Charitylog logo

A couple of months ago I was approached by a client with whom I've worked occasionally, pretty much since I started freelancing almost six years ago. I'd done a couple of logos for him and this time he wanted me to look at the logo of one of his clients, Charitylog.

It's a company that has designed software for charities working in the public sector. It provides a log where employees and volunteers can record dealings with clients - for example elderly and disabled people and their carers - so that everything is organised and clear, in one place and most of all, secure.

What's important (to me) is to work out not just what the client wants but what their customers need. So you've got this brand-new cutting-edge software and that's all fine and dandy, but hey, computers and software can be frightening to your perhaps technophobic customers - software can be full of holes, computers can crash and lose data - and if you're a charity paid by the local council to look after vulnerable people you certainly don't want those people's personal details hacked or leaked or lost or whatever. The thing to emphasise, then, is that this particular software is clean, clear and secure. So that's what I did.

I worked on logos that were strong, reassuring, simple and gave the feeling of security. I used motifs like keys, cogs and locks. I used a lot of blue and green - calming colours - and everyday typefaces. This one, the final approved logo, uses Helvetica Black - very common, which is useful because it's recognisable and not new and scary. By putting the type in a black box the logo is contained and feels secure. The round corners soften it a little and the drop shadow (used with caution - these things can look terrible) lifts it. And then there's the little touch of colour with the padlock 'a'.

That's pretty much the thing about being a graphic designer. You can be the most creative person on the planet and produce the most astoundingly beautiful, edgy work, but if it doesn't work for the client and their customers, you're dead in the water.