It’s always interesting to me to see the reaction to various pieces in my portfolio. Often that comes in a presentation one-on-one or to small groups. I also display my work on Flickr. Occasionally, I check to see what images are getting attention and recently got quite a surprise. The logo above was the most viewed image in my stream. I had to laugh. The reason? This was not the design selected by the client
I was hired by a progressive young law firm to create an identity that reflected the contemporary character of their brand. I showed them several design alternatives. The scales of justice composing faces in this logo was clearly the best design. But despite their direction, it wasn’t chosen as the best representation of the firm. They were probably right. One of the objectives of brand identity is to inspire confidence within the company. It defeats the purpose if people are apprehensive about the identity that represents them – even if it’s a great design.
There is a process to graphic design that reveals the best solution to visual communication problems. Part of the process is exploring alternatives and discovering what directions are wrong on the path to identifying what’s right. Sometimes the decision is very difficult. I often present a number of choices that are equally appropriate, on target and compelling. Unfortunately, that means that some great work gets buried on my hard drive – the best design you’ll never see.
Carsten Nov 12, 2010
Good piece. Interesting bit for me was when you said, “I often present a number of choices that are equally appropriate, on target and compelling.”
Really? Most designers I’ve worked with seem to have max. one or two compelling and equally strong designs in their presentation, and everything else is throwaway. This has on occasion caused bizarre situations where the client chooses the throwaway, necessitating some fancy footwork… So I was interested to note that you present all viable options.
(I think Don Draper’s approach is also of the ‘throwaway’ variety 🙂