Trademarks and Logotypes

Trademarks

• industrial revolution and the intro of packaging and brand name advertising stimulated business’s use of identification marks
• Definition: any name, symbol, or visual device - or combination of these - used by manufacturers to identify their products and distinguish them from other products

Service mark

• a mark used by an organization offering a service (insurance company, or appliance repair)

Signia, seal or emblem

• a mark used by a nonprofit organization

Collective Mark

• a mark used by a trade association (APA)

Certification mark

• a mark used by a testing company to show that a certain product is of a particular quality (Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval)

Trade name

• a name used to identify a product (Liquid Plumber)

Trademarks:

• Indicate the origin of the product
• Guarantee the quality consistency: tells the prospective buyer that the product is the same as an earlier unit bought
• Serve as an advertisement: simple enough to catch attention, complete enough to tell a story, persuasive enough to move the viewer to action, an ad in miniature

Trademarks:

• used on company stationery, invoices, statements, purchase orders, labels, checks, all advertising, trucks, buildings, etc.
• because the trademark is so widely used and for many years, it is reasonable to spend months on design and testing

Symbolic:

• trademarks range from the literal to the symbolic
• symbols wear better than words in trademark and say more
• even by checking state and federal registers of trademarks a designer cannot be sure that a new mark, or something close to it, is in use

Logotypes (logos):

• the type or lettering, carried at the bottom of the ad, that names its sponsor
• incorporates a trademark or insignia into its design
• gothics of discount houses
• elements may include store name, address, phone number, hours and slogan

Logotypes (logos):

• Redesign occurs over time when logo appears outdated
• A poorly designed trademark that is fully used is more effective than a beautifully designed trademark only half used
• The main goal of the trademark is to be recognized

Click here to view lecture notes, courtesy and copyright of Prof. Christopher Moore.

Creating consistent and effective themes

The diagram shows how to create a consistent and effective design theme throughout an advertisement or a web site page.

1. Identify your target audience. Once you have done so, then brainstorm and come up with a theme that is appealing to your target audience, and the message you wish to communicate.

Who is your target audience?
Consider their age range, education, gender(s), occupation, needs, aspirations, interests.

3. Brainstorm on what kinds of images and words come to mind when you think of your topic/theme

4. Make each element of your advertising consistent with your theme, and make sure each is appealing to your target audience.
These elements include: artwork, headling, copywriting, slogan, colour scheme, logo, page layout and typography. Each choice you make in these elements should reflect your theme.

Illustrator Techniques - Convert to Outline, Text Wrap

To wrap text around an object:


Select the object or objects around which you want the text to wrap. This is called the wrap object.

In the Layers palette, make sure that the wrap object is above the text you want to wrap around it.

Important: If the layer contains multiple type objects, move any that you don’t want to wrap around the wrap object either into another layer or above the wrap object.
Choose Object > Text Wrap > Make Text Wrap.

The Text Wrap Options dialog box appears. If you wish, set the following options. Then click OK.

Offset: Specifies the amount of space between the text and the wrap object. You can enter a positive or negative value.

Invert Wrap: Wraps the text around the reverse side of the object.

To convert type to outlines

Converting type to outlines creates a compound path that you can modify.

Select the type object.

Choose Type > Create Outlines.

Before saving your document as a PDF for printing, SELECT ALL (CTRL A), then Choose the TYPE pulldown menu, and select CREATE OUTLINES.

The Character of Type - Assignment #6

Assignment #6: The Character of Type
Value: 10%
Duration: Two Weeks
Due: February 28



Check out the Type Gallery for some inspirational approaches to the art of typography.

This project explores the personalities of type. Each font is a member of a family, with its own class, cultural, social, commercial and art historical references; each type has its own unique characteristics, functions, purposes and personalities. It communicates something unique and individual.

In this project you will choose a specific font; research its family, purpose, personality; and using the elements of design create a poster composition that illustrates and conveys its unique character and the essence of its personality.

This kind of poster is usually used for design trade shows, to show off the talents of the font’s designer and to sell it for use in the marketplace.

The posters must be 11”x17” and use full colour. You must provide a headline or display text capturing the essence of the font, as well as some body text elaborating on its use (either literally or suggestively). Consider using appropriate quotes from popular culture, literature, slang, or even foreign language and set it in your poster using the font.

Be sure to show the all the font’s characters in your design, as in a keyboard layout.

For the main image develop a composition using the type, paying attention to its shape. You may use original or stock images to convey the font’s character, but these should not be the focus of your composition.

When possible, give credit in your poster to the name of the font designer and where the font may be purchased (company name, web site).

Refer to the designer’s checklist during your design process and before you hand in your final project.

Before converting your Illustrator file into an Adobe Acrobat file for printing, convert all fonts to outlines.

Deliverables: - one 11”x17” colour print on cardstock or photo paper
- one 11”x17” black and white print on regular weight paper
- one *.pdf file labeled with your name and the assignment number (i.e.
firstname.lastname_6.pdf) - make available in the class folder
- upload your project to your blog journal and write comments on your creative
process

Evaluation will be based upon the following criteria:

- Has the student followed the assignment directions?
- Do the compositions reflect an understanding of the principles explored in the class sessions?
- Is there an interesting or innovative approach to the compositions?
- Has the student clearly identified a message/theme, and is this readily understandable to viewers?
- Did the student reveal the character of the font?
- Did the student invest an adequate level of time and energy in completing this assignment?


Additional Notes:
If you’re working from home, feel free to use shareware fonts available from web sites on the internet, such as www.dafont.com. Unfortunately you won’t be able to install shareware fonts onto the computers at the University of Lethbridge.

Check out the typography links on our course blog, and do a google search for more information on typography, fonts, etc. when doing your research.

How to FTP into your P Drive

If you are working at home on a project, and wish to transfer it to your P (personal) drive at the University, this is how.

Using Internet Explorer:

Open Internet Explorer and make sure the Enable FTP option is turned on. This is found under Tools, select Internet Options and click on the Advanced tab and make sure that the Enable Folder View for FTP Sites is checked and click on OK. Now go to the Address bar and type in:

ftp://username@files.uleth.ca

This will get you into your P (personal) and W (web) drive.

You can now simply drag and drop files from your hard drive to your P drive.