“People should feel that goTeach, whilst being a newcomer in this sector, is a professional service that is encouraging and strong and ambitious (for them) and safe (for schools to advertise and for job seekers to explore opportunities).”
— GOTEACH

It was a requirement that the domain extension be clearly shown in the logotype.

From the notebook

Read how these very simplistic mind-maps benefit my design process in this free chapter from my book — Logo Design Love: From Pencil to PDF (1MB download size).

Logo

The accompanying symbol identifies the career ladder that goTeach users are actively climbing.

Colour codes

Logo adaptability

Client comments

“Thank you for all your good work in creating and refining the goTea.ch logo/brand identity. It has a ‘presence’ which feels right.

“You have shaken up my thinking for which I am grateful. I had not thought of applying different themes to the logo symbol. It certainly creates a uniqueness that stands out. I would appreciate it if I could come back to you in the future to have some further themes developed.

“Thank you also for guiding me throughout the design process. It was educational and illuminating and I do appreciate the care you took very much.”
— MICHAEL BRENNAN, GOTEACH

It was a real pleasure working with Michael, and I very much look forward to seeing what Andy Clarke (of Malarkey) does for the web side of the project.

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My client listed “young, funky, and cool” as keywords for the project, and wanted a design that would work in single colour (helping with print costs on bespoke t-shirt runs). The Ganze type was custom-designed using the rolling surf as inspiration.

Scalability

In context

I’ve moved home two or three times since completing this project some years ago, but I’m hoping my sketches aren’t packed too far away and I can update with penned ideas.

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Previous Yellow Pages logo

The mandate for the logo refinement could be summed up in this single statement — “to free the icon from print without losing its essence.”

With priorities having shifted online, the pages of the book (the yellow section in the symbol above) were no longer deemed appropriate enough for such obvious use.

Download the project design brief (36k .doc — as supplied by Yellow Pages).

A logo reference guide was also supplied at the beginning of the project (shown below).

Preparatory work

Before addressing the Yellow Pages logo I was asked to present the board with a number of successful logo refinements from other companies, detailing why I thought each one worked. A very brief description behind some of my choices can be seen in these successful logo redesigns. Four of the strongest designs shown through the link are Dolby, Toys R Us, NFL, and MSNBC.

Another task was to compare the in-use logo with those of the Yellow Pages “friends.”

Although related by name and service, each business operates in a different global location, and is run as an independent organisation (hence the separate logo designs).

Focusing on the symbol

The “walking fingers” icon was where most of the design change would occur, and it was clear to me that the actual look of the fingers needed addressing.

I thought the original bulge (shown above-left) created an unnecessarily top-heavy look, and that the pointed thumb-nail was overly feminine.

The in-use logo (above-left) was tested with the new hand (above-right). The new icon was tried with and without a border or background colour (below).

The hand was improved, but the question was posed: “Is there enough of a change to warrant spending $1M?” A clearly valid question, too. We were just starting with the experimentation, and worked through options including a ring on one finger, referencing the Canadian flag, showing a more abstract book, and even incorporating a dart alongside the “walking fingers” (a specific request by the board, to tie in with a dart symbol that was used on the website).

In November 2008, after a number of months working with the senior brand manager, I was told the company was undergoing some internal restructuring, and that the project would be placed on hold until the new year. The new year came and went, and after checking in with my client in May 2009, the project was still on hold, with the entire communications strategy now being reconsidered.

In March 2010 a new logo was unveiled (shown below), created by Canadian design agency TAXI. The creative director from TAXI, Dave Watson, very kindly contacted me showing the work his team carried out with Yellow Pages, and I’ll give you an insight into their design process in my next blog article.

Drop by in a few days to view TAXI’s developmental work, or save yourself a little time by subscribing for updates by email or by RSS.

——

Update: 09 April 2010
You can view part II of the Yellow Pages logo refinement here.

——

I enjoyed my time working with Yellow Pages, and I wish the company every success with the new brand identity. A big thanks to TAXI for sharing the upcoming design work, too.

Excerpt image credit.

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From the notebook

In context

Client comments

“David exceeded my expectations in all areas of the logo design process. His creative thinking, professionalism and communication was exceptional and I’d highly recommend David for any project.”
— NATE KAY, ASPECT 46

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From the notebook

Discover the design benefits of using simple mind-maps by downloading a free chapter from my book – Logo Design Love: From Pencil to PDF (1MB download size).

In context

Client comments

“I needed a logo that was simple and catchy. I thought the best person for this was David Airey based on his love for logo design and his portfolio. I like the way he approached the start of the design process, which was for me to provide as much input and vision for what I wanted. After that he came back with two good logos. We exchanged ideas and I was very surprised by how fast he responded with updated revisions. In the end, he came out with exactly what I wanted, a simple, great logo. Thank you David.”

Charlie Concepcion, Tunelinks

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A month ago I told you I was experimenting with a new portfolio design.

Since then, and in between client work, I’ve been doing what I can to beef-up the case studies with larger contextual images, sketches, and mind-maps. The aim was to finally point the portfolio buttons here on my blog over to the new portfolio site.

Today it’s ready to go.

You’ll probably be familiar with most of the projects, so I made sure to include detailed scans from my notebook, and new shots of the design work in context (on clothing, cars, surf boards, etc.).

Here’s hoping the notes give a little extra insight into my thought process.

Please do head across, let me know what you think, and thanks very much to everyone who offered feedback last month. You were a great help.

My new design portfolio.

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I spent last night and today experimenting with a new portfolio design — one I think is better suited to my personal design tastes.

The starting point for the coding was this two-column CSS template courtesy of Roger Johannson, and the goal of my design is to place emphasis on the portfolio work (at the time of writing, contextual imagery for design projects hasn’t been added).

The eventual plan is to incorporate the new design into my blog here, and I might need to hire someone more proficient with coding. Either that, or simply link my portfolio tab on the blog over to my .co.uk.

The new logotype may very well change, too. I’m undecided.

I’m always interested to know what you think, so if you have any thoughts, negative or positive, please do leave a comment.

You can see what I’ve come up with on the .co.uk extension of my domain name: davidairey.co.uk.

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From the notebook

Unused concept

In context

Client comments

“We were looking for a logo with a touch of modernism. David grasped our needs and produced a stunning design. When feedback was needed, new versions of the logo or any modifications were made very quickly. We really appreciated David’s flexibility and efficiency. It’s great to work with someone so open-minded and responsive. Thank you!”

Cyrille Ehrhart, Henri Ehrhart

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From the notebook

Discover the design benefits of using simple mind-maps by downloading a free chapter from my book – Logo Design Love: From Pencil to PDF (1MB download size).

In context

VISSUMO touch screens can withstand the force of a 9mm bullet — impressive (Engadget thought so too).

Test video #54 (spray paint vandalism) is another I liked.

Client comments

“Because of a spin-off, our business needed to update our name and logo in a short time period. I was familiar with David’s work, but not sure if he could work with our time frame. To my delight, David accepted the project and quickly completed a fantastic design. We feel he understood our goals and created a great logo we can use for a long, long time.”

Garrick Infanger, President, VISSUMO

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Lee Newham is was a senior designer at London-based consultancy P&W. He received three or four CVs (resumés) every day, and here he offers some tips on how graphic designers can get to the top of the pile.

CV tips for graphic designers

99% of CVs are poorly designed. It’s a struggle.

If your CV is good, and relevant to me, you have a higher chance of getting a response.

The creative director often isn’t the person to contact. Many times senior designers are the first port of call for interviews. There is no harm in sending a CV to more than one person at an agency.

Be creative, but don’t be pushy. Agencies find it very difficult to enlist good staff. That’s why most use expensive recruitment agencies.

Here’s my advice to graphic designers trying to get their CV to the top of the pile:

1. Brand yourself. Make yourself memorable. I know that some people may disagree with this, which seems to be a USA thing, but your CV is seen by a creative, not the accountants. ‘Wow’ them.
2. Be more than a sheet of paper. Most CVs are now sent by email. What can you do to differentiate yourself?
3. Don’t include things I don’t care about, like ’I once worked as a waiter’ or ’I got a qualification in chemistry’. I don’t care if you like swimming. I do care, however, if you saw the last lecture by Paul Rand before he died and what your thoughts were. Make it relevant.
4. Ensure everything is beautifully presented. Consider your kerning and double-check there are no silly mistakes — we all want to employ a safe pair of hands.
5. Follow-up anything you send with a phone call, but remember, don’t hassle, be polite. Ask them what they thought of your CV and how it could be improved.
6. Don’t try too hard. One student sent a mailer that was a fake bomb (with the tag line ’dynamite designer’. The bomb squad were called and the designer was contacted — by the police. He didn’t get the job. This raises another point — don’t boast, no-one wants to employ an arrogant designer. Never say you are the best. Leave that to Mohammed Ali.

Patience + time = job. Good luck.

Your thoughts

Do you have any additional CV tips to share?

Once your foot’s in the door, Lee has these interview tips to help you nail the next step in the process.

Header image: Thinkstock

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