The brain you stole, Fritz. Think of it. The brain of a dead man waiting to live again in a body I made with my own hands! - Henry Frankenstein
I have loved classic horror and science fiction movies since I was a kid staying up late to watch Nightmare Theater with Sammy Terry on Channel 4 in Indianapolis. I now have an enormous collection of these films that is put to use every Friday when the family heads to the basement for Spooky Movie Night–a family tradition for about six years. As a basic rule, we watch nothing made after 1970 that doesn’t have Godzilla in it– we relish the classics!
That's probably why a new term I stumbled upon has stuck around in my head for a week or two now. I was reading an interview with a designer named Von Glitschka about his creative process relative to designing logos. One of his strict rules stated before beginning was that there would be "No Frankensteining”–meaning no mixing and matching. No taking take the type from number three and using it with the mark on number one.
I’ve never went so far as to take that option completely off the table up front. I prefer to use the request as an opportunity to explain why it’s not a good idea–because most of time it’s not.
The reason is that good design is the result of what I call “strategic imagination”. Of course a logo must be visually compelling, but it must also be strategically tied to an overall communication strategy. Logos are not merely contestants in a beauty pageant, they are messengers of the brand. In fact, they are the very entry point into the brand–your first chance to communicate with your audience–so the different elements that make up a logo cannot just be haphazardly stitched together. They must work in harmony to achieve a larger purpose. But this is not done in a vacuum. Choices are made relative to the other elements of the design. That’s why one little change can sometimes alter more than you think–and sometimes, it can create a monster!
I thought I’d try a little experiment myself. Let’s turn on the generators, fire up the super-conductors and throw the switch on a creation of our own. I’m actually going to encourage you to do some Frankensteining to create a logo-monster! Stitch together a new logo made from pieces of other ones, or simply make ghastly alterations to an existing logo to produce a frightening abomination. I’ve done a quicky below to demonstrate how just changing one little thing can make a big difference.
Real Thing or not–I'm not drinking anything that comes in a pea-green can.
So wake up Igor, grab your bone saw and start hacking! Send your monstrous logo creations to me at this email link. Use whatever tools you have in your own lab: PowerPoint, cut & paste (digital or the old-fashioned variety), xerox, send a scan, send a photo . . . your call. The maddest scientist among you will be awarded a DVD of the original 1931 Frankenstein. Have fun–and hopefully you'll even learn something about the nature of design along the way.
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