Insert unnecessary filler intro here.
Let’s get into it.
Thinking is the most important part of every phase in a project. Thinking precedes almost everything you do. The variables are just the amount of time and effort you give to the thought process.
In logo design, a way to improve and generate more ideas is to think in reverse. Or in a more actionable manner, inverting your ideas. For every design idea you think of, mirror it. In some cases, mirroring a concept produces a better design than the original.
Similarly in other parts of life, thinking in reverse brings a different perspective to your preconceived notions. It allows you to be conscientious and can help you be more empathetic to a situation.
Here are a few trivial examples to illustrate:
Thinking in reverse helps you practice: “Do unto others what you want them to do to you”.
Or as Nassim Taleb translates via the negativa vessel: “Do not do unto others what you would not want them to do to you”.
What is at the top of your mind right now?
There is a scene in Inception (the movie), where Saito invites Cobb and Arthur into his helicopter and asks them about planting an idea. AKA Inception.
Arthur: “Here’s me planting an idea in your head, I say to you ‘Don’t think of an elephant’. What do you think about?”
Saito: “Elephants”
Arthur: “Right, but it’s not your idea because you know I gave it to you.”
The mindset and memory you have before you embark on a design project has a big effect on the outcome. If you happen to read a lot of science fiction from the 80's then your ideas may have themes similar to it. If you happen to browse a lot of Gothic typography then you’ll be tempted to design that way.
From a general life perspective, recency effect is particularly useful to understand the examples people give in impromptu situations. Fireside chats, podcasts, unscheduled meetings etc.
Whenever you ask someone to “give an example of a situation when…", if you end the question with an example, the answer given is often similar to your example.
E.g. “Give me an example of when you were nervous, for example, presenting to an audience”
Observing and realising this helps you check yourself on the amount of influence you exert on people’s thoughts especially if your intention is not to.
In logo design, a rule of thumb is to go for simple. The simpler the design, the longer it lasts.
Simple is not easy but it’s worth it. If you’re creating anything for people to use — a form, spreadsheet, set of instructions — erring on the side of simplicity is often rewarding. Strive to reduce the number of steps in the systems you create. The more complexity you introduce, the more confusion it brings, the less desired the outcome.
It’s easy to convince yourself to make things as simple as possible from the beginning, but often this approach is slow and wastes time. Instead, start clunky. Start with the obvious then move to tweaking and stripping.
Once you get used to it, spotting complex cases that could be made simpler can often leave you frustrated especially if you’re not in a position to change it. Complexity is often disguised as "process". Sometimes it’s cloaked in Shaving the Yak. Understanding complexity disguises, helps simplify issues.
As a designer, clients are going to reject a lot of your ideas. Especially as a new designer. When starting out, a lot of your hard work would be in vain.
An unpolished skill will frustrate you but as long as you strive to learn and better yourself then it becomes easier to accept good design takes time.
Having a thick skin is particularly good for feedback. Some people have a tendency to be assholes and a large portion are not aware. The ability to receive feedback in any form and deconstruct it to the meaningful bits is rare but incredibly useful.
As a designer, you often have to do a tango dance between what the client wants and what you think they want and it’s your job to be in sync. Similarly when it comes to corporate work, what’s important to your manager (client, customer, etc) may not be important to you but it’s your duty to bridge that gap.
As a designer, there are many nuances that often cause problems if they are not stated explicitly especially if your work is on a client by client basis. For example, your capabilities, the clients desired outcome, budget, time and resources.
If expectations are not managed continuously, problems are likely to occur in the long run.
When making a request for anything, be very clear. If you’re on the receiving end of a request, make sure you clear the air on what is being asked.
You can do this by interpreting the request, clarify what is asked and providing a way to measure the outcome.
Please note: I have taken a break from designing logos but I wanted to blog about my lessons anyway.
Thanks to Olamide for reading drafts of this.
Main Image Credit: Logo Idea Matrix- Source