Many years ago I was an office assistant with Studio4Associates, the Architecture firm owned by my Great Uncle, Professor David Aradeon (NNOM). There I had the opportunity to see the very intense process of how a luxury building begins. It’s a mix of science and art and everything inbetween. Much as I was running errands; being a more tolerable option to stave of boredom as a result of the industrial strike by the universities academic staff union, I loved the feeling of wearing the cap of an Architect. I observed everything. “Observation is the key to mastery” – my father’s words and a keynote quotation that has sunk deep into my heart constantly reminding me of the need to do so. The fact that I was raised in an art inclined background also added to the zest.
You need to know how privileged I was to find myself resuming in the office of another God-given master craftsman in my family, such that I would run errands and be back in the office so quickly like my life depended on it. Professor Aradeon is a graduate of Columbia University in New York. An awardee of a three-year Ford Fellowship to study the human settlements in West and North Africa. A distinguished teacher of Architecture not just in Unilag but all over the world. He Founded the Sankore Institute for African Environment and Development in Lagos. Co-founder of the non-profit organization “Build With Earth” for the promotion of building with earth. He curated the African Architectural Technology Exhibition for the Festival of African Cultures in Lagos. He was also curator of the exhibition “Views of Lagos“. He has researched on the Movement of Forms, Antecedents of Afro-Brazilian Spaces. And he designed, among many numerous projects, the entire Campus of the Lagos State University, the entire showrooms and offices of the National Council of Arts and Culture in Lagos, the auditorium of the University of Port Harcourt and the National Cultural Complex in Abuja. He has delivered papers in different parts of the world on his works.
So while with Studio4Associates I was able to observe that to achieve what becomes architecture is the result of the balanced integration of artistic sensibility and scientific methodology. This balanced integration is what creates the new result we now call Architecture. Fast forward several years after, now as a specialist logo maker and Chief Design Officer of Nigeria’s foremost logo making company, I have expert postulation of the Architecture of how a logo works. From the great logo works of IBM by Paul Rand, Unilever by Miles Newlyn, H by Michael Beirut, Apple by Rob, Citibank by Paula Scher, these fundamentals I had the privilege to observe under Professor Aradeon applies.
Logo making is a mix of Art and Science just like in the professional practice of Architecture. The role of Art in logo making is to provide the conscious creative arrangement of elements. While the role of science is two fold: 1/ To provide the discipline to follow the principles of size, weight, color & composition. And 2/ To ensure the favorable conditions of the mnemonics of a logo. The understanding of this mix is what separates the professional from the graphics guy who goes about touting proficiency in software as validation for producing a logo.
In designing a good logo, a logo specialist has to pursue the balanced integration of artistic sensibility and scientific methodology. A kind of alloy. It is this alloy that becomes the architecture: a new result, a new outcome created from the integration of two distinct disciplines. Over my many years of experience, I have come to understand this mix as fundamental to logo making, particularly when architecture is understood as “a unifying structure.” This architecture is ultimately what determines how a logo works. No logo can fulfil the intention for which it was designed, which is to serve as “a special mark, symbol or custom made typeface a business needs to be identified and recognized by the public,” without the impact of this architecture.
So, what is the architecture of how a logo works?
It is the combination of parts, brought together as a new outcome through the balanced integration of artistic sensibility and scientific methodology, working together as a whole. And these are:
1) The science of precision;
2) Functionality;
3) Meaning;
4) Comfort;
5) Harmony with the environment;
6) Sustainability;
Let me break it down.
The Science of Precision
A logo’s details are critically important. Even when the finished product appears freehand, it must be justified by its composition, proportion and symmetry. Nothing should be out of place. A curve must be sleek, a sharp edge meticulously defined, and every relationship between its elements deliberately considered. This is where the scientific discipline behind the design becomes visible.
Functionality
A logo, as a vital corporate visual asset, functions as an assurance of key attributes of the business: quality, authenticity, reliability, strength, power and more. It must do more than look good. It must perform its intended function of identifying and distinguishing the business it represents.
Meaning
Meaning is one of the essential ingredients that gives a logo its timeless nature and character.
Consider the three stripes of Adidas, the global sportswear brand. The three stripes have remained an enduring feature despite the refreshes and changes to the logo at different times since the brand’s inception in 1949. On the current Adidas Performance logo, the three stripes form a mountain, symbolising the challenges athletes must overcome in their pursuit of triumph and victory.
A logo’s meaning is often derived from the vision, core values, outstanding business essence, principles, beliefs or philosophies of the business it represents. Even when a logo consists solely of a typeface, meaning remains essential.
Comfort
A good logo is comfortable to use and deploy. It possesses the necessary simplicity to make it easy and cost effective to reproduce across different applications and environments. Clear guidelines for its proper use also make it easier to manage, protect and maintain consistently.
Harmony With the Environment
Call it environmentally friendly.
When it comes to a logo, however, one of its most important environments is the human mind. A logo must work with an understanding of how the human mind perceives, processes and remembers visual information.
You and I need to be able to recognise a good logo quickly and associate it with the business that owns it. We must be able to connect with it in positive and meaningful ways. This is how we become harmonious with the logo and what it represents.
There are instances where people develop such a strong personal connection to a logo that they feel a sense of ownership towards it. Some even go as far as having the logo permanently tattooed on their skin.
Sustainability
A good logo is built to last. Its longevity is determined, in part, by the source or inspiration behind its creation. A compelling story, a powerful idea, a cultural reference, or a meaningful philosophy that inspires the existence of a business can give its logo the foundation to endure.
It is a professional fact that no building designed by an architect is purposed to collapse or fail. The same principle applies to a logo in the hands of a specialist logo maker.
The reckoning is the same because the architecture of how both work is the same: individual parts are deliberately conceived, balanced and unified to produce an outcome designed to fulfil a specific purpose.
That is the architecture of how a logo works.
First released in FREIA Magazine published byLuxury Villas Group. Written by Dayo Abiola – Creative Director, Dayo Abiola – Nigeria’s foremost logo making company.
