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Logo Glyph Design

Logos 101: Glyphs

Todd Palmer

Glyphs and Icons Underscore Identities

…and they shall know you by your mark!

When VFC brands or rebrands a company or organization we bring a lot to the equation—research, strategy, years of experience in naming and developing corporate identities…sometimes it can be a little overwhelming for a client who, “just wanted a logo.”
With all of the power and planning behind a VFC-developed logo we always aim for two objectives: 1. Originality and 2. Clarity. First, you want your company logo to be unique, memorable and as authentic as you and your offering are—that helps you to position it against the competition. Second, the logo needs to be meaningful—clearly and cleverly communicating the offering. Nothing can accomplish both goals better than a glyph.

VFC takes great care to develop the perfect glyph, taking into account the target audience, industry competitiveness and the usages and tasks the small piece of art will be asked to perform.

Manatawny Still Works

American Paradigm Schools

“What’s a glyph?”

Many VFC clients have asked this question when reading through a VFC branding proposal.

It’s an icon—an original illustration that represents the company. We try to boil down the brand’s meaning in the clearest, simplest statement in picture form. VFC’s professionally-developed and illustrated glyphs start as conceptual sketches and are integrated with logotypes to form corporate signatures…all of that is defined in the brand standards but, first and foremost, VFC takes great care to develop the perfect glyph, taking into account the target audience, industry competitiveness and the usages and tasks the small piece of art will be asked to perform.

Glyphs should be able to work in one color and at very large and very small sizes. Such a small component of the corporate identity, the humble glyph can lift many times its own weight in branding effectiveness! Like VFC-developed names, we prefer glyphs that have double and triple meanings depending on how they’re being viewed…often times hidden messaging isn’t revealed and is discovered to the delight of brand loyalists.

Below are several VFC developed glyphs shown without color and without words. Glyphs need to have the power to work with the logo, the identity, the brand standard and all marketing to achieve defined objectives.

Suburban Beer Week

Royal Bank America

Take the suburban fence with beer bottles as the negative space…the five figures joining hands in Royal Bank’s glyph representing five pillars of the bank’s corporate culture and a royal crown…the mythical Phoenix embracing, with her wings, the small (business) community of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania…The O and the P in “Optical” join together to form a bispectacled face…and on and on. Can you find the meaning in the other glyphs shown below?
More importantly, can you find meaning in your brand’s glyph and can your potential customers? This is the kind of branding nuance that can create real market separation and spark creativity in all of your marketing and communication efforts.

Phoenixville Area Business Association

OpticalDisplays.com

Pottstown Bike Share

Down Under Steak Co.

Riverfront at Royersford

Avenue One Building Group

Express Data Systems

J-Tech Highway Safety

Cooper Mechanical Solutions

Fork & Ale

Aqua-Terra Environmental

White Collar Construction

Berks Area Mountain Biking Association

Switchback Backpacks

—————

Backed by years of solid agency experience, VFC is an innovative and energetic team of award-winning copywriters, designers, illustrators and programmers prepared to grow your brand and your business. VFC delivers strategic marketing, advertising and public relations campaigns for a diverse roster of clients from a 170-year-old, high-tech renovated farmhouse in the heart of Chester County, Pennsylvania. For more information call 877-GROW ART or visit VFC on the web at www.virtualfarm.com.

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brandBrand ManagementBrandingLogologo designlogos
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