Logos are overrated
“The truth about logos is that they are not that hard to do. If you ask people in the U.S. what logos they like and recognize, they’ll name Target or Nike. Target for example, is just a dot with a circle around it, that’s all it is. So if you want a logo like Target, you don’t need to hire a designer, you barely need to know how to operate a computer program, the logo may as well be anything.”
— Michael Bierut / Pentagram
Sorry, but nobody cares about your logo.
So before you spend a nickel on “discovery” sessions, “stylescape” development, color palette analysis, or customer avatars, watch this video — At least twice. And remember: It’s the customer that defines your brand, not you.
Who is Michael Bierut?
Michael Bierut is a renowned graphic designer that studied at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning — graduating summa cum laude in 1980. He worked for ten years at Vignelli Associates before joining Pentagram as a partner in 1990.
His clients at Pentagram include Disney, Benetton, Motorola, The New York Times, Verizon, Saks Fifth Avenue, Billboard Magazine, MIT Media Lab, Mastercard, Princeton University, United Airlines, and the New York Jets.
Bierut is a senior critic in graphic design at the Yale School of Art and a lecturer in the practice of design and management at the Yale School of Management.
Clients used to ask me to send out press releases about their new logos and I would roll my eyes and think to myself: “No one gives a f*ck about your new logo.”
— Michael Bierut / Pentagram
