Another word destroyed by pictures
When it comes to visual identity design, Frank and I generally lean towards a less-is-more philosophy. By keeping a wordmark simple, the carefully selected and treated typography is allowed to shine, keeping the focus on messaging or other supporting brand elements. The addition of meaningful symbols or icons applied directly to the characters in a wordmark can often help elevate it into something more special and distinct – but there are definitely some pitfalls to watch out for when taking this approach.
Let’s ignore the joke of a typeface here for a second (it’s “Hobo” if you’re really interested…) and focus on the deeper, more serious issue at hand: that leafy “f” character that doesn’t read like an f at all. From the distance a person would typically view this sign, the last character completely disappears, making the restaurant name read as “Basil Lea” instead of “Basil Leaf”. The leafy “f” – possibly clipart – was intended to make this logomark something special, something ownable, but instead, destroys the word picture, leaving the viewer hanging and wondering if they’ve come to the right place.
Let me put it this way: if a customer can’t find your restaurant thanks to the ultra-poor typography on your front awning, then your wordmark isn’t doing you any favours.
A large part of the problem is the execution. As Frank touched upon in a previous post about icons, when looking at a family of symbols, it’s important that they’re visually consistent. A connection of mood, size, detail, and stroke weight should be be seen and felt by the viewer. The solution in the case of our friend “Basil Lea” would be to include an F that looks like it’s part of the typeface. Instead of starting with leafy clipart that ‘kind of’ looks like an F character, start with an f character that… looks like an f! Then customize the letterform to look more leafy (if you decide that is the really the best symbol for your logomark.)
It’s easy to pick out the noun from your company name and use it as an icon in your logomark. It’s repetitive, usually unnecessary, and in most cases simply highlights the fact that you are unimaginative. As in the case of Basil Leaf above, why does there also have to be a visual depiction of a leaf, inside the word “leaf” that I’m currently reading?
This Bota Fogo sports bar is a good example of taking the letter replacement too far. Let's dissect this thing:
The concept is sound – I don’t speak Portuguese so the words “Bota Fogo” alone don’t scream football to me, and having the soccer ball icon is actually helpful.
The execution isn’t great – the soccer ball is 3D and weighted all wrong for that Arial Black type. The fine-ness of the soccer ball clipart also messes with legibility of the overall wordmark.
It’s laughably repetitive – three soccer balls is way too many! If I were to redesign this concept, I would put the soccer ball in the first O, then leave the word FOGO alone. Like with the leafy F, I’d start with an O from the typeface and customize it to look like a soccer ball, rather than find some clip art, turn off all of my graphic sensitivities, and jam it into the word.
When starting in on a design, I always have to remind myself not to be cheesy, because it’s just way too easy to veer that way. This New Life wordmark definitely heads into the realm of cheese with the man silhouette replacing the i letterform. The concept is sound (I guess), because it gives the viewer the idea that it’s some sort of medical/fitness centre (without having to read the “natural health clinic” descriptor). But overall, it is far too detailed and his body shape starts making the word hard to read (it starts looking like “LYfe” which is unfortunate). In a nutshell, avoid copping out with cheesy ideas like this. It might be easy in the short term, but it most certainly won’t do you many favours down the road.
When replacing letterforms with iconic pictures, execution is key. It’s akin to designing a typeface where all the letters need to be balanced and live harmoniously together. Taking the extra time and care in these detail make the difference between “Basil Lea” and “Basil Leaf” – your business and your brand deserve that much.
