Logo design for the FFOH record label
I was recently approached by a newcomer in the record label field, asking if I could assist with their logo design.
The company name is Four Figures One Head, or FFOH.
FFOH was initiated towards the end of 2007 by four leading music producers here in the UK, and they required an identity that was both original, and that represented their unique standing as a collective of talented individuals.
The music genre covered by the label is primarily club music (also known as house), and I was chosen for this project due in part to my flyer designs for the music industry.
The mark used in their logo needed to be simple enough for reproduction across a wide range of print media, and at very small sizes. I was briefed that the design would also be used in an almost stamp-like process. This is one reason why to be effective, the resulting design should work when using a single colour.
There’s a touch of colour added to the main logo, shown at the top of this post, but as you can see from the grayscale design below, colour, or any design effect, isn’t necessary. I always think it best for a logo to work as flat art, aiding a wider variety of uses.
I had originally presented a design option where the mark was more balanced and rigid, as shown below. This version didn’t incorporate the circular outline, which I ultimately preferred, as did the client.
By slightly rotating the four figures (below), a little movement is added.
Then by introducing a circular casing, the design is tightened up, and more of a spinning record impression is given.
I can picture this image spinning nicely on a set of slipmats, or as an embroidered logo on a range of clubwear.
Importantly, the design is workable at small sizes (as displayed below).
I hope to add photographs of this logo in context (on sleeves, CDs, online etc), but for now, and as always, I welcome and appreciate your constructive criticism.
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59 spot-on reader comments to “Logo design for the FFOH record label”
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Looks great, I really like the concept. It is simple and elegant for its uses offline and even online it is still a great logo.
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Hye David,
I could see 4 figures holding hands but I guess it would be better to highlight the 4 figures would you? You could try to put 4 or at least 2 different colours for the figures of the people to distinguish them. This way, in my opinion, will meet the name of the recording company FourFiguresOneHead. Just an opinion.
I love seeing your logo design process, David. Keep sharing please! For this logo, I like how you’ve rotated the figures slightly so they aren’t perfectly vertical and horizontal. It makes it more interesting and you did an awesome job matching the style of the mark to the font. They look like they belong together. I also like the gradient effect on the color one. Slick!
The b&w logos with the different options reminds me of a style guide. Have you ever created one of those? Like a full branding or identity standard that outlines the fonts, logos (with acceptable and unacceptable variations), colors, etc. I need to create one and I’ve never done it before. The search results are not offering what I need. What kinds of things should be considered? What examples given? How do you define a particular style so that the look and feel is consistent across stationary, websites, flyers, etc? I’d love to hear anything you know about it!
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David:
Very nice job on that logo. Clean and simple with a solid concept. Well done!!
Justin Pease: Web Developer’s last blog post..2008: Is the Internet in your plan?
I like it a lot!
Very nice!
Very well thought out and has a lot of meanings.
The rotation adds greatly to it.
:-)
Hm…
but why pink?
Looks great, but interesting color choice.
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Why, oh why, didn’t they let you design the 2012 Olympics logo?
Excellent work!
Jamie
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Another great post on your logo design process. and your logo sketch of the four sitck men with a giant head made me laugh, thank got you didn’t use that - it would have been way to detailed to use at a small size.
I really thought the logo without the circle was very strong as well but when you mentioned that it was a record company, I could see the resemblance with a record or maybe even the holes of the good old tape days if you know what I mean.
Lauren, that is a good idea for a post, if someone has done it before - as for me, I haven’t yet had a chance but I have seen them and some very thorough ones at that - ie. Over 30pages long.
David, approximately how long did the whole process take for this logo design?
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I like how you used the capitals for the start of each word, it does break them up dont they?
The little icon is cleaver and very catchy :)
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My first impression was that the inner circle (not the dot) was actually the head (didn’t know what the dot was for). It was only after looking at your sketches that I realized that the inner circle were arms.
A very clever design, only if you get it.
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Wow! Record Company… logo looks like a CD. 4 figures, 1 head.. logo looks like 4 figures with one head. That’s a great logo and very creative, I can see why they came to you.
Hmm.. Exceptional, as expected.
David,
I thought you always like to avoid spaces between words in the logo. Is there any specific reason for that?
Niyaz PK’s last blog post..The timeline of a website design
a very interesting logo. Did you notice that only after rotating it the logo actually looks straight? Look how the left leg of the top person is straight and parallel to the right leg of the bottom person (gosh, I hope I got left & right correctly here ;-) ), and the same goes for the horisontal legs which show up perfectly perpendicular to the vertical ones.
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woohoo!! Another logo designer that I have stumbled upon. The logo looks really cool mate. But, instead of pink color, you could have done well do choose some other color like thin shades of blue or green. Four Figures One Head –> Can’t get a better logo than this. Cheers..
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Rafie,
The aim was to keep colour numbers to a minimum, rather than four colour process. This is more cost-efficient for the client.
Lauren,
I’m glad you like seeing my process, and for sure, I’ll display some more when I get a chance.
I’ve created some style guides in the past. How in-depth do you want to go?
Something like this Investors in People branding guide, or more complex?
Justin, Brian,
Thanks very much. The graduation between pink and purple was chosen by the client. I presented a number of variations, and this was thought to be the most vibrant / energetic.
Jamie,
It’ll be some time before I’m able to charge £400,000. Someday perhaps. ;)
Thanks for the compliment.
Jacob,
There’s not actually a lot of detail in the sketch with the huge head. Take away the shading and it’s just as simple as the final idea.
The whole process lasted around 4 weeks, with more back and forth than is suggested by the samples above.
I read your other message about adding an ‘edit’ function to comments. For some reason the plugin won’t work. It used to, but something changed. I know it’s useful though, so I’ll see what I can do.
Jermayn, Dan, Coleman, Vijay,
I appreciate your thoughts - thanks very much.
Niyaz,
Good observation about the letterspacing. There’s only a sampling of designs in my portfolio, and I can assure you that I do split the words. In this instance, the company name is quite long, so it made sense to keep the words compact. Perhaps I would’ve broke it up if the name was ‘Four Figures’.
Vivien,
I know what you mean about the more straight right / left legs. The thought had run through my mind too, and whilst the legs don’t run at exact 90 / 180 / 270 degree angles, it was a concious decision to keep them parallel with the opposites.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hi David,
I liked the logo straight away. It’s got a certain naive style and also looks mythical or tribal. I don’t know if that’s the look you were after, or that the client was seeking. I also very much like the pink - not too warm, not too cool and it stands out because it’s not a colour that I see used so often in logo design. Nice one.
David
Just wanted to say that I really like the logo - I can see it being used on clubbers as a hand stamp!
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It’s like an eye pointed by four arrows. The logo represents the four music producers but doesn’t show any musical elements inside. But I like your concept, simple and readable (I’ll always remember what you taught).
How long does it take for this logo design process?
Do the FFOH agree to let you post their logo design process?
Regarding 2nd question: I had an experience by a company who doesn’t want me posting their poster design process.
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What was the motive behind chosing pink colour?
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Hi David
I quite enjoy reading your blog, and it’s one of my daily reads. I love the logo, and that particular shade of pink is a fav of mine. Plus, like others have already stated, I can vividly imagine a CD or vinyl record when I see the logo, so it really is apt, the producers representing the music industry and all.
Cheers
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The logo colour isn’t one that’s seen too often, which does help separate it. Hand stamping is certainly an option with this one.
Didik,
There’s no need for a logo to say what the company actually does. I mentioned above that the process took about 4 weeks, and I always ask permission before showing client work.
At present there are a number of logo designs in my portfolio that I can’t show online until the respective websites are launched. Hopefully the wait will also give a little added exposure to my clients.
Abhijeet,
The client chose pink / purple as they felt it best encompassed the energetic nature of their music genre. It’s also a little different from most other logos.
Logo design is admittedly not my forte, but I can spot a great one when I see it - and this is one of them. Really nicely done David and thanks for the insight into your process.
I particularly like the way you rotated the icon slightly. It’s seems like such a minor adjustment, but it makes a really big impact. The devil is in the details!
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Wow, very nice and clean logo. I like it as well as the concept behind it — thanks for the explanation!
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I don’t like it. Doesn’t contrast.
David, I’m glad you have experience with the style guide. One of your readers, Juan, saw my comment and actually sent me an extremely comprehensive style guide that his university just produced (thanks again Juan if you’re reading!!).
The site you gave is a very simple guide, and just for the logo. I need to produce something much more detailed; it needs to include the style of the branding and marketing, too. There are many training handouts that need to be designed as well and I want every item to have a similar look and feel but still be distinguishable among all the material, no matter who it’s designed by (my husband and I are both working on it right now and we have different styles. I want everything we produce–and whatever any future designers create–to look similar). Does that clarify a little more? Perhaps you can write a post about it! I can wait a little bit for you to get it together :)
LaurenMarie - Creative Curio’s last blog post..Full Steam Ahead
Interesting that you’re working with your husband on it. You’re both in the creative field?
Oh yes! I thought you knew that, sorry. Jerrol (the husband) focuses more on Web design and I do more print-related work. We are starting a new business venture with one of his contacts. It’s pretty exciting! And this guy is great to work with because he understands how to work with creatives and he defers to our expertise (how refreshing!). I think Juan would be ok with it, but I’ll ask him just to make 100% sure. I’ll get back to you via email on that.
LaurenMarie - Creative Curio’s last blog post..Full Steam Ahead
So…I read the comments and decided to post. The guide Lauren is talking about is the recently designed corporate ID Manual for the Universidad de los Andes university, located in Bogotá, Colombia.
The document is public and can be downloaded directly from http://www.uniandes.edu.co/Manual_ID_Uniandes.pdf
Also, I must clarify that I’m i no way related to the production of the guide, just bumped into it while looking for a logo to put on a presentation I did. The guide is in spanish, so that might be a drawback.
Cheers.
Juan Daniel
Lauren, what may this business venture be? Sounds exciting!
David, 4 weeks that is pretty good… how many times did you send the logo back n fourth and how many concepts did you provide at the start?
I also used the pink colour on my website, as it is quite energetic and a colour most people don’t use - plus I also like pink, is that weird for a male? :P
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As a matter of fact, may be I am also slightly inclined to the pink color, which I am using in my website too.
I think pink has a lot of energy, as Cass pointed out. But the problem is that it is often combined with colors that don’t match.
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Very nice David! I love the logo. Very creative.
Not much more I can say. :)
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@Niyaz
Pink, black and white is my fav colour combination and you can’t go wrong with pink and white.
Jacob Cass’s last blog post..Personal Photography from Fiji and Cruise and Plans For The New Year
Now you mention it, I think I did know about you and your husband. Sounds like it’s all working out great - long may it continue!
Thanks for emailing the document.
Juan,
Good of you to return, and to link to the style guide. I’ll definitely take a look today.
Jacob,
At the beginning of this logo project, I provided two concepts, around one main theme, and there were 3 rounds of revisions before finalising the design.
Deron,
Thanks buddy. Hope you’re keeping well these days.
Juan thanks for stopping by and linking to the style guide! You are very kind to have emailed it to me in the first place :)
Jacob, I can’t say what the idea is! Someone might steal it before we get it off the ground!! But it’s a really good idea and I can’t believe no one is doing something similar. Once we get it started, I’ll probably talk about it on my blog. Guess you’ll just have to stay subscribed :P You ask a lot of good questions about processes and the business side of things, and I like hearing David’s responses. Keep it up!
LaurenMarie - Creative Curio’s last blog post..Full Steam Ahead
I also like the pink.. but it’s proven that green is the color that the eye sees best. This tends to make me favour green! Thanks
Hate it. No offense — this logo is too clever for its own good. It doesn’t “look good”, and while all the thought is in it, and I get the visual references, I must admit that I don’t think it evokes the feelings that your attempting to ‘design’ into it.
At first glance, it does not look like a record, or 4 stick figures, and most certainly doesn’t evoke that subconsciously. It just looks like an odd graphic. Worse yet, an odd, and unattractive graphic.
Make it bolder and cleaner to read. It’s too clever for its own good.
David,
Your new header is looking very good. It gives a stronger effect.
But it is not working in all pages. Or are you just rolling it out?…
Niyaz PK’s last blog post..Orkut getting the loops wrong
Hmm I got it. Great Idea.
Every Image looks nice.
But beware of eating up that much bandwidth.
Niyaz PK’s last blog post..Orkut getting the loops wrong
Is there a gradient running through the logo? Also, what font did you use for the logo’s typeface?
I like the logo, David. I agree with your decision on rotating the logo a bit to convey some movement. When I first looked at the logo I immediately saw the “four figures one head” image. Good job.
I’m concerned about the legebility of the logo text in the B+W version. Yeah, capital letters have been used, but I would have tried adding some weight variations to the four words to make them stand out a bit more. Great blog by the way…
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I like it. It’s nice to see a bit of your design process and the final logo looks good. I really like logos that can be rendered well in single colour.
I disagree with Chris. At first blush, the record image comes through good and strong. Even if that is all that anyone takes from it, it’s good for their field. There’s more in it with the stick figures and the head that rewards a viewer if they look further.
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A logo doesn’t have to say what a company does, therefore, if you don’t see a record or four figures, that’s fine. I’m curious to know what logos you think “look good”, and would appreciate you replying.
Niyaz,
I’ve been running a rotating banner since launching this re-design. ;)
PG,
There is a slight gradient, and the idea was to implement it online (with a solid colour used for print). The typeface used is Gotham.
Andrew,
Thanks for your thoughts, and for the compliment.
El Yanqui,
Good of you to drop in, and I tend to agree with the new comment policy on B!C!, even if I used to use keywords in my signature (not any more).
I like it, nice work D.
What typeface did you use?
Aah, question already answered!
Glad you’re back on top form and everything’s running smoothly after the Xmas palava!
Oh my gosh! That’s one of the best logos I’ve seen in a long time!
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Dave -
Allow me to be more specific.
1. The logo, at first, struck me as looking at a graphic representation of a pupil, or a wheel with spokes. Both images that I doubt you’d want to conjure in the audiences mind for a record company, and be associated with the corporate image of this company.
So while not ’seeing’ the four heads/record at first might be fine, seeing something all together different, I’d say is not. Because at this point, what you are inadvertently doing is ‘misleading’ the customers by invoking imagery that is random.
Logos need not be clever, if they are, it’s a bonus. However, logos *must* invoke what the company is about by mere imagery, or allow for a memorable mark that can be associated with its services. Either implied or overt. This could be as basic as flowing lines for a progressive company, stark outlines for strentgh, or invoking emotion through color, however it could be much more cerebral on a higher level, whereas you’re pinpointing images that imply services, quality and corporate philosophy much more overtly.
Your logo is thin, no single aspect dominates the composition, and more importanly just seems incredibly ‘dry’. After seeing it, I’d be hardpressed to want to listen to any music that is put out by that company. It makes them seem like accountants, or a law office.
That said. What are good logos?
2. I’d say the following are good logos. Best Buy, Home Depot, FedEx, NBA, Toyota, Harley Davidson, and Coca-Cola (although with that one its the chicken vs. egg debate)
I agree with Chris that I did not immediately see it as music-related. The first two people I showed the logo to also though it was a bloodshot eye.
Personally, I think the logo was better without the surrounding circle, and might benefit from placing each word beneath the previous one. Maybe a more house-like font would be better.
I do think the pink works, and the four figures one head icon is clever.
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@ Chris: What a load of b*llocks. You’ve got far too much time on your hands mate.
Clearly you need something that’s going to convey the unusual message that comes across in the company name — which is a nice bit of copy in itself. You’ve done a decent job.
@mookster — The sad part is, that this is the amount of thought people put into designing things without people like you realizing that they do…
I assure you this isn’t b*llocks by any stretch. If you think it is, you haven’t given logo design, or design as a whole enough credit.
Your more comprehensive response is appreciated.
By no means do I think myself the finished article, and I know I have a lot more yet to learn. Here’s a variation that shows more perspective with a stronger weight of type.
Harris,
As you had suggested, the circle isn’t shown in the above variation.
@ Chris: Thanks for another one of your whimsical observations. Clearly I stand corrected…
I think I prefer this:
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Hi david,
Good to see you back in the design chair!
To me the concept and idea is pretty good start. But I think you were following the basics of logo design a little to closely and I think you missed out communicating the intent of the company clearly.
Right now it looks a lot like a Rim of a car or a wheel rather than a record if I read your intention right. And the 4 figures don’t jump out at me unless you include the text and it would not work as a monogram well
What I suggest is a couple of things.
1) What about putting a slight break between each of the 4 figure’s hands?
2) Perhaps splitting the arms “)” from the legs (the “<”)
I’m not sure, perhaps there is not much more to do as you have taken this concept as far as you can. Also the problem is it could also look like a childcare centre. You might like to investigate your other concepts and refine them to a level that you can compare and decide on the best one.
Good Luck!
Chris, it sounds like you have gone with your personal dislike of this logo and tried to explain why it isn’t a good logo using aspects of design. I think this logo works and is memorable.
Most of the logos you’ve listed as good don’t use imagery to explain what they’re about, infact the NBA logo is the only one that does. The others use words or are simply established and recognised.
Harley-Davidson and Home Depot only use words, Best Buy has a little tag, which is kind of cute. Coca-Cola only uses words and works because it’s so well established, Toyota uses random round shapes, that don’t really have anything to with cars, but again have been well established.
Anywho, it’s good to rationally examine things, but “hate it” is an emotional response that a majority of people obviously don’t share.
BTW David - when I read you articles in my RSS reader all the images are replaced with I*heart*www.DavidAirey.com images. When I open up the page in the reader’s internal browser they’re still there, but the regular images show up in my usual browser.
With the amount that you use images to illustrate your posts, it’s almost like having partial feeds in the RSS.
Is it supposed to be this way?
Thanks for your thoughts. I’ve been snowed under lately, so haven’t had much of a chance to visit other blogs. I hope all’s going well with you and yours.
Kristarella,
Great of you to let me know about your feed reader. What reader do you use? I’ll have to add it’s URI to my image ‘whitelist’. I’ve currently added Google and Bloglines, so fingers crossed it’s not one of those.
Ok thought it might be something like that… my reader is Vienna.
I hope it’s not too difficult to add an application!
I love it,
With the circle around it, it looks like a CD or vinyl (light reflections etc) and then the name Four Figures One Head and the stick figures makes it perfect.
Hello David,
Just recently stumbled across your website - great job!
With regards the FFOH logo, I think this is a prime example of how logo design can be a very subjective area and often people do not realise the amount of effort that has to be applied within the constraints set by the client. A company identity is something very personal to the client and often, as designers, we are made to please the client by compromising the design.
Upon first viewing I must admit I didn’t get the four figures connected. What I did see was a very intriguing symbol that made me question its relationship to the name. Now, to me, that’s a good thing. I personally don’t believe that a logo has to communicate, instantly, what a company does. Having said that I feel the logo has to have some meaning whether it’s in relation to the company name or what the company does. After seeing the thought process, obviously the whole thing clicked and suddenly the logo was transformed. I see this a lot with clients when they question a logo and you explain the reasons behind it and you see the light bulb come on in their head! That’s what makes the logo personal and special to them.
From what I’ve read I feel you have satisfied the brief very well David. I like the symbolic quality of the logo, I like the name with no spaces and the colour looks vibrant and attractive. It works just as well in black and white and at different sizes providing effortless branding. What more could a client ask for? Top job!
In the end I just removed the .htaccess code, so there’s shouldn’t be any problems. Thanks again though.
Roman, Steve,
Thanks for commenting. Logo design can be very subjective indeed. There are still rules and guidelines that should be adhered to, and Steve, you’re certainly right about how client satisfaction is of high importance.