Whether it be a website or logo, a t shirt or a pen, a table top sign or a banner, our Creative Services Lead, Megan McGregor, is the girl for the job. Megan has been Sierra’s in-house graphic designer for over 3 years now. She received her BFA in Graphic Design and a Minor in Fine Arts from Marietta College. Her interests and hobbies reflect the work she does here in the office. Megan enjoys crafting, playing instruments and illustration. What she really enjoys focusing on is responsive design and user experience.
Every month we ask our employee spotlight a question to learn a bit more about their personality. We asked Megan who her biggest celebrity influence was and what attributes contributed to this. Her response was both enlightening and very interesting to hear:
Paul Rand… he’s a celebrity in the graphic design world. In fact, nearly everyone is familiar with his work, although they may not realize it. He designed the Westinghouse, UPS, IBM, and ABC logos. A key reason I admire Paul Rand’s corporate identity work is because his logos exemplify one key component of building a strong brand: timelessness. The ABC logo that you see today is the same as it was when it was originally created in 1962. With advances in technology, many logos today use gradients and transparencies to create interesting visual effects. However, as a brand ages, a logo needs to be reproduced under different circumstances and logos that rely on gradients and transparencies don’t always hold up. When it comes time to print the logo on a black and white printer, reversed in one color, or embroidered on a shirt, companies can run in to trouble. I often use Rand’s work as a reminder when designing logos to create a mark that will hold up over time and a variety of applications.
Not only did this get our minds flowing, but it made us realize how powerful a logo is for a brand’s image. When deciding what factors go into making a memorable logo, Megan gave us some tips and tricks on how to do so successfully. She used the word ‘versatile’ quite often. Megan states, “The logo should remain a strong mark whether printed large, small, in color, or in black and white. Having a horizontal and vertical version of the logo established also helps as the need to have the logo be applied in various ways arises.” We couldn’t agree more! Too many times have we seen small business create a logo that looks great on the corner of their website, but when they blow it up for a banner or t-shirt, it becomes distorted and hard to distinguish.
When Megan is doing design work, the second thing that pops into her head is ‘simplicity’. It is key she tell us, “Often times, especially with small businesses, the urge is to create a detailed drawing as a logo that captures all of the features of a business. However, a simple logo is generally more effective and memorable because it is quickly digestible and recognizable.” She is right, simple is better. Distracting logos take away from the true meaning of what the business is trying to portray. Paul Rand’s work wouldn’t be so memorable if the ABC logo was green and blue, it’s simplicity of being black and white captures us.
Megan’s final piece of advice when it comes to creating a logo is to be distinct. She says “To prevent a logo from looking dated, having a logo that relies on current trends, whether that be shape, color application, or fonts, should be avoided.” By following this key factor, a company will always be recognized, even if just by their logo!
Here at Sierra w/o Wires, we provide custom development for almost anything you can think of! We have created memorable logos for companies as well as custom websites. In today’s internet-driven world, your website should play a key role in attracting customers and increasing sales. Company websites are becoming increasingly important as more and more people turn to the Web to make decisions about where to shop, eat, play, etc.
We would like to help your organization with just about any development requests you should have! If your business is in need of a unique, custom development solution, feel free to contact us at SoftwareDevelopment@sierr001-2.sierradevops.com or at 412-722-0707.
