Whether you’re the one commissioning them or the one designing them, logos are hard. I know — I’ve done both. When we decided to update the Sauder logo, I hired a designer for the job. I gave him some direction and after several rounds of thumbnails we decided to present nine refined sketches to the client. Yes, that’s a lot. From there, based on feedback, we whittled the nine to three and presented to the owner.
And then the designer fell ill and was hospitalized.
With an approaching deadline, a shrinking budget and a toiling group of designers, I decided to finish the logos myself. The three logos became two and I began further refinement — picking and setting the type, picking the color palettes, fretting over alignments, etc. One logo finally emerged and after a little more refinement the new Sauder logo was born.
Now, I’ve never had one of my logos reviewed on site like Brand New. Not sure what that says about my logos or me. But when a new logo is unleashed upon the internet, I am constantly amazed at the number of negative, hateful comments left by “guest” reviewers. Creative people are an insecure lot — that, I get. We’re constantly being told our ideas suck. By our partners. Our CDs. Our AEs. Clients. Wives. In-laws. Etc.
So I wonder why we bash one another? That, I don’t get.
Some say it’s the cloak of anonymity that propels people to say things they otherwise wouldn’t in person. I’m not sure I buy it. I’ve never posted anonymously. If I’ve had something to say, I’ve said it as myself. I don’t have an online or offline persona — I have me.
Others argue that the reason people troll is because they can throw a comment out, leave, and not be held accountable for their words. Okay. But aren’t people accountable to themselves? I’ve said and done plenty of stupid things in my life. In public, no less. But I’ve always been accountable and have always taken responsibility for my words and actions — not that ownership gives me a pass to be a jerk.
I can’t sleep with a jerk.
Did the person who designed the new Olive Garden logo deserve all the hate? I feel bad for them — even Fast Company got in a few jabs. And why, when somebody leaves an agency, do the people who comment on AgencySpy happily, anonymously, tell the rest of the world how much that person sucks?
It’s a poor reflection on our industry. An industry that I love. And, according to "experts" on the internet, an industry that’s filled with a bunch of people who suck.