Nur Ahmad Furlong

Category: Design

And the Winner of a Logo Design is …
The winner for the Logo Design Questions & Answer Competition has been decided. This has been a tough decision and one which I’m sure to invite criticism on, especially so from the entrants. I’ve offered all those who have submitted an entry a 25% discount on Logo Design work if any are interested. I hope this will patch up some of that disappointment which comes from not being chosen.
Question #7 – Should the values of my organisation be reflected in its logo, and how would a designer go about communicating these values visually and in an enticing fashion?
So you obviously want me to explain why I’ve chosen this as the winning question. To some this might seem like a standard question; it may be something asked by many who approach designers to do their Logo Designs. However, I believe it is one of the key issues which needs proper exploration, if a Logo is to fulfil it’s true purpose in life, that is being an ambassador of the entity is is representing in a meaningful fashion.
I hope, that through the course of developing this logo for the winner, we can further reveal some of the methods used to transform the vision and essence of an entity into its visual representation.
I think if this aspect of the relationship between Logo designer & company were better understood, and approached from the proper perspective, the results would be much different.
January 7, 2008
Logo Design Competition entries are now closed
All good things must come to an end as they say. The Logo Design Questions & Answers competition, which has been running here at nomad-one.com has come to an end for now and the winner will be announces very soon.
So far, setting up this little competition has allowed me to focus on the theoretical or technical aspects of Logo Design. It has helped me get back to the nuts and bolts of it so to speak, and to get together a collection of best practices which has already started influencing how I go about Designing Logos. All in all, the competition from my perspective has been a great success, so much so that I’ve been thinking about having it as a standard feature on my site with a winner chosen every 2 months.
I haven’t chosen the first winner yet
There have been a few last minute entries and I’m also a little confused as to which questions deserve to win. I hoped there would be a question which stood out head & shoulders above the rest, but there are a few good ones and I want to take some time to decide.
I was thinking of opening it up for a vote
The questions already have ratings and can be rated once per visitor. I’m not sure if this is viable due to the slow traffic at this time of year though.
I was also considering asking the entrants to post a motivation as to why they think their question is a winner. This would help me with my decision.
The questions which stand out for me so far are:
# 7 – Should the values of my organisation be reflected in its logo, and how would a designer go about communicating these values visually and in an enticing fashion?
# 10 – Ok, so Iâ€™ve got a logo but I think itâ€™s starting to look out of date. Iâ€™m also worried that we shouldnâ€™t change our branding when weâ€™re already recognised by it. What can I do?
# 11 – Is there a difference between a logo and a brand and if so how are the two connected?
#14 – Logoâ€™s these days are designed to flashy shiny and very web2.0 â€¦ what are the principles that you would use to design a timeless classic.
What do you think? Check out the questions on the Logo Design Q & A page and post a comment or a motivation as to why your question, if you asked one; should win.
I’m also interested to know:
- What you guys think of the competition?
- Was it useful?
- Any ideas on how to improve it?
- What do you think of my choices for the winning Question?
- What else would you like to see happening at nomad-one.com
Blog Design Questions & Answers Competition to start soon …
January 1, 2008
Logo Design Q & A competition – Your last 2 weeks to qualify for a Free Logo Design
My Logo Design questions & Answers competition is coming to an end with the winner to be announced in a 2 weeks time. I haven’t received a huge amount of questions, but those who have posted questions have helped to create a very interesting discussion.
The questions asked have allowed me to gain insight into some aspects of the logo design process and decision making process on the clients’ side. In this respect it’s been a really good experience for me.
Visit the Logo Design Q & A page to see what others have asked and to read my responses. I’d also appreciate some votes to rate the best answers. If you haven’t gotten involved yet, you still stand a chance of winning a Custom Logo Design for your company, organisation or for your blog.
The competition Closes at Midnight on 31st December and the winner will be announced in the week which follows.
Also see Web Design Q & A for all your web design related questions!
December 17, 2007
A few Logo Designs for fun – sitepoint design contests
There’s been an awful lot of debate going around in design circles about non-paying pitch work (spec work) and it seems the vast majority of designers are against it. On the other hand most client’s would prefer it for obvious reasons.
One place online which I’ve recently been testing out for fun is the Sitepoint Design Contests. I was browsing the many contests and thought I’d give it a bash, just to see what I could do in a few minutes, and also to test the responses I might get. I have to say, most of the logo designs submitted in these contest are really shocking. Many times it seems the people who are requesting the designs are not very design literate either, which would probably explain their need or choice to use a solution like this. There are however quite a few really great designers spending their time crafting to top notch stuff on these design contests. This means not everyone is against this type of design work and someone has to be making some money off this type of service. You’ll have a laugh at some of the weird and wacky designs people try to get through these contest. I recommend visiting the Sitepoint Design Contests just for the fun of it, some crazy companies on there as well.
It was quite a fun exercise, working with limited briefs, not putting in too much time, no feedback, mostly working on these in the wee hours to get some creative juices flowing. Below are a few samples of some of the logo designs I developed which I thought I’d share with you. I’m holding thumbs that one of them might be chosen so I can boost my income a little. Let me know what you think.
ERGOWRITE – healthy stationery

Edmonton – Social Planning Council

WTHRU – where the heck are you (people finding software)
Domaining.org – domain registration service

December 4, 2007
nomad-one Recent Project: Arabella Website

I recently completed a little website design project for Arabella Hotels & Resorts. This mini-site is more of an entrance into their main websites for each specific resort and needed to give a brief showcase of each resorts. The best way to showcase places like resorts and spa’s online are pictures which reflect the atmosphere, spaces, relaxation so that would-be visitors can transport themselves into the space and take themselves on a little mental journey. People want to know where they’re going to be spending that valuable relaxation time and need to be transported in the atmosphere they’re looking for. This is true as well for advertising properties for sale whether it’s residential or commercial. Seeing something and getting a real sense of the space and the surroundings makes a world of a difference.
I coded this site using XHTML & CSS with as many web standards as possible but due to time constraints and scope changes I must admit there’s a few tables being used in the html. The nice thing about this page is that even though all images are in flash, all text loads very quickly and the SEO friendliness of the textual content is quit good, with a nice semantically correct hierarchy of content, ie. menus are lists and headers in their H1 & 2 tags. I did advise the client against placing all the venue visuals in flash as the initial loading prevents visitors seeing the venues as quickly as possible.
I quite enjoyed this little project as it gave me some time to craft some nice little interface goodness which I haven’t done for a while. The elegance and luxury of the venues comes through with the soft shiny gradient. I did find the curly font a little difficult to work with in this case as it makes the main headline a little illegible.
All in all though I’m happy and learnt a few little CSS tricks along the way. This project was developed through a new media agency in Cape Town(not telling who) but all the work was done by yours truly.
What do you think of this Design?
November 16, 2007
Logo Controversies Continued
I’ve been monitoring a few high profile logo re-design projects lately, and the controversies which have popped up surrounding them. I find the whole thing rather intriguing. At first I suppose I was thinking the same thing everyone else was, which is basically – “What were they thinking”? Why’d they waste so much money on that? I’ve seen smaller companies do much better” etc. etc. I personally haven’t heard much noise or controversy about small company re-brands. The latest installment is none other than our very own Pick n Pay, a place we have all probably visited at some stage(South Africans that is) to stock up on our daily needs. Biz-community has been following the story quite closely of late and seems to have quite a bit of insight into what this re-branding process entailed.

What Biz Community Readers Think
A recent poll held by Biz-community.com reveals a little about what people, mostly those in the marketing & advertising industry I gather, have to say about this re-brand. As of about 14:40, 14 November 2007, 47% of readers expressed a dislike for the new identity.
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November 14, 2007