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WHO WE ARE
Studio GT&P is a design firm founded by Gianluigi Tobanelli in 1985. We are small and we like being that way. We work at a human scale, building long-standing partnerships with our clients and with each other. Being small makes us feel united, strong and caring.
We believe that good design helps businesses clarify and realize their vision, enhance their products and services, and serve their customers better.
WHAT WE DO
Studio GT&P is a multi-disciplinary visual communications studio with wide ranging experience across several areas of design.
We provide the following services:
Identity (Logo design, Stationery, Signage , Style Manuals)
Packaging (Package and Brand Identity Design)
Print (Annual Reports. Company Profiles, Brochures, Product Catalogues, Newsletters & Periodicals. Direct Mail, Fliers, Promotional Material)
Interactive (Website and Web Collateral Design and Development)
OUR STRENGTHS
We are creative people.
We create outstanding designs
We are a learning firm. We are curious. We like exploring the different fields of design, technology, art, and science, having clear that our work is a mixture of all this.
We have competitive prices
Our firm is small and well organized, so we can keep competitive prices maintaining high quality
RECOGNITION
Over the years our designs have won respect and recognition and our work is featured in numerous publications edited by Rockport Publishers, Graphis, Rotovision, Pie Books, Thomsom Delmar Learning, ...
The Definition of Free Cultural Works logo
A logo (from the Greek= logotipos) is a graphic element, symbol, or icon of a trademark or brand and together with its logotype, which is set in a unique typeface or arranged in a particular way. A typical logo is designed to cause immediate recognition by the viewer. The logo is one aspect of the brand of a company or economic entity, and the shapes, colors, fonts and images are usually different from others in a similar market. Logos may also be used to identify organizations or other entities in non-economic contexts.
Contents
• 1 Overview
• 2 Logos today
• 2.1 Brand slogans
• 2.2 Color
• 3 Logo design
• 4 Examples
• 4.1 Logos in Subvertising
• 5 See also
• 6 External links
A logo is an iconic symbol designed to represent a company, organization, product, service, and sometimes certain places (e.g., Canada).
The word "logo" is derived from the original word "logotype". In the days before means of mechanical typesetting were invented, compositors in printing offices used to assemble, or "set" type into a composing stick, picking up individual letters as they went. An idea to save time and effort resulted in commonly used words such as "the", "and", etc were created onto a single body of type and this composite piece of type was called a Logotype. Later on as technology improved the same idea was used to create a design, or symbol representing the identity of a company or institution.[citation needed]
In recent times the term 'logo' has been used to describe signs, emblems, coats of arms, symbols and even flags. In this article several examples of true logos are displayed, which may generally be contrasted with emblems, or marks, which include non-textual graphics of some kind. Emblems with non-textual content are considered one aspect of a complete logo.
Distinct aspects of a complete logo:
• Logotype/Wordmark/Lettermark: text or abbreviated text
• Icon: symbol / brandmark
• Slogan: description of the company
The uniqueness of a logo is often necessary to avoid confusion in the marketplace among clients, suppliers, users, affiliates, and the general public. To the extent that a logo achieves this objective, it may function as a trademark, and may be used to uniquely identify businesses, organizations, events, products or services. Once a logo is designed, one of the most effective means for protecting it is through registration as a trademark, so that no unauthorised third parties can use it, or interfere with the owner's use of it.
There are several elements of a good logo. An effective logo—
• should be unique, and not subject to confusion with other logos among viewers
• is functional and can be used in many different contexts while retaining its integrity
• should remain effective whether reproduced small or large
• can work in "full-color", but also in two color presentation (black and white), spot color, or halftone
• should be able to maintain its integrity when printed on various fabrics or materials (where the shape of the product may distort the logo)
• displays basic design principles (space, color, form, consistency, and clarity)
• represents the brand/company appropriately
Today there are many corporations, products, services, agencies and other entities using a sign or emblem as logo. As a result, only a few of the thousands of signs people are faced with are recognized without a name. It makes less sense to use a sign as a logo, even together with the name, if people will not duly identify it. Therefore, the trend in the recent years has been to use both images (icons) and the company name to emphasize the name instead of the supporting graphic portion, making it unique by its letters, color, and additional graphic elements.
Emblems (icons) may be more effective than a written name, especially for logos being translated into many alphabets; for instance, a name in the Arabic language would be of little help in most European markets. A sign or emblem would keep the general proprietary nature of the product in both markets. In non-profit areas, the Red Cross (which goes by Red Crescent in Muslim countries) is an example of an extremely well known emblem which does not need an accompanying name. Branding aims to facilitate cross-language marketing. The Coca-cola logo can be identified in any language because of the standards of color and the iconic ribbon wave.
Brand slogans
Sometimes a slogan is included in the logo. If the slogan appears always in the logo, and in the same graphic shape, it can be considered as part of the logo. In this case it is a brand slogan also called a claim, a tagline or an endline or a strapline in the advertising industry. The main purpose is to support the identity of the brand together with the logo. The difference between a slogan and a brand slogan is that brand slogan remains the same for a long time to build up the brand's image, while different slogans link to each product or advertising campaign.
Color
Color is important to the brand recognition, but should not be an integral component to the logo design, which would conflict with its functionality. Some colors are associated with certain emotions that the designer wants to convey. For instance, loud colors, such as red, that are meant to attract the attention of drivers on freeways are appropriate for companies that require such attention. In the United States red, white, and blue are often used in logos for companies that want to project patriotic feelings. Green is often associated with health foods, and light blue or silver is often used to reflect diet foods. For other brands, more subdued tones and lower saturation can communicate dependability, quality, relaxation, etc.
Color is also useful for linking certain types of products with a brand. Warm colors (red, orange, yellow) are linked to hot food and thus can be seen integrated into many fast food logos. Conversely, cool colors (blue, purple) are associated with lightness and weightlessness, thus many diet products have a light blue integrated into the logo.
Logo design is commonly believed to be one of the most important areas in graphic design, thus making it the most difficult to perfect. The logo, or brand, is not just an image, it is the embodiment of an organization. Because logos are meant to represent companies and foster recognition by consumers it is counterproductive to redesign logos often.
When designing (or commissioning) a logo, practices to encourage are to
• avoid being over-the-top in an attempt to be unique
• use few colors, or try to limit colors to spot colors (a term used in the printing industry)
• avoid gradients (smooth color transitions) as a distinguishing feature
• produce alternatives for different contexts
• design using vector graphics, so the logo can be resized without loss of fidelity
• be aware of design or trademark infringements
• include guidelines on the position on a page and white space around the logo for consistent application across a variety of media (a.k.a. brand standard manual)
• do not use a specific choice clip-art as a distinguishing feature
• do not use the face of a (living) person
• do not use photography or complex imagery as it reduces the instant recognition a logo demands
• avoid culturally sensitive imagery, such as religious icons or national flags, unless the brand is committed to being associated with any and all connotations such imagery may evoke.
In marketing, a corporate identity (CI) is the "persona" of a corporation which is designed to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives, and is usually visibly manifested by way of branding and the use of trademarks.
Corporate identity comes into being when there is a common ownership of an organisational philosophy which is manifest in a distinct corporate culture - the corporate personality. At its most profound, the public feel that they have ownership of the philosophy. (Balmer, 1995).
In general, this amounts to a logo (logotype and/or logogram) and supporting devices commonly assembled within a set of guidelines. These guidelines govern how the identity is applied and confirm approved colour palettes, typefaces, page layouts and other such methods of maintaining visual continuity and brand recognition across all physical manifestations of the brand.
Many companies, such as McDonald's and Electronic Arts have their own identity that runs through all of their products and merchandise. The trademark "M" logo and the yellow and red appears consistently throughout the McDonald's packaging and advertisements. Many companies pay large amounts of money for an identity that is extremely distinguishable, so it can appeal more to its targeted audience.
Corporate Identity is often viewed as being composed of three parts:
• Corporate Design (logos, uniforms, etc.)
• Corporate Communication (commercials, public relations, information, etc.)
• Corporate Behavior (internal values, norms, etc.)
Corporate Identity has become a universal technique for promoting companies and improving corporate culture. Most notably is the company PAOS, founded by Motoo Nakanishi in Tokyo Japan in 1968. Nakanishi fused design, management consulting and corporate culture to revolutionize CI in Japan.
Sociological sense
Corporate identity can also have a sociological sense. In any large society members of a minority tend to develop a "corporate identity" where they feel a special bond to any other member of that minority even if they have never met the person before. This bond develops because they generally have similar experiences, face similar discrimination, have similar cultural values, economic limitations, etc.
In the United States, for instance, persons of Arab or Jewish ancestry, blacks, Hispanics, lesbians and gay men, and persons who follow non-Christian religions, among many other minorities, each have a sense of corporate identity. Within a particular group there are feelings of "we have to watch out for each other" and "I have an obligation not just to succeed, but to help others of my group."
A common corollary to this sense of corporate identity is a concern about assimilating into the majority culture to the extent where the minority group ceases to exist for all practical purposes. Corporate identity is promoted, strengthened and encouraged by activities such as teaching the ancestral language, practice of rituals and social customs, observance of holidays, etc., from the minority culture and discouraging marriage outside the particular group or moving to a geographic area where the minority group does not have a significant presence.
Organizational point of view
In a recent monograph on Chinese Corporate Identity (Routledge, 2006), Peter Peverelli, proposes a new definition of corporate identity, based on the general organization theory proposed in his earlier work, in particular Peverelli(2000). This definition regards identity as a result of social interaction:
• Corporate identity is the way corporate actors (actors who perceive themselves as acting on behalf of the company) make sense of their company in ongoing social interaction with other actors in a specific context. It includes shared perceptions of reality, ways-to-do-things, etc., and interlocked behaviour.
• In this process the corporate actors are of equal importance as those others; corporate identity pertains to the company (the group of corporate actors) as well as to the relevant others;
• Corporate actors construct different identities in different contexts.
Corporate Visual Identity
Corporate Visual Identity plays a significant role in the way an organization presents itself to both internal and external stakeholders. In general terms, a corporate visual identity expresses the values and ambitions of an organisation, its business, and its characteristics. Four functions of corporate visual identity can be distinguished. Three of these are aimed at external stakeholders.
1. First, a corporate visual identity provides an organisation with visibility and ‘recognisability’ (Balmer and Gray, 2000; Dowling, 1993; Du Gay, 2000). For virtually all profit and non-profit organisations it is of vital importance that people know that the organisation exists and remember its name and core business at the right time.
2. Second, a corporate visual identity symbolises an organisation for external stakeholders, and, hence, contributes to its image and reputation (Schultz, Hatch and Larsen, 2000). Van den Bosch, De Jong and Elving (2005) explored possible relationships between corporate visual identity and reputation, and concluded that corporate visual identity plays a supportive role in corporate reputations.
3. Third, a corporate visual identity expresses the structure of an organisation to its external stakeholders, visualising its coherence as well as the relationships between divisions or units. Olins (1989) is well-known for his ‘corporate identity structure’, which consists of three concepts: monolithic brands for companies which have a single brand, a branded identity in which different brands are developed for parts of the organization or for different product lines, and an endorsed identity with different brands which are (visually) connected to each other. Although these concepts introduced by Olins are often presented as the corporate identity structure, they merely provide an indication of the visual presentation of (parts of) the organization. It is therefore better to describe it as a ‘corporate visual identity structure’.
4. A fourth, internal function of corporate visual identity relates to employees’ identification with the organisation as a whole and/or the specific departments they work for (depending on the corporate visual strategy in this respect). Identification appears to be crucial for employees (Bromley, 2001; Dutton, Dukerich and Harquail, 1994; Kiriakidou and Millward, 2000), and corporate visual identity probably plays a symbolic role in creating such identification.
The definition of the corporate visual identity management (Van den Bosch, 2005) is:
Corporate visual identity management involves the planned maintenance, assessment and development of a corporate visual identity as well as associated tools and support, anticipating developments both inside and outside the organization, and engaging employees in applying it, with the objective of contributing to employees’ identification with and appreciation of the organization as well as recognition and appreciation among external stakeholders.
Special attention is paid to corporate identity in times of organisational change. Once a new corporate identity is implemented, attention to corporate identity related issues generally tends to decrease. However, corporate identity needs to be managed on a structural basis, to be internalised by the employees and to harmonise with future organisational developments.
Efforts to manage the corporate visual identity will result in more consistency and the corporate visual identity management mix should include structural, cultural and strategic aspects (Van den Bosch, 2005). Guidelines, procedures and tools can be summarized as the structural aspects of managing the corporate visual identity.
However, as important as the structural aspects may be, they must be complemented by two other types of aspects. Among the cultural aspects of corporate visual identity management, socialization – i.e. formal and informal learning processes – turned out to influence the consistency of a corporate visual identity. Managers are important as a role model and they can clearly set an example. This implies that they need to be aware of the impact of their behavior, which has an effect on how employees behave. If managers pay attention to the way they convey the identity of their organization, including the use of a corporate visual identity, this will have a positive effect on the attention employees give to the corporate visual identity.
Further, it seems to be important that the organization communicates the strategic aspects of the corporate visual identity. Employees need to have knowledge of the corporate visual identity of their organization – not only the general reasons for using the corporate visual identity, such as its role in enhancing the visibility and recognizability of the organization, but also aspects of the story behind the corporate visual identity. The story should explain why the design fits the organization and what the design – in all of its elements – is intended to express.