Designing a logo is 90 percent research and 10 percent execution. When we first signed Golf Antics on as a client, a logo redesign wasn’t in the plans. We were here to assist with merchandise, build a new e-commerce website, and establish a social media presence. Our designers, however, noticed that if the logo (a man being run over by a golf cart) was to be printed on merchandise like t-shirts, towels, and cups, it was going to need some tweaking.
The original logo was altered to have less detail while still keeping the general feel of Golf Antics – a golf brand that focuses on the fun and, well, antics that can happen during golf outings.
Using our due diligence, we took a stab at redesigning the logo to make it current, clear, and give it a design that would stand out…all three of which help to make logos memorable. Take the Nike Swoosh, for example. It’s clean, simple, and easily recognizable. You can probably see it in your head right now, and it teaches designers a valuable lesson: sometimes less can be more.
Research
Research is the first and most important step when working out design concepts for a logo or branding. You have to immerse yourself into the client’s world, putting yourself in their metaphorical golf shoes (those are a thing, right?).
For Golf Antics, we looked at everything from other successful golf brands to smaller businesses that were targeting similar audience demographics. We also looked at competing brands and attempted to understand why they were working so well and what we could take away from their success.
All of the designs for Golf Antics merch are hilarious, real situations that happened to founder Bob Gold and his fellow golfers. From alligator bites to getting struck by lightning while on the course, it turns out golf really is more of a contact sport than many people realize. We even looked up funny golf accidents on YouTube to understand and capture the whimsical nature of the product designs and–workday bonus– watching someone get hit with a golf club can be pretty funny.
The Process
We also did an audit of our client’s web presence to see what they had already established as the overall tone of the brand and to have a better understanding of how they deliver their message. We took notes and, once we compiled all of our data, we eventually came up with 1-2 sets of concept designs. The actual execution of creating said designs took only an hour or so. But the research to get us there took several days.
There were more than a few iterations created of the new logo. Some with the golf cart, some without the golf cart, and we also played around with the text to image ratio. We decided to get rid of the four-color process that was being used because a two-color process would cut down on production cost, which is important when you’re thinking about overall costs.
There obviously had to be some sort of golf image involved with the logo. Because of the playfulness of the brand (as well as the founder’s story of getting run over by a golf cart), we eventually decided we needed to have a golf cart involved. But not just any golf cart. This golf cart had to make it easier for people to understand what the brand was all about. We needed something simple that would help make consumers understand the brand as soon as they saw it.
The font needed to be both professional and whimsical to match Golf Antics’ product designs. We found that a good balance was a borderline hand-rendered font with a slightly vintage feel, without feeling too old. Something that looked like the writing on that birthday card your favorite aunt sends you every year or your grandpa’s handwriting when he writes a check – classic and readable.
After several different ideas and drafts, we decided on a round logo, which is in style with current logo trends.
Final Golf Antics product
It’s always nerve-wracking to show new designs to clients. It’s even more nerve-wracking when you want to do a logo change they didn’t realize they needed. You want your client to be happy and it can sometimes be hard to introduce change to an established brand like this one.
Golf Antics ended up loving our new logo redesign, and now they have unification across all branding platforms and social media channels. We were pretty “on par” when it came to understanding Golf Antics and creating a logo that expressed the fun and light-hearted nature of the brand – all it took was a little research.
