LogoBee Announces New In-House Web Design Service

Popular graphics design firm expands into website design and development

 

Having been an industry leader in graphics and logo design for almost seven years, LogoBee is now proud to announce the launching of its own website design service. Having procured the necessary office space and a few new faces over the holidays, LogoBee is now prepared to take on the challenges of custom web design and development. In celebration of this new service, LogoBee is offering 50% off any of their quotes for a limited time.

 

Interestingly, LogoBee has taken the popular business model it uses for its logo design service and has tailored it to meet the needs of its web design customers. After gathering all the necessary information, clients are presented with initial variations which they are able to make changes and modifications to. It’s also possible to mix and combine elements from the different samples to create entirely new designs. Variations provided to the customer include options for site navigation, graphic design and content layout.

 

The web designers at LogoBee have a wide range of capabilities that include PHP coding, flash animation and custom illustration. Their open approach means that feedback may be provided at any time of the development process.

 

“We’re excited to have begun providing in-house website design to our clients” said Tim Liboiron, Creative Director at LogoBee. “Web design is the second piece of the puzzle which so many entrepreneurs and start-ups are in need of. We truly believe we are offering our clients a great service. Now you can come to us, get a new logo for your company and launch right away with a brand new website!”

 

More information about LogoBee’s web design service may be found on their homepage:

http://www.logobee.com/web-design/

 

 

Second Annual Logo Design Makeover Comes to a Close

LogoBee selects 15 winners for their non-profit Makeover event

 

For the second year in a row, LogoBee.com has been the host of a design event geared towards providing non-profits and charitable organizations with brand-new logos. This year’s event has officially come to a close, and LogoBee will now begin creating brand-new logo designs and stationery for the selected winners.

 

This year’s makeover was a great success. LogoBee received more than 400 entries. Due to the positive response, LogoBee has decided to choose an unprecedented 15 different non-profits and charities to work with this year. Last year they selected 10.

 

LogoBee would like to thank all of the entrants for their participation and great work in their communities. Unfortunately not everyone could be chosen! This year’s winners are:

 

• The International Primate Protection League
• The Media Alliance
• The New York Library Association
• Cal Corps Public Service Center
• The Harm Reduction Coalition
• The Florida Atlantic Research & Development Park
• The Idaho Women’s Network
• The Emerald Necklace Conservancy
• The International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council
• The Pepy Ride
• M.E.D.I.C.O
• The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults
• Women Helping Women
• The Voluntary Committee of Lawyers
• Stage Left Theatre

 

LogoBee looks forward to working on these projects. The new designs will enable these non-profits to move forward into the New Year with renewed confidence and enthusiasm.

 

Saying No to Design Competitions

LogoBee offers an alternative take on speculative logo design competitions

 

Design competitions have been hitting the news more and more lately. Seemingly almost every week a ‘call for submissions’ request hits the headlines, asking for artists and designers to submit their ideas and proposals. Due to the seemingly large talent pool of designers available through the help of the internet, companies and organizations have been capitalizing on this new-found resource as a solution to their design needs.   

 

What’s interesting is that there has been a backlash from the design community in regards to these competitions. There are a number of reasons for this. One is that ultimately, the ‘competition’ itself becomes the real news, while often times the contest organizer will fail to adequately promote the winning designer once the project is completed.

 

Another issue at hand is the waste of resources that occurs when artists compete to submit winning designs. This robs designers of their time and effort causing great inefficiencies. What’s worse is that the winning design may or may not be suitable for the client, as the designers are likely kept at arms length during the process. As a result, contest organizers may get ‘stuck’ with a particular logo design, or risk facing a public relations disaster if they decide to change it a month or two down the road.

 

That isn’t to say that doing pro-bono work from time to time is necessarily a bad thing. However one needs to keep in mind the difference between pro-bono and speculative work. As a great example of pro-bono work, VSA Partners were approached by the Chicago Olympic Organizing Committee to develop a logo design for the 2016 Olympic Games. Based out of Chicago themselves, VSA Partners took the best design elements of their native city when creating the logo. The Olympic Organizing Committee and VSA Partners stand to mutually benefit from the collaboration.

 

However, speculative work is different. It means that designers can never be sure that their work will be considered, and there is often no compensation offered for designs that aren’t selected. Pro-bono work means that you will essentially be doing the work for free, but it’s guaranteed that your work will be used in the project, something that is very important to designers looking to enhance their portfolios.

 

As a means to counter this new trend in the design industry, an initiative called NO-SPEC has started out.  NO-SPEC is an organization dedicated to educating and promoting sound business practices in the design world. With the help of their website they hope to encourage designers to take a stand on doing excessive speculative work, while educating contest organizers on the negative influence these types of logo design competitions have on the industry.

 

Logo Bee also has a competition of its own which attempts to reverse this trend, called “LogoBee’s Design Makeover” for non-profits. LogoBee is the host of this annual contest where non-profits submit proposals on why they need to update their logo / image, and are asked to provide some background information on their organization and mission. LogoBee then hand-selects winners (last year there were 10!), and creates free logo designs and stationery layouts for every winner. This is of course a very good thing for non-profits, but also ensures that the time and effort of LogoBee’s design team is put to good use.

 

 

 

Double Outsourcing - A Double-Edged Sword?

Disruptive Business Models and Negative Incentives

 

Outsourcing has become a growing trend in a variety of industries. As firms become more specialized in the products and services they offer, the need to outsource certain tasks has become apparent. A small business will probably find it more cost effective to hire a tax accountant than do it themselves. They also will probably want to hire an artist to create their logo design and brand identity. This has all become intuitive to companies that need to focus more and more on their core business. But what happens when the service company out-sources its own contracts?

 

This model of ‘double outsourcing’ is relatively new in the business world. It leaves the service company with virtually no overhead, only control over marketing, advertising and administration. In the logo design realm, this means that designers from all over the world will be contracted to work on any given project at any given time, working through a centralized network to submit their work. This free-market mechanism allows designers to bid freely on jobs, set their own hours and work as they please.

 

The model is supposed to make it so that only designers interested in a project will bid on a particular job. This has the intention of encouraging interesting designs. However, it’s really a roll of the dice in terms of the quality of service a client receives. Who exactly are these designers? What type of qualifications do they have? In this type of situation, nothing can be certain. Often times, a logo design may look great initially, but once you sit down and start to work and manipulate its elements, design flaws will become apparent, revealing the shortcomings of the designer. A well-designed logo should be functional, easy to use in a variety of situations, and be easy to change and modify. Not every designer is able to accomplish this.

 

Another problem lies in the kinds of incentives the competitive design model creates. The structure is set up so that every artist competes against an array of other logo designers, creating multiple concepts for a single project. If a design is chosen, the artist receives a bonus commission. This business model has the intention of encouraging the very best from its designers. However, it can also have the effect of encouraging theft or excessive borrowing of existing logo design concepts, as these artists are often put under severe time and budget constraints.

 

As a more traditional form of outsourcing, take LogoBee.com for instance. LogoBee’s designers are all in-house, meaning they work as a team to ensure a project is completed. There are advantages and disadvantages to this approach. On the downside, the company is more susceptible to workload fluctuations. Although it may not be as efficient business-wise, it ensures that a minimum standard of quality is delivered on every logo design project. It also helps take advantage of the specific talents of the designers, using a projects coordinator to handle the distribution of tasks.  

 

Having a symbiotic relationship with fellow designers helps to remove the competitive element from the design process. A team of artists are more likely collaborate on a project, which puts them in a better position to create an original identity, rather than competing to submit a winning design.

 

From a distance, the double-outsourcing business model looks appealing, cost-effective and efficient. However, until ‘double-outsourcing’ can iron out the negative incentives that arise in the logo design field, you may want to stick to a company that employs in-house designers.

 

 

 

 

LogoBee Takes another Award for Color Logo Design Concept

Leading design firm wins at the American Design Awards

 

Montreal, QC – Sept 15, 2006 – LogoBee.com has come out shining after participating in the American Design Awards earlier this year. They took home an award for best logo design concept at the semi-annual event. The American Design Awards received over 1200 entries into over 10 different categories, in what they describe as the most engaging and closely fought contests in the history of the awards competition.

 

LogoBee.com is a design firm that focuses primarily on logo design, corporate identities, stationery and brochures. For the awards event they submitted a project they had worked on for the Royal Bank of America. The clients’ requirements were to update their look and feel with a new, innovative design to assist in their expansion and branding efforts. The resulting design that LogoBee created was a brand-able icon of a stylized ‘R’. Incorporating the head of a bald eagle, the logo design effectively signifies strength and solidarity, important traits in the banking industry.

 

This is the second award that LogoBee Design has received this year. Earlier in the spring they won an award for ‘Southcentral Therapeutic Riding, Inc.,’ a color logo design entered at the annual Summit Creative Awards.

 

“We pride ourselves on designing simple and effective company logos” said Tim Liboiron, project manager at LogoBee.com. “I know that we have some great in-house talent here, but it’s always nice to receive some recognition of our efforts from time to time.”

 

About LogoBee.com:

 

LogoBee is a leading creator of high-quality logo design and corporate identities for businesses worldwide. For more information please visit their website: http://www.logobee.com

 

To view a detailed listing of the graphics design winners and contestants visit the American Design Awards website at:

http://www.americandesignawards.com/annual06.html

 

About the American Design Awards:

 

The American Design Awards is one of the premier graphics design organizations that recognizes talent and achievement of local and international designers. Their secondary mission is to provide industry awareness and education about the design industry, its standards and best practices. For more information visit their website:

http://www.americandesignawards.com

No Guts, No Glory

Sports promoter returns to the real-world after “Super Agent” TV series

 

It’s not often that the public is able to get a glimpse into the lives of sports agents and promoters. Unless you’re Don King, it’s common that the athlete will take up a fair share of the limelight. However, after having appeared in Spike TV’s reality show “Super Agent” last year, John Bermudez has surfaced to become one of the top sports personalities around.

 

Despite some initial hesitation from his colleagues, Bermudez snapped up the opportunity to compete in the “Super Agent” series, where a selection of high-profile agents battle to represent top NFL draft-pick Shaun Cody. Although Bermudez didn’t win, he made it into the final three out of nine total contestants. It can’t be said that the experience and exposure wasn’t worth his time.

 

Aside from being in the reality-TV spotlight, things have been looking up for Bermudez. He recently negotiated a three-year contract between Clinton Hart and the San Diego Chargers, and now handles marketing and promotion for Mr. Hart. Clinton is vying for the starting position at strong safety this season, and looks forward to adding some depth to the Chargers pass defense.

 

Both Bermudez and Hart share some common ground with one another, having grown up playing baseball in their younger days. Currently they’ve been busy setting up a non-profit organization for at-risk youth, aptly named “The Clinton Hart Foundation.”

 

Bermudez has also been doing some fine-tuning for his agency “Team One Sports & Entertainment,” and recently went through a re-branding process with LogoBee.com. “When you’re dealing with professional athletes, you need to make sure that your own image is in check” said Bermudez. The updated logo design will soon be unveiled on his website www.teamonesports.net, featuring news articles, player/athlete profiles and special event listings.

 

About John Bermudez:

 

John Bermudez is the President of Team One Sports and Entertainment, a company that provides professional athlete marketing and representation, talent recruitment and promotion. For updated information visit http://www.teamonesports.net

 

Bermudez recently helped sign Clinton Hart to a three-year deal with the San Diego Chargers. For more information on the Chargers and Clinton Hart please visit http://www.chargers.com/team/roster/clinton-hart.htm

 

24-Hour Stair Climbing Marathon, Anyone? Local Non-Profit Steps Up to Fight Cancer, Literally

Step Up for the Cure is a Montreal-based non-profit that will hold its second annual stair climbing marathon next weekend in an effort to raise funds for the Cancer Research Society. The event will take place at Molson Stadium, September 9^th and 10^th, 2006. While the stadium is normally host to University of McGill football games, its bleachers will become the center of attention, allowing Step Up’s participants to climb stairs until they drop.

 

Last year, participants managed to climb 789,184 stairs, a total of 301,136 vertical meters. For those who don’t like metric, that’s around 187 vertical miles, and over 20 times the height of Mt. Everest. Quite the feat!

 

This is not your average fundraiser. The event happens to be a grueling test of will and endurance on all participants. “The event certainly isn’t easy” said Daniel Fischer, event organizer and promoter. “But it wasn’t designed to be, either. Fighting cancer is one of the toughest battles anyone can endure. Seeing others put themselves though our 24-hour marathon goes to show how strong the determination is to find a cure for this devastating disease.”

 

In Canada, someone is diagnosed with cancer every 4 minutes. The idea behind Step Up for the Cure is that each participant runs a set of stairs every 4 minutes, totaling 15 sets an hour. If you sign up as a team, the 15 sets can be divided among team members. Each participant is encouraged to raise a minimum of $240 for the cause.

 

While some participants take the event to the extreme, Fischer says that anyone is welcome to take part, even if it’s just for an afternoon to help out and run some stairs. “While we hope to have a large number of teams turn out for the full-blown marathon, we encourage anyone to come down and help us reach our goal of one million stairs” said Fischer.

 

The event has been successful in obtaining sponsorships from a variety of local companies. LogoBee was able to come up with a new logo design concept for the event, and Fischer had enough graphics expertise to translate the logo into French himself. Other sponsors include Caisse d'Économie des Pompiers, Cavalli Restaurant, Fairmount Bagel, Globe Electric Company, Hype Energy Drink, Lulu Lemon, Point Zero, San Benedetto, Steve’s Music Store, Tim Hortons, Via Rail Canada and notably McGill University Athletics for providing the venue.

 

About Step Up for the Cure:

Courageous inspired individuals, challenging physical limits, through night and day, to raise money and awareness for cancer research.  This is the essence of Step Up for the Cure. It is a 24-hour stair climbing marathon with the goal of running vertical sets for each Canadian battling this disease. For event details and registration information visit: http://www.stepupforthecure.com

 

About the Cancer Research Society:

The Cancer Research Society is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to funding cancer research, treatment and prevention. For more information please visit their website at: http://src-crs.ca/main.php?lang=2

 

About LogoBee.com:

LogoBee is a leading creator of stationery and logo design for businesses worldwide. Based in Canada. Please visit their website at http://www.logobee.com

 

Pro NFL Player to Unveil Non-Profit Foundation

Clinton Hart starts up a new non-profit for underprivileged youth

 

It’s always appreciated when celebrities and pro athletes give something back to their communities. Clinton Hart of the San Diego Chargers is doing just that. Although he has always been an active contributor to his community, later this year he will be unleashing the Clinton Hart Foundation, a non-profit organization catering to at-risk youth.

 

Hart’s road to the NFL was not your typical one. Although he played football in high school, he never had the chance to play college football, instead choosing to play baseball in order to be closer to his family. His talent began to show playing arena football after college, giving him the chance to try out for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2003. Recently he signed with John Bermudez of Team One Sports and Entertainment, helping him land a three-year deal with the San Diego Chargers.

 

Despite all of Hart’s success he has never forgotten his roots. Hart enjoys working with kids, putting on yearly football camps and volunteering at a local sports complex near his hometown in Florida. The Clinton Hart Foundation will in essence be an extension of what he has been doing in the past, helping kids and underprivileged youth stay on their feet with sports, awareness programs and counseling.

 

What was really needed for the foundation to take off was a logo. For this, LogoBee.com was contracted for the development and design. Interestingly, some of the initial design concepts came from Clint Hart himself. The finalized logo design incorporates Clint’s stylish signature that many die hard fans have already seen scribbled onto footballs, hats and t-shirts. “I think the logo is great because it’s effective in creating a bond between me and my fans” said Hart. “It has an open feel to it which is essential in communicating my foundation’s mission and services to those in need.”

 

About Clinton Hart and John Bermudez:

 

Clinton Hart is now in his fourth year in the NFL, and currently plays strong safety with the San Diego Chargers. To see his profile and updated stats visit

http://www.chargers.com/team/roster/clinton-hart.htm

 

John Bermudez is currently the President of Team One Sports and Entertainment, and handles marketing and representation for Clint Hart. Recently he secured a three year contract for Clinton Hart with the San Diego Chargers. For updated information visit http://www.teamonesports.net

 

About LogoBee.com:

 

LogoBee is a leading creator of high-quality logo designs for businesses worldwide. For more information please visit

http://www.logobee.com

 

Protecting your Corporate Identity

How to cope with the rise of internet plagiarism

                                             

When it comes to corporate identity and logo design, copyright infringement has become an increasingly prevalent issue. As more and more small businesses find they need a logo to stay competitive, the demand has created a plethora of logo design firms that offer a variety of services from stock clipart images to custom design services.

 

However, because of the competitive nature of graphics design and the ease in which people have access to information, it has become difficult to ensure that a design remains the property of the respectful owner, and does not become duplicated by someone else. The ease in which an image or logo can be taken from the web and retraced is surprising, and there are even some that fail to realize that online content isn’t simply ‘public’ domain. Therefore you should always be careful to properly document and trademark your logo design, articles and content. Failure to do so may wind up costing you down the road.

 

Some graphics design firms have even gone so far as to take images from other companies’ portfolios, and claim them as their own. Not a smart move! It’s surprising the number of designers that surf the web and are able to catch duplicate logos with ease. The repercussions on such a practice can be devastating for a company.

 

When you’re having a logo created, be sure to properly research the design company before signing on. If their prices are too good to believe, chances are they will be cutting corners elsewhere, often in the creativity department. Once you decide on a company to go with, try to ensure that you give them as much information as possible about your company. Try to identify your industry and competition as best as possible. This way, you will be helping the artists to come up with an original logo design that you can be confident in claiming as your own.

 

In addition to graphics and logo design infringement, text/content theft has become another problem to recently plague the internet. Thankfully, there is an interesting tool that allows you to easily see who’s been copying your web sites. The tool can be found at Copyscape.com. Type in the web page address that poses a concern, and Copyscape will immediately give you the top ten results of pages with duplicate content. The results can be surprising.

 

Russell is the Director of Marketing and Public Relations at LogoBee, Inc. For further information on logo design and branding visit the articles section on www.logobee.com.

info@logobee.com

 

LogoBeea??s Top 10 Design Tips
Mood:  celebratory

Over the years, LogoBee has been designing logos and accumulating articles and resources for its clients. Finally, they’ve released a concise set of logo design tips to help you along with your project, and ensure that you end up with a logo that will perfectly suit your needs. So without further ado, here are LogoBee’s top ten tips!

 

1. Keep it Simple!

 

These are probably the best words of advice, and it ties into almost all of our upcoming tips. A complicated logo will not only make your logo difficult to reproduce and maintain, but you will also fail to engage your audience. The logo is the ultimate ‘elevator’ pitch to your potential clients and business partners. You don’t have time to recite your entire business plan in an elevator pitch, and the same concept applies to corporate logo design.

 

Sometimes when a logo design isn’t working out right, there will be an inclination to add elements and complexity. Often times, it’s better to start over with a new concept or remove distracting elements rather than add them.

 

Simplicity isn’t always an easy thing to achieve, as you don’t want your logo to appear too boring or conservative. This is why at the end of the day it’s best to leave it to the design professionals!

 

2. Engage your Audience

 

The logo design should above everything entertain and engage your audience. Your logo should not be so literal that the message is spelt out for them. They should be given the opportunity to discover the meaning and intention of your logo themselves. If people are able to discover the ‘trick’ of your logo within a reasonable amount of time, this will help to create a memorable and entertaining experience between you and your audience.

 

Too much abstraction will on the other hand work against you. If the logo is too obscure, the message that you are attempting to communicate will be lost, and so will your potential client. Remember, today’s consumer culture is accustomed to very intense and stimulating media, and therefore you cannot be too demanding on your audience either. 

 

3. Logo Longevity – Think Ahead!

 

The durability and longevity of a logo is worth considering. Although it’s impossible to see into the future, it is useful to picture your company 10-15 years down the road, and think about what kind of products and services it will offer, if any at all! Even the strongest companies update their logo every 15 years or so, but often the changes will be subtle in nature. Very seldom will they take on a radical re-design.

 

There are many long-standing companies whose logos have stood the test of time. Type-based logos are good for this. The IBM logo is a great example. They offer a variety of products and services on an international level, and also provide research, design and consulting services. They’ve succeeded in communicating all of this through their logo, but we think they are due for an update very soon!

 

For small start-up companies, it may not be the end of the earth if you decide to change your logo after even a few years, depending on what transpires with your company. But it’s always nice when a logo design is able to stand the test of time.

 

4. Vector is Better

 

Although it’s tempting to use detailed illustrations and complex 3d effects in a logo, chances are that it will not serve you well. Clean, crisp lines with very limited colors are almost always more effective than an illustration or complex 3d rendering. A well-drawn vector-based logo will provide you with the contrast and balance that is so important in logo design. New capabilities in vector based programs can now give you the illusion of a 3d effect without losing contrast, using tricks such as the canter effect.

 

5. Adaptability - Be Ready for Change

 

Your logo should be flexible enough to adapt to every business situation. If a logo is too literal or specific, you may have a hard time using it when catering to different markets.

 

Generally speaking, the best thing for small business start-ups is to have an icon and logo-type designed at the same time. This will allow you to use the logo as a stand-alone image, or use it along with the type-font name as well. Often times, companies will use only the icon on its products and packaging materials. This is a common practice among software companies and book publishers.

 

6. Make it Memorable

 

A great logo design will imbed itself into ones sub-consciousness. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but for a logo to be memorable it needs to use simple lines and be very easy to recall from memory. A good test to ensure that your logo design is memorable is to show it to a friend and ask him/her to retrace it a week later. A good design should use a recognizable shape or element for it to be easily remembered.

 

7. Relevance – Keep your Products and Services in Mind

 

A memorable logo is great, but it should also get your customers to start thinking about the products or services that you offer. You should ensure that the logo relates to your business in some shape or form. Yes, the monkey can sell just about anything from cigarettes to cell phones, but there’s a limit! Isn’t there?

 

 

8. Choose your Colors Wisely

 

Colors can play a very important role in logo design as they can illicit different feelings and emotions from us. Interpretations of color may vary depending on age, gender, and cultural demographics, so your choices of color should be carefully considered depending on your target market. Also, colors tend to follow trends, just like in fashion. So a new, vibrant company may want to follow the current trends, whereas a bank may want to stay with a more conservative color set that will work well for them over a long period of time.

 

Try to keep your selection of colors down to two or three. Too many colors will increase your cost of production and make it more difficult to reproduce.

 

One interesting idea that we’ve seen used is to change the color of the logo on things like business cards and stationery depending on the market segmentations of the clientele.

 

9. Keep it Unique

 

This should be straightforward. You want to be sure that your company is easily identified among your industry and competitors. Be sure to carefully research your industry and target market before embarking on a logo design. You need to know and understand the common styles of your industry, but you also need to make sure that you don’t infringe on anyone else’s trademarked logo.

 

10. Versatility Pays Dividends

 

One of the most important attributes of a good logo design is versatility. You want to portray a consistent image across all of your marketing materials, including signs, letterhead, business cards, products lines, and web sites. Often times, a complicated logo design will work fine on a website or billboard, but when you shrink it down to fit on a pen or coffee cup, the illustration or lettering will become illegible. Your logo should also work well in black and white.

 

You may often find that start-up companies and even well-established law firms will not consistently brand their logo across all their marketing materials. For example, they may have their logo on the front door of their office, but will end up using something different (or nothing at all!) on their website. In order to build brand recognition you need to market your logo and image as consistently as possible. Be sure that when you’re having your logo designed that you receive all the file formats necessary for use in your various marketing channels.