Critique - Week 3

In light of our new logo project, I thought I would critique an old logo prototype for the Terrafugia Transition. There were several elements to consider in creating this logo, and it required me to think as an advertiser rather than a journalist. With logos, we are defining the visual branding of a product or organization, and the style needs to appeal to the target consumer or affected audience. In this case, the Transition is the world's first roadable airplane, which can be referred to colloquially as a flying car because it can both drive roads and fly. The target market was very, very wealthy, middle-aged men who enjoyed recreation and aviation. In my logo, I tried to reflect the freedom provided by the vehicle by giving a flightless bird (the body is modeled after the Looney Toons road runner) the flighted wings of an eagle or hawk. Below is a close up of the logo:

Initially, the two legs were much larger in an effort to create a T shape of the body to go with the F shape of the head for Terrafugia, but their size was reduced in order to create a more logical scale for the legs. Furthermore, I de-emphasized the T and F because it was not as strong a visual puzzle as needed to be memorable (as with the Fedex logo). I also gave the wing a more streamlined look (in a previous draft it was more curved and elongated with curved white lines rather than the straighter ones in the final version) to suggest the futuristic nature of the vehicle.

There were a few key concepts I was grappling with in creating the logo. The primary motivation behind the logo and subsequent ad campaign elements was the concept of freedom. The vehicle allowed maximum freedom; you can literally get up and fly at will because you have an airplane parked in your garage. As such, the bald eagle imagery and color palette were emphasized in the logo because it is a bird that most Americans directly associate with freedom and masculinity. After that, there was the necessity to suggest the actual product with the logo, which is accomplished through the pairing of a bird with a tire (the legs form a tire in a subtle-yet-not-subtle way). The logo also had to convey that the product was futuristic but also luxurious. Instead of turning to '80s sci-fi fonts and The Terminator, I looked instead at high-end car logos (specifically Ferrari and Cadillac with the ducks). The end result is sleek without being finicky. That is to say, it's not feminized in any way (in my opinion, obviously).

Another consideration that is important from an execution standpoint is the varied uses of the logo. If this is to be used in print media (in magazines as well as business cards, letterheads, etc.), it had to be scalable (clearly distinguishable even when made smaller) and look nice in print. As many of my fellow designers are discovering, the image on the screen is always better and more vibrant than it is in print. Depending on the type of paper, quality of printer, etc., the vibrancy and contrast of a screen-friendly logo can be minimized, so dual-use design is a must if it is be used in both print and digital media.