Guide Dogs Victoria– Our fave!
Remember filling out those dinky little questionnaires presented with a mixture of delight and naïve expectations from your bestest best friend in grade three. Usually bound in a “My Friends” journal, jam packed with adorning stickers and glittery butterflies fluttering across the pages. My memories of such ‘fun quizzes’ are thwart with worry and stress– stemming from the often painfully haughty remark from afore-mentioned ‘best friend’, “make sure you write ON the lines, and don’t scribble on the butterflies– it HAS to be neat. And you MUST use this pink pen. Oh, and if you make it messy, I won’t invite you to my birthday party”. Once past the initial fear-induced writers block and apprehension, one was presented with the following ‘vital’ questions– ones you would, of course, base a friendship on; What is your favourite colour? Favourite food? Favourite animal? Activity? Season? Subject at school? – Just about every favourite an 8 year old could possibly have suddenly became the bases of friend-making, and well, birthday inviting!
As graphic designers, we are not going to bombard potential clients with a list of childish favourite-based questions, especially not with the added ridiculousness of a sparkly pink pen and empty threats about birthday invitations. No, don’t worry, we too are haunted by such memories, and find no pleasure in tormenting potential customers. However, having said that, knowing what your favourite colour is could actually be quite useful!
You see, as graphic designers it is our job take whatever idea or vision, that lurks in the minds of clients and implant it into our own creative minds to, eventually, develop a appropriate (and fabulous!) solution. We need to think like you– see the creative world through your eyes, and formulate a way to turn your vision into a reality. For this reason we like potential clients to fill out a ‘survey’ or questionnaire’ (you can find this on ourwebsite), giving us details about what you like, and what you are looking for in terms of branding. One question, which we find particularly important and telling, is:
What is your favourite logo?
We seem to ask this question everyday, however, no one has ever asked me what my favourite logo is (even the friendship quizzes in grade three failed to raise this topic). Well, I am done with waiting around for a polite conversation; I am going to tell you straight out and with spirit– My favourite logo is that of the Guide Dog’s Victoria. Take a look for yourself…
There is something so serenely perfect about this logo– I take my hat off to the graphic designer responsible. The work of a guide dog is encapsulated into a smooth yet familiarly hand-drawn motif. The contrasting colours of blue and orange stand so neatly on the plain white background– a calmly centred logo that does its job superbly.
A guide dog and his master have such a strong bond, and this is clearly expressed. The eyes of the dog morph and overlap into the silhouetted blue outline of the master, only to be further accentuated by the echoing blue of the bolded text caption (Guide Dogs, Victoria). Ordinarily I would think that a heavy bolded font, large in size and rather domineering in nature, would do exactly that– overwhelm the subtle organic-ness of the hovering logo, however this is not the case. It mirrors the blue colour wonderfully, creating a sense of balance and stability– effectively mastering image–to–text the ratio.
I have an unbelievable soft spot for dogs (which may or may not have influenced my choice of favourite logos), and think guide dogs are the most beautiful creatures on the planet (perhaps only trumped by Jude Law). They are enduring loyal friends and companions for the blind– selfless and sensitive. I know I’ve said it before, but this logo sums that up so perfectly, and for that I give it an A+.
So, what’s your favourite logo? And don’t worry, you can write your answer in whatever coloured pen you like!