What's in a name? Everything, if you're a logo designer. An effective logo represents much more than a company, product, or service. In the words of the late Paul Rand, logos should be like flags: universal, timeless, and durable.

In this 6-lesson course, you'll build your portfolio by tackling a series of challenging logo and branding design projects.

Lessons will cover such important concepts as corporate identity, image, branding, and repositioning, with reference to intriguing real-world case studies. Exercises will offer a range of creative challenges, allowing you to build your personal style within constraints of realistic project briefs.

Throughout, the focus will be on learning how to approach each stage of the logo design process, from concept to execution and client presentation. When that Fortune 500 company calls, you'll be ready.

Read an interview with Thom McKenna on Advanced Logo Design.

Thom McKenna is the owner/creative director of a New York-based graphic/multimedia design firm ... get bio

LESSON 1 Visual Communication What makes a logo work? In Lesson One, the course developer shares his personal vision of visual communication. Successful logos achieve a tradeoff between flexibility (appearing anywhere, at any size) and communication. To build a conceptual foundation, you'll look at the purpose of logo design from ancient times to today's consumer society, exploring the fundamental properties of successful logos. You'll get an overview of the logo design process in a professional environment. Then the exercise will focus on creating 3 distinct identities for a record label, working from a creative brief.

LESSON 2 Identity, Image, and Branding We're all familiar with the power of a major brand (Nike, anyone?). But designers often confuse the differences between corporate identity, image, and branding. Lesson Two clarifies the issues and focuses squarely on branding — the essence, character, and purpose of a company and its services. The process by which a company builds and extends or repositions a brand is explored, with reference to contrasting case studies. In the exercise, you'll create a branding system for an airline.

LESSON 3 Expansion and Evolution Lesson Three looks at the critical first stage of any professional logo design process. You'll examine the expansion/evolution phase, in which you set up a client meeting to determine his or her needs, produce a creative brief, and brainstorm a range of options. Strategies for effective brainstorming are discussed, with an emphasis on opening the door to creativity and productivity. The exercise provides practice in both brainstorming and creative identity evolution.

LESSON 4 Identity Imperatives Successful logos convey the essential identity of a company or individual — saying "I'm friendly" or "strong" or "smart." Lesson Four explores the various techniques logo designers use to create identity: spacing, color, shape, and letterform. You'll learn tricks of the trade to add impact and personality to your designs. In the exercise, you'll design a visual identity for a movie studio, working from a brief.

LESSON 5 Contraction and Definition Lesson Five covers the second step in the logo design process: the contraction phase. After a second client meeting, the designer's options are generally narrowed to a few leading designs. Armed with client feedback, the designer focuses on honing the artwork, addressing such key issues as legibility, simplicity, and typography. In the exercise, you'll select a design from lesson 4 and evolve it to a professional foundation, and also create some identity designs for yourself or your company.

Tuition: $829 US