Logo for fly-fishing business

[isoemerger18]

This topic was imported from the Typophile platform

Where do I go to create a logo for my fly fishing business? Thanx for any help.
Shane

[George Thomas]

Google "printing companies" or "commercial art" or "graphic artist" for your locale. There are many artists who can do the job for you.

[JamesM]

Or google "graphic designers". I'd avoid having it designed by a printing company as design is not their main business, but a printer may be able to suggest local designers. And if any local businesses have nice logos, ask them for the name of their designer.

Talk to several designers, look at their portfolios (especially their logos), get written estimates, and ask for the names of recent clients you can contact to ask how the jobs went.

[chrisburton]

Depends on what you're looking for. Do you want something custom? If so, you might want to search for a letterer or type designer. What specific style (script, serif, sans-serif)?

I bet most graphic designers will just choose a typeface from Lost Type. At least that's what I'm seeing a lot of.

Here's a few people to keep in mind.

John Passafiume
Spencer Charles
Claire Coullon
Jake Weidmann
Jessica Hische

[aluminum]

"I bet most graphic designers will just choose a typeface from Lost Type."

If that were true, the type design industry would be out of business.

(Yes, Lost Type is popular these days...namely for easy of web licensing)

Anyways, what James said. Interview some graphic designers. Look for one that you feel you could work with and has a portfolio that resonates with you.

[chrisburton]

Perhaps I should have been more clear. Graphic Designers (mostly Illustrators) will choose Lost Type.

[oobimichael]

http://s18.postimage.org/ri2cb988p/flyfishing.png

Just for the hell of it, I spent no more than 5 minutes playing with a couple of Lost Type fonts. Maybe not the best in the world, but it might be a decent starting place for someone to explore not simply a logo, but the whole "feel" and intention of their enterprise. Fly fishing, for some, might conjure an image of peace and reflection... for others, it is a rough and tumble sport... fonts... artwork (or no artwork) are merely tools...

Again, tools in a tool box... everybody, at some point, always needs a simple hammer...

[JamesM]

> might conjure an image of peace and reflection...
> for others, it is a rough and tumble sport...

That's why it's important for the designer to talk to the client to learn more about his business, the kind of image he wants to project, the clients he wants to attract, who is competition is, and so forth.

A cousin of mine used to teach fly fishing for a living. My impression was that it was pretty quiet and peaceful.

[5star]

Just for the hell of it, I spent no more than 5 minutes...

Wow, really? That's five minutes you'll never ever get back. And what have you shown? Something as generic as whatever.

Maybe not the best in the world,

You got that right. Even the clip art is all wrong ...fly fishing with that gear ...fly fishing for pike? I guess. And the fonts are hideous to the purpose.

starting place for someone to explore

Um ya, like what not to do?

I think there's so much really nice work to be done with that business, including using modern typography techniques.
n.

[oobimichael]

@5star... my intention was, indeed, to provoke a dialogue about how "snarky" certain people get about a small foundry/outlet such as Lost Type, or 10 Dollar Fonts, etc... the choice of the font or artwork is not the designer's choice, nor really even the client's... there is a "natural" voice that is wanting to come out... and the designer/consultant/client and potential customer need to come together to listen to that natural voice...

And to answer your "snarky" question about what it is that I do not do: in a previous life, I worked on creating and expanding technology transfer laws and institutions throughout the world. Later, I became the chief economic strategist for German Reunification and a counselor to the Holy See. And now, have settled down to establish a new paradigm of global socio-economics. You can read our free ebook here: www.wealthbeyondnations.com (which by the way, was not very well set, typographically... the 3rd edition, hopefully, will be much better)

I just happen to appreciate typography (both the art and its economic relationships). (and I like to stimulate dialogue in the old Abraham Lincoln way ;)

[apankrat]

Shane, try this way - http://logopond.com/search/?search=fishing - pick the logos you like, note the designer, get in touch and ask for a quote.

[hrant]

Small foundry ≠ cheap crap.

hhp

[Renaissance Man]

[JamesM]

Shane's lack of response is making me wonder if he posted the question just to plug his business. But hopefully he's just out fishing and will join back in the discussion.

[tmac]

Wow, this thread is garbage.

The advice is nearly a cliche of the stupidest things to do:
1. Go to the print shop/copy shop
2. Here's an irrelevant clip art POS
3. Go to logopond
4. Hire Jessica Hische! Sounds good. Hire Sagmiester too. Have Mathew Barney do your TV spots. Hire Alexander McQueen to do your fishing vests. Too bad Bruno Munari is gone -- he could have done you a kreel.

Shane:
Hire a local graphic designer. Make sure your contract has a schedule, shows how many rounds of revisions, and perhaps has a option to kill the deal built into it. It should explicitly state deliverables, which include: Brand standards guide (can be very simple, specifying logo use, colour way, type specification), logo files in all necessary forms (vector, raster, B&W, colour, etc), and anything else you think is needed (ie: it could include a series of icons or illustrations that work together). You are pretty much buying a toolset for communicating with the world, and for persuading people in the world to give you money.

Get references from other businesses in your area.

You may like to find a designer who knows what flyfishing is (that will speed up the process) and thus won't offer you clip art of a pike eating a treble-hooked thing.
Best of luck.

Sheesh. Bad day on typophile. Or rather, just another day on typophile.

[hrant]

Treating it like Whinophile doesn't help.

hhp

[tmac]

True. Anyway, I do want and Bruno Munari kreel.

[JamesM]

> Wow, this thread is garbage.

tmac, I agree there's been some bad advice in this thread, but some of what you suggested I already suggested in an earlier post.

And I'll add that a client who is a design novice should never just "buy a logo", even if it's from a good designer, because a logo is only seen by clients when it's in use on something — a letterhead, business card, website, flyer, or whatever, and you'll end up with a nice logo slapped on a series pieces that are poorly designed and don't communicate well. The designer should not only create a logo but design the stationery, website, and related marketing materials.

[5star]

The OP biz has an added bonus, the river he guides has a common name. And that name is in his business. Not only that, but there are also guides on the same named river but are in different geographic locations! In the same fly fishing line of work!!

If the designer(s) who approach this brief aren't of a higher quality his brand will look franchised.

n.

[apankrat]

> Hire a local graphic designer.

Great advice, let's follow it through.

1. Where would he go for a list of local designers?

2. How would he check if a selected local designer is actually up to the job?

If you didn't say "Yellow Pages" and "By trusting his word", here's a bonus question -

3. Why would he need be local?

[5star]

Craigslist, or even better, the local chamber of commerce.

As for the bonus round, ...global is local.

no?

n.

[apankrat]

And how many clients did you get through the local chamber of commerce?

Also, an answer for #2 please.

----

The bottom line is that tmac is trolling. What he said is what any "local designer" wants, but it doesn't really align with the interests of a vast majority of potential clients. In order to select "local" over "non-local" there should be a clear benefit to doing that. A benefit that is absolutely bloody obvious to the client. And the way things stand there is no such benefit, especially not for those who look to design a one-off logo.

The branding is indeed a face of a company, so picking a designer is a substantial commitment and it comes with an inherent risk of making the wrong choice. The way to lessen the risk is to look at designer's portfolio and "How I work" section. This is what matters. If the designer happens to be local, it's just an icing on the cake, but it's hardly the selection criteria.

So the most sensible way to go about picking a designer for a project is to flip through their portfolios. And the simplest way to do that is to skim through sites that serve as portfolio aggregators - Behance, Dribbble and Logopond.

"Sheesh."

[tmac]

Yeah, I may have trolled a little. But I found some of the suggestions outlandish.

If I review my work it's 75% local. Maybe it's old fashioned but there is a benefit for a regional client to have a regional designer as they will have a better understanding of the cultural milieu. The OP is distinctly regional; it's not fishing charters in Belize for international clientele.

Of course, there are examples showing the opposite. Such as Old Faithful (which, Apankrat, you probably know of). And the proprietor there, he did just as you said -- skimmed portfolios until he saw what he liked, which happened to be in Austin. The distinction is that this proprietor has a refined sense of what he wants his business to look like.

Anyway, regional vs non-regional/international: this could go on forever and not be entirely fruitful. Over n out.

[5star]

Also, an answer for #2 please.

re: 2. How would he check if a selected local designer is actually up to the job?

Simply meet up somewhere. And if the local designer has any skill at all it will show within a short period time, usually through the designer's on the spot thumbnail sketches. And, if the designer is worth their salt the designer should have contracts at the ready. I always ask for a retainer (local or global). It gives me a means to clear the client's quality of intent, and it allows me to purchase typeface/fonts needed.

The thumbs always settle the matter.

n.

[chrisburton]

@tmac

4. Hire Jessica Hische! Sounds good. Hire Sagmiester too. Have Mathew Barney do your TV spots. Hire Alexander McQueen to do your fishing vests. Too bad Bruno Munari is gone -- he could have done you a kreel.

Perhaps you saw one person on that list I provided in where you've seen their work. That particular person specializes in identity work, no? Personally when I think of fly fishing incorporated into a logo, I see flourishes of a fishing line. Clearly she has done this over and over and over. If I was randomly choosing well-known people, I wouldn't have provided half of the names above.

Moving on, another solution would be to check Dribbble (large graphic design community) and search those who specialize in identity by location. This way the OP can filter through portfolios.