Negative space when used effectively can be stunning. Cleverly subtle yet powerfully direct, it is a technique that can take a good idea and make it transcendent. One of the better examples of a simple implementation of negative space which says a lot is the FedEx logo.
How long did it take you before you noticed the arrow? One of the signs of a good negative space design is one in which the design does not suffer if the negative space element goes unnoticed.
Some of our sellers on Brandstack are particularly adept at incorporating negative space into their designs. Here are some of our favorite examples of negative space logo designs on Brandstack:
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I had breakfast with an entrepreneur friend yesterday morning. We met to discuss his web platform and to brainstorm about how to best articulate and market his personal and professional narrative.
As we were leaving, he said something like “Thanks again for looking at my stuff. I really appreciate the feedback. That’s one of the things about being a sole practitioner — you don’t always have a sounding board at the ready.”
He’s exactly right, and smart to seek out constructive criticism.
Entrepreneurs, particularly in start-up mode, need additional perspectives, informed opinions and honest feedback. After countless hours of thinking, attempting and tweaking, we can get so close to our work that we miss the forest for the trees.
Another pair of eyes can (and often does) make all the difference.
So seek out sharp people to brainstorm with. Find discerning folks to test your prototype. Run your ideas by someone who has been there, done that. Call that friend of a friend who’d be perfect for what you’re trying to do. Pitch to a stranger on an airplane. Ask an older, wiser individual to mentor you. Have so-and-so introduce you to what’s-her-face who does such-and-such.
After all, if you weren’t afraid to undertake a new venture, don’t be afraid to ask for some help along the way.
–Kevin McConnell is a Managing Partner at ZANE | GARWAY and Adjunct Assoc. Director of Trinity University’s Center for Entrepreneurship. You can read his blog here.
OK, guys, it’s time for us to have that talk. Yes, that talk. You see, when a (wo)man really loves a logo, something special happens. Sometimes it’s pure and natural. Sometimes it’s sordid and delicious. But more often than not, it’s creation of a connection. The connection of ownership. We know this is a touchy subject when we start getting into intellectual properties and infringement of said properties so please bear with us here.
If you don’t feel like reading a lot of specifics, here’s the basic breakdown:
*Report possible copyright violations to us using the “Report This” links.
*DO NOT publicly accuse designers using comments. Report it to us or email the designer.
*If you are not satisfied with our handling of the matter, you may submit a DMCA Notfication form.
First and foremost, the best way for all of us to approach this is with vigilance, mutual respect and discretion. If you have a concern regarding a submitted design, whether it be suspected infringement or outright stealing of one of your designs, please contact us directly first. We will investigate the matter and take action from there. We can’t interpret potential copyright infringement until a suspected case is reported to us. And be sure that you do report it to us. Do not make public accusations through comments, as that constitutes defamation.
However, in cases where you just think a designer might not be aware of a similar design, you could probably just shoot them a polite email saying as much. We’d only recommend doing this if you are worried they might take offense to you reporting them to us.
An example might be: “Hey, Joe, I saw your new logo you posted and I just wanted to give you a heads up I’ve seen a similar design somewhere you might’ve missed in your research. I could be wrong, but here’s a link to it, let me know what you think.”
It’s all about being friendly and positive.
We reserve the right to take down designs which violate our terms of use or to suspend/terminate accounts at our discretion. continue reading
From the desk of Pablo Gallaga:
It would seem that I may have ruffled a few feathers by putting down the masterpiece film Pay It Forward. Here’s a bit of what went down yesterday after we posted this post:
At this time I would like to retract my criticism of said film. I apologize if I have offended anyone with my inability to appreciate Mimi Leder’s masterful direction and the nuance of Leslie Dixon’s adaptation of the Catherine Ryan Hyde classic.
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Sean Farrell is a multi-talented creative who started out in the world of logo design under his moniker of “Penflare”. Learning and adapting fast, Sean developed his own unique style over the 2 years since he started out and created a name for himself branding clean and viable identities for businesses. Recently Sean, a great guy I first came across on Twitter, got married to his sweetheart of 8 years and rebranded his own identity from Penflare to Brandclay. He is religious, loves movies, reads comics, bakes cupcakes and today he takes time out to chat with us about his signature style, about the rationale behind his own rebranding and where he sees himself in a couple of years from now.
Thanks Sean for doing this interview. We welcome you to the Brandstack blog and are very excited to know about your new brand.
1. Will the real Sean Farrell please stand up? We all know that you are an excellent logo designer and an all round swell guy, but tell us more about you. Who you really are and what makes you tick?
That is me, Sean Farrell. For those who don’t know me, here goes. I am 23 years old, I was recently married on August 8th this year to my girlfriend of 8 years. I love to watch and play sports, especially hockey (I play forward and goalie). I never took an art (except for the one they made us take), marketing, graphics class in my life. I own 4 franchises of the ice cream company called Dippin’ Dots. I have a Pomeranian dog named Zoey. My favorite ice cream (besides Dippin’ Dots of course 
is Ben & Jerry’s fudge brownie or Coldstone’s French toast with chocolate chips. I am a movie fanatic and love all the marvel / dc movies. I am a Christian and find that most of my inspiration hits me when I’m reading the bible. The rest, I’ll just leave to mystery. Something that makes me tick is spec designers stealing real designers work.
2. Out of all the disciplines of design out there, what attracted you to logo and brand development? How did you start out in this field?
I started designing in early 2008. I had no idea what I was doing and designed some pretty horrific stuff (we all start somewhere). Thankfully, I was doing this work for free. I marketed myself on Craigslist for about 2-3 weeks and got some “iffy” jobs. I was told early on (by other designers that I knew) that I was probably going to end up in the print field. A lot of my work included textures, shadows, gradients haha, a common mistake made by many new designers. If it was an option to add anything to that layer, I wanted to do it, I thought the more the merrier. I soon found out it was not the complicated that people wanted, but to simplify the complicated, to make things simple and easy to understand. My designs started becoming simpler, and I then realized my heart belonged to the world of logo design.
3. What is the most rewarding and most frustrating thing about being a logo designer?
I would say the most rewarding thing is having a client being blown away with the designs you give them. I would say the most frustrating thing is lack of direction on the clients end. It’s never good when they don’t know what they want and pull you in a ton of different directions.
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Hi, folks. Always fiddling and innovating are we — like a bunch of fiddlers and innovators. We have made a big improvement to how we handle payments for sellers. There are now a number of options for payment when you sell a logo design on Brandstack.
In addition to the original methods of PayPal and bank checks, we now give sellers the option to receive payment through MoneyGram or through bank wire. If you’re unfamiliar with these methods, basically, MoneyGram is an online secure money transfer service similar to PayPal and a bank wire is a transfer of funds through the bank. Simple, right?
These options can be accessed through your “My Account” dashboard. Go there and you’ll find the Manage Payment Methods setting on the left below your avatar. You can then see what your profile is currently defaulted to and change your preference from there.
We just really like coming up with ways to make your experience on Brandstack easier. Seriously, we just sit around in a room all day, staring at each other until someone’s like, “I’ve got it! HOVERCRAFTS!” and when we realize we can’t give you all hovercrafts, we dial it down a bit and you get your payment options. Cool, huh?
As always, if you encounter any problems with the new methods, feel free to contact us with any concerns and we’ll make sure it is addressed.
OK, everyone, you’ve been asking for it and we finally can offer you the improvements you’ve wanted on the Critiques section.
Here’s what we’ve done:
First of all, declined logos don’t automatically go to the Critiques section anymore. You still have the option to send that logo for critiques if it’s declined, but by default your logo will go to your Portfolio. What this means is Critiques will become less of a dumping ground and should be more of a place where the designs are still of competing quality.
If you’re unsure about a design, don’t have any reservations about submitting it for the Critique section. You can always change the status of that logo to For Sale later and try to get it approved.
Also, the Critiques section is now only visible to users logged in as sellers. You don’t have to fear buyers getting a bad impression of your design starting out half-baked or receiving harsh early criticisms.
We’re hoping the Critiques section will offer a venue of inspiration and constructive feedback between sellers. It’s time for us to come closer together as a community and work together to preserve logo design as a respected craft.
Let’s talk about fonts in logo designs. Hey, wait! Where are you going? This is important stuff and it applies to everyone. Just look at NBC’s case of font copyright infringement. They allegedly made the mistake of only purchasing one license, transferring those fonts to multiple computers and then using them for their commercial marketing materials for their fall TV lineup. No one is immune to these restrictions.
It’s OK if you have no idea what’s right or wrong when it comes to the authorized use of fonts in logos and have nothing really to contribute to the conversation. That’s why we’re here. We’re going to try to clear all of that up right now.
As always, we like to cut to the chase in case you’re not too interested in reading me drone on and on, trying — I emphasize “trying” — to be funny. So here are some very quick guidelines that should keep you in the clear.
* If in doubt, do not use that particular font if you don’t know if you have permission. Only use fonts you know you have the rights to use.
* If you’ve purchased the fonts, you can most likely use them (but find out first).
* To find out if you have the rights, you can refer to documentation provided with the file in utilities like Font Book.
* Obviously, fonts you’ve created yourself are fine
* Convert your fonts to outlines before submitting your designs
