Branding of products and companies is more than just designing a nice looking logo, and may not in fact involve designing a logo at all. This is why designers refer to this process as Branding or Identity development. So, in order to determine what is really needed, you have to have an understanding of the company, product or service and then present that concept in as simple and easily understood a way as possible.
                   
Look at the solutions opened by mousing over the links at left. If they communicate to you, communicate with me: craig@ccd-graphics.com

This logotype for Silver Birches, a flower and gift shop opened in an old brick building in Pasadena CA that originally housed carriages and early motorcars, has an elegant, though not stiff, look. Inspired by sunlight dancing through trees, it plays games with the traditional interpretation of positive and negative space within and between letters, just as sunlight subtly alters the apparent shapes of leaves as it passes through.
                    The logo has several iterations whose use is determined by the relative importance of elegance and visibility in specific instances such as ads, labels to seal the tissue around customer purchases, and other communication devices.

The quarterly sent to parents and donors by Childrens Hospital Los Angeles had a masthead reflecting neither scientific expertise nor the kids who benefit. And, with very fine lines and serifs and excessive letterspacing, it was virtually unreadable when printed four-color. Here is a proposed redesign expressing the childlike optimism and hope for a better tomorrow promised by the many varied services offered by the hospital.





Childrens Hospital chose to go with the scientific / medical expertise direction. And that’s not a typo, CHLA doesn’t to put the apostrophe in Childrens.

 Hiring a good designer can
actually save you money. Coyote Cactus is a company which provides and cares for cacti primarily in trendy restaurants, a small design savvy market much more likely to respond to this obviously designed logo.
                    Mouse over the logo to see how a three-color logo was produced for a two-color price.

Here’s a good example of why designers say they’re doing an identity rather than a logo design. For boutique winery Alexander-Hills & Meller, this specially diecut presentation folder with 45° cut flaps repeats the hills and valley motif — evocative of an Arts and Crafts window design — used in the ten-color metallic ink wine label with nickel color foil stamp, as well as the one-color stationary inside the flap.