Veep aka Greg Grigoriou is an energy powerhouse. He is also a very talented designer oozing razor sharp wit with illustrative abilities to match. I had the pleasure of interviewing him for my blog last year and it was the most fun interview I had done. My first interview for 2010 and Greg has once again delivered, prompty and cleverly answering some thought provoking questions I dished out. I love his style of logo design and he is one of the most “in the moment” logo designers I have come across. Today, he talks about his personal side, about how he began logo design, about the perils and prevails of this industry and shares some really useful tips on custom lettering and type based logos.

Thank you Greg for doing this interview!

1. Tell us something about you. Where are you based? What do you do, professionally and personally speaking?
I am a 30 something designer from Toronto Canada who calls San Diego California home. Husband to a beautiful wife, and father of 2. Must-haves in my life include hockey, green tea and playing with my kids. Professionally speaking I divide my time between brand consulting for the web, illustration for print and logo design.

2. Tell us a bit about your logo designing background. How did it all begin for you? When you started designing logos, did you ever think that they would encompass you so completely?
I got my start in illustration. My background is in painting and drawing for magazine editorials, books, and packaging. I did the odd logo here and there, but for about 6 years solid I was doing nothing but illustration. This is a phenomenal underpinning to have in design.
I can draw the pictures I imagine. I like to think that my logos reflect a strong ability to draw and execute unique ideas. That’s illustration baby! Logo design is probably only 60 percent of what I do right now. I am doing a lot of consulting and web design right now. Social Media Examiner is one of my latest projects that reflects the full breadth of what I am doing right now.

3. What is the most gratifying aspect of logo design? Is that achieved in every single identity job that you do?
I love that I have a new and different client every week! It keeps things exciting and fresh and never dull. I have to say though that the most rewarding aspect of logo design is when it’s connected to the overall branding effort.  For example, I recently completed an identity for Social Media Examiner. We created an entire world that started with the logo. Again that’s why I love the idea of connecting my logos on Brandstack to a domain because then I am helping to create the foundation for a brand, rather than just a stock logo that is plugged into an existing entity. This is definitely not achieved all of the time. Very often I’m brought in as a hired gun to create a logo and nothing more. That’s OK, don’t get me wrong, but it can become a forgettable experience.

4. If you could change one thing about how the logo design process usually works, what would that be?
The actual logo design process is working for me, so I wouldn’t change much. I am going to take this opportunity to criticize Google though. Right now, if a client does a google search for “Logo Design”, the first 30 or 40 listings will be contest sites and logo mills that are chalk full of novice designers, logo contest sites, and logo factories. Those are not the best way to get a logo. In fact they can be some of the worst ways to acquire a logo. Google has changed the logo landscape by rewarding the biggest sites, rather than the best ones. I know that google rewards sites with the right keywords and links, but I think there needs to be a more human element attached to this kind of search.

5. Can you share with us ways and methods you use to keep your mind sharp and enabled to nurture new branding ideas all the time?
Well Brandstack plays a huge role there for me. Hardly a week goes by where I won’t design a couple of logos specifically for Brandstack. It also motivates me to think in terms of what’s hot right now. I am also a huge advocate of getting out of the studio for ideas. Look at magazines, go to car shows, watch design reality shows, paint and draw. Things not necessarily associated with logo design. Logo design is very much connected to pop art. If you know what’s going on in the world around you, you have a much better chance of designing well for it.

6. What is your typical logo design process for Brandstack?
Right now it’s all about acquiring strong domains, then designing around them. I used to focus more on the marks, but I believe that the thing that sets Brandstack apart the most is the total branding package that includes a unique domain. I spend a fair amount of time researching and acquiring domains. I have a large budget for that so that I cast a wide net. When looking for domains I try and think broad. How will this domain help the most people? When I think I have a winning domain, I will imagine it’s potential and then begin to build it out through font and graphics. The majority of the work I sell on Brandstack has been custom made for sale on Brandstack.

7. How often do you find yourself browsing, commenting and fave-ing other logos on Brandstack? How do you think Brandstack helps you as a designer?
Quite a lot! I know I appreciate when others leave feedback for my designs, so I try and do the same. If a logo stands out to me, I will usually comment on it. Not only does it help me make friends on Brandstack. I will usually keep my commentary pretty brief so as not to influence a potential sale with my remarks. If  I don’t have something good to say, I won’t say anything at all!

8. Text based logos that don’t have icons or “marks” in them, need to handled very delicately to make them stand out even more. How do you work to ensure that text based logos are as memorable as ones with icons, that they are not lost due to lack of a defining graphic?
Well I try to acquire domains that are short and catchy. Domains like Spinra.com, Shasto.com and Avisra.com don’t need to be weighted down with emblems. They are good domains that have a wide appeal. Sometimes I feel like a good domain needs to speak for itself. I think a logo can have much broader appeal when it’s based around a unique font that captures the personality of the word. When designing these types of logos I will either hand draw a font so that it’s totally one of a kind, or I’ll heavily customize one or more letters so that there is no chance that it has every existed before. I look at the relationship between letters a lot. You can find a lot of inspiration in the negative space between the letters.

9. How do you design custom lettering for logos? 5 fonts that you find yourself returning to time and time again.
I sort of let the word tell me what it wants to looks like. You can categorize a domain based on how it sounds and reads. Recently I designed a logo for Vervant.com and you can almost hear it telling you to make it graceful. Then I’ll go about looking at some fonts, but in the end I usually design my own, or heavily customize an existing one. I design off of a grid when I’m working with fonts. I will look for patterns in the letters and repetition. It can get kind of technical. I recently acquired oqobo.com and I’m just so happy with it because it turned to be a perfectly balanced ambigram that read the exact same way right side up as it did upside down. I echoed this in the border treatment. Every word has an opportunity just waiting to be exploited! I am pretty secretive about what fonts I use. I do like Trajan and Helvectica wide bold italic a lot. I’ve collected hundreds of fonts, and I don’t really turn to one specific font time and time again.

10. Share with us some of the tools of your trade? What software and hardware do you use on a regular basis?
You’ve got to have the latest version of Adobe Illustrator CS, as well as an up to date Mac. I will never use a PC again. I am so dissapointed in my experience with PC. I only recently began using Apple products believe it or not, and the machine continues to surprise me with its intuition and stability. I feel like I could be a spokesperson for Apple after using this thing. It really is an amazing machine that every digital artist should take full advantage of. With PC, I was constantly fighting the computer for control, but with an iMac the machine fades into the background. I wish I had bought a whack of Apple stock a long time ago.

11. Your favorite logo from your own portfolio? Your favorite logo on Brandstack?
My favorite logo on Brandstack  from my own portfolio is Fair Trade Growers. I think it’s a pretty timeless design, and it is relevant. I am most proud of work that has strong cultural relevance. Batstard is pretty near and dear to my heart too. I believe it’s currently being used as a clothing line!

12. How has the logo and branding industry changed since you got into it? What do you think of the need of all the big guns rushing to rebrand themselves?
The branding landscape is definitely getting a lot cleaner. I feel like there is more white space in everything. Everything is starting to feel more organic and personal because branding agencies are pushing buzz words like “love”, “I” and My”. They are trying to build loyalty through passion and friendship with the customer, and that’s why you are seeing such a big push by the big companies to rebrand themselves. The Obama campaign sort of epitomized how powerful this type of branding campaign could be. I think since 2008, a LOT of companies took notice. Of course the other BIG change has to do with how logos are being made and sold. A big part of the logo world has turned into a commodity where quality is secondary, and speed and price are foremost on the customer’s mind. This is just another example of the Walmartization of the marketplace, and it’s a monster that is now out of our control. I try and balance the two worlds, don’t ignore the needs of the modern consumer, but don’t turn your back on principles of good design, fair pay, and love for what you do.

13. Best advice ever received? Best advice you could give to anyone who would listen?
Don’t spend too much money or you’ll have to get a day job. A painting instructor in college told me that. Second best advice was my wife telling me I needed to get an iMac.

Thanks Sneh!

Thanks again Greg, wish you the very best for 2010 and more sales on Brandstack than ever before.
Greg’s portfolio can be viewed on his website Van Paul.

******************************************

Sneh Roy is a designer and creative trends blogger. You can follow her @LBOI on Twitter and keep up with her at her site, Little Box of Ideas.