & Co” these words were: Networking and visibility. Edgar is a Norwegian Champion in networking and helps people become more visible by teaching them how to build great profiles on LinkedIn.
We made 6 different drafts that were evaluated by Valdmanis & Co. On Edgar’s request, I show them all here, along with my comments to each of them, to illustrate my thoughts for each of the logos.
I always give my logo drafts suitable names to give a fast impression of which “hook” has been used in each case. Sometimes there is even room for some humor!
We had some logo discussions between ourselves, and some external people were also invited to share their thoughts on the drafts. However: regardless of which draft I or anyone else may think is the “better”, it is the new logo owner who HAS to choose. It is he or she who is going to live with the new logo, have ownership of it, and identify with it.
The chosen version was adjusted slightly and put into use.
You can see the logo in use here: https://yourbrandvision.com/project/edgar-valdmanis/
If you need a new logo, I would love to help you. Please book a virtual coffee date and we can chat about your logo.
