Speech bubbles: Not just for comics

Here's a challenge for you. Sometimes a perfectly good symbol sits on the shelf for years with little if any use. Then one day a clever designer, and, and it could be you, comes along and finds a perfect application to activate the symbols usefulness. I'm particularly drawn to this concept because this next example did exactly that. The speech bubble has been around dominantly in comic strips since it appeared in the Yellow Kid comic strips back in 1896. By the beginning of the twentieth century the speech bubble had spawned the thought bubble, and the screeching bubble and as a way of showing conversation the bubble became ubiquitous. And yet for millions of speech bubbles that have had to have been drawn over the last century it's just been over the last decade that it's become embraced by logo designers and what an embracing it's been. These examples have taken the speech bubble literally, and it's a powerful way of indicating what's being discussed in a graphic way. If your logo project is communication-centric, a consumer can tell this is more than a word or a name, but that it's an attempt to engage them in a dialogue. I think these speech bubbles are much more successful in some ways because, the designer has filled the bubble with a graphic that addresses the subject of the matter. We're talking about a cheese, or our country, or we're talking about books. Think about what you would fill the bubble with for your own project. But, don't be afraid to take it that extra mile. To give the logo dimension, or to related the bubble back to the content in a customized way, don't forget that unless it's inner dialogue, it's pretty hard to have a conversation with yourself. A single speech bubble might make you feel like you're being talked at. These solutions succeeded additionally because they demonstrated the client is interested in a two way dialogue. As a matter of fact, Chris Rooney's We America logo has an entire nation steeped in conversation. Dialogue beats monologue hands down. The last symbol to introduce into this conversation is an entirely an invention of mobile apps and GPS. It's a beautiful new symbol to me because it's fresh, relevant and highly usable. It's the pin drop or a locater arrow. Even in the industry, there are multiple names for this, but the important part is that the consumer's know exactly what it means to them. It's the device that tells them where here is or where there is. In the world of design if your clients help folks find their way great. If there experts at locating houses or oil or recruits or whatever needs locating this could be a solution think of the boundless opportunities for the use of this device in a logo. This mark for Vistara, a firm that helps locate petroleum deposits is a beautiful reflection of its self in form with a pin-drop right on top of the liquid gold. Be aware of shifts in technologies and make note when you see icons being used to guide the public. Be the first to check out new system updates on mobile devices and electronics. Pay attention to user interfaces on the web, and to packing, print, and broadcast graphics. The next time you catch yourself thinking, well I've never seen that before, you may be looking at the foundation symbol, for your next great identity.