BlogmyQuery – BMQ

Today we are glad to release gCons, a set of free all-purpose 32×32px icons for designers and web developers (100 icons). The icons come in 12 different colors and are available in PSD, PNG, JPG and GIF formats. This set was designed by Sarfraz Shoukat especially for Smashing Magazine and its readers.

Download the icon set for free!

You can use the set for all of your projects for free and without any restrictions. You can freely use it for both your private and commercial projects, including software, online services, templates and themes. The set may not be resold, sublicensed, rented, transferred or otherwise made available for use, Please link to this article if you would like to spread the word.

• download the set (zip, 6.1 Mb)
• designer’s release page

Behind the design

As always, here are some insights from the designer:

“The open-source world is overwhelmed with design resources. For UI designers and website developers, there are a huge number of nice icon collections, but most of these collections are designed for a specific purpose, theme or industry. Most of the time, designers have to mix and match desired icons and customize them according to the requirements resulting in a lot of effort, un-balanced designs, and sometimes mere frustration. As a designer, I often feel the need of a set of generic icons that I can use easily in any design theme without having to customize their design, combination or color.

gcons is my contribution to the world of open source resources for designers and web developers. These icons are multi-purpose and can be a good fit in a number of scenarios like UI themes, technical diagrams, website design, prototype development etc.

Thank you very much, Sarfraz! We appreciate your efforts.

[By the way, did you know we have a brand new free Smashing Email Newsletter? Subscribe now and get fresh short tips and tricks on Tuesdays!]

Related Posts

You may be interested in the following related releases:

• The Ultimate Free Web Designer’s Icon Set (750 icons, incl. PSD sources)
• Free Medical Icons Set (60 Icons)
• Yummy! Free Food and Cakes Icon Set (20 Icons)
• Quartz Icon Set (90 clean sharp icons)

© Smashing Editorial for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | Post a comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine
Post tags: Freebies

By Cameron Chapman

Online banking and investment services have become big business in recent years. Whether it’s a tiny local bank or a major, multi-national one, if a bank wants to be successful, a user-friendly, well-designed website is a necessity. But that doesn’t mean every bank out there has a great site. In fact, a lot of bank websites barely manage in terms of usability and functionality, and leave a lot lacking in the design area.

But there are some well-designed banking, investment, and financial management sites out there with beautiful designs and good usability. These sites should serve as a model for other financial industry sites. If you have a favorite banking or investment website that has a great design and fantastic usability, please share it in the comments!

Investment and Money Management

Most investment and money management firms cater to upper-middle-class and wealthier clients. They need to convey trustworthiness, stability, and loyalty. After all, clients are often entrusting them with hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to manage, so trust is key.

Credit Suisse
The Credit Suisse website has an open, modern feeling. The inclusion of a person on the home page makes the site feel more personal (and more trustworthy). A traditional color scheme is used (gray, blue, and maroon), which also adds to the feeling of security and strength.

Legg Mason
Legg Mason uses a simple grid-based layout for their home page. They offer plenty of information about who they are and what they do, while also being easy to navigate. Placing a link to their Annual Report prominently on the home page also lends a sense of credibility and fairness to their business.

Raymond James
The Raymond James website is simple, with a strong blue and gray color scheme. Any time images of people (especially customers) are included in a site, it makes a site feel more personal and trustworthy. Featuring the CEO prominently on the home page also makes the company seem more personal.

AllianceBernstein
AllianceBernstein uses a sleeker design, more reminiscent of a blog theme than a lot of the other sites here. The gray and black color scheme is elegant, while the green and aqua accents liven things up a bit.

Piper Jaffray
Piper Jaffray uses a strong header image to pull visitors in. The rest of the home page has a blog-like feel, which makes it seem more modern. It’s also easy to navigate and the search box is prominently displayed.

Gainskeeper
The fresh blue and green color scheme used here offers a much more modern feeling than many investment sites. But the very traditional layout and images keep the site feeling trustworthy and secure.

T.Rowe Price
The use of a strong background image and transparent, colorful boxes makes the T.Rowe Price site seem very current. The site is also user-friendly and information is easy to find.

Social Investment Forum
Using a simple design with a muted color scheme works well to make a site appear honest and straight-forward. Emphasis is placed on the information provided, not the design itself, which works well for a site like this one.

Edward Jones
Edward Jones takes a much more modern approach to their website, with a bright yellow and gray color scheme. By prominently including things like their J.D. Power and Associates award information and Fortune magazine mentions, they still come across as a long-standing, reliable and honest company. It’s a riskier design strategy for an investment firm, but in this case it definitely pays off.

Online Banking

Online banking is a key service among banks, and something that needs to be user-friendly to both tech novices and experts. Consumers also need to trust their bank and its website in order to feel comfortable managing transactions over the Internet.

Exchange Bank
Exchange Bank’s website is both user-friendly (with tabbed navigation and a prominent login area) and establishes trust without seeming stuffy. It works well to appeal to a wide range of customers.

STAR
The STAR home page is well-thought-out and makes it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for, both through links and via search. The color scheme and bright background image both make the site seem more inviting and personal.

Barclays
The Barclays website uses a simple grid layout and blue color scheme, though they’ve deviated from the traditional, corporate navy to a much brighter hue. Navigation is spread throughout the page, but is still easy to use due to well-designed headers.

NatWest
The NatWest site uses a more unexpected purple, lavender, and fuschia color scheme, not often seen in the financial sector. But the grid layout and fairly traditional images and content keep the site feeling trustworthy.

Ally
Ally is another site that’s opted for a less-traditional purple color scheme. Combined with blue and gray, it works well and comes across as very rich feeling (not surprising since purple was originally a color reserved entirely for royalty).

Integra Bank
Featuring their iPhone app prominently indicates the market Integra Bank is after on their website: younger, more tech-savvy customers. The rounded corners and other design elements reinforce that idea.

EverBank
EverBank has stuck to a very traditional site design and color scheme. But the site is also easy to navigate, and the login area is featured prominently. The site’s typography is also top notch.

Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo has a simple design with tabbed navigation and a well-placed login area. Tabbed navigation in the header is user-friendly, while headings above the navigation further down the page maintain the ease-of-use.

Bank of the West
The color scheme is what really stands out here. They’ve used multiple colors but have pulled it off seamlessly. The grid-based design also shines and keeps everything well-organized.

Liberty Bank
The rounded corners on this site add a lot of visual interest, while the mostly-blue color scheme keeps things feeling grounded. Navigation is well-placed and easy to use, while the login area is easy to find.

Umpqua Bank
The graphic background image used here is unexpected, while the gray and blue-green color scheme feels very traditional.

Pacific Continental Bank
The tan and burgundy color scheme here is very traditional while being a change from the usual corporate blue and gray. The curved line below the main content area mimics a smile while also creating a sense of motion in the design.

MidFirst Bank
The gray and orange color scheme of MidFirst Bank’s site is very modern, and the rest of the site echoes that. They obviously know what segment of the market they want to appeal to and aren’t afraid to make bold moves in that direction.

Other Financial Services and Related

The websites featured below include everything from venture capital firms to money management tools. But like the investment and online banking sites above, these firms still need to convey a sense of loyalty and trust to their customers. Whenever financial transactions are taking place online, consumers have to feel comfortable that their personal information is safe.

Oanda
The Oanda website is simple, with a black, white and lime green color scheme and plenty of negative space. It’s a simple design, but one that works well for putting the focus on the information they provide.

Earlybird Venture Capital
Venture capitalists have a bit more leeway with their website designs, as is shown here. The minimalist design with the animated bird reflects their business name, while the site’s typography keeps everything looking professional.

Spencer Trask & Company
Another site with a tan and burgundy color scheme, this time with bolder images. There’s plenty of negative space here, which makes it easy to navigate and places the emphasis squarely on the content.

The Motley Fool
The Motley Fool’s design is reminiscent of a blog design, with featured content at the top and tabbed navigation. Information is laid out in a grid format, making things easy to find.

Morningstar
Morningstar uses a grid layout to organize vast amounts of information. Keeping the color scheme simple keeps the site from feeling busy.

Bloomberg
The new Bloomberg design is simple and straightforward, with a blog-like feel.

Discover
Discover’s site design is very modern-feeling, especially with the light blue, orange, and gray color scheme. Important information is placed prominently, and the login area is easy to find.

Xero
The Xero site is minimalist, with plenty of white space. The bright blue and green colors used make it feel fresh and modern. The simplicity of the site gives it a professional edge.

Mint
The Mint site feels very fresh and new, which is further reinforced by the graphics. Navigation is prominent, as is important information, and the whole thing is very user-friendly.

Rudder
Rudder’s blue and white color scheme looks very modern. The navigation in the header is fantastic, and the entire home page is laid out in a way that makes it simple to find what you’re looking for.

moneyStrands
The mostly black-and-white color scheme here feels sophisticated and modern, and the green accents only highlight that feeling. The graphics on the site make it obvious they’re trying to appeal to a younger audience, and it works really well.

BillShrink
The bright green color scheme and use of icons make the BillShrink website look thoroughly modern. Including the coverage they’ve received from major media outlets prominently on the home page makes them seem very reliable, as well.

Conclusion

Websites that deal with consumer financial information need to pay special attention to security and trust, more so even than ecommerce sites. Many consumers are still wary of using the Internet for financial transactions, especially online banking or investment where large sums of money are sometimes dealt with. As a designer, it’s important to convey a sense of stability and honesty when designing financial industry websites. Take cues from the sites above, all of which have done an outstanding job of putting consumers at ease when using their services.

In the modern world of design and development, dealings with your clients are somewhat akin to romantic relationships. For one, both sides expect a certain level of standard and class from each other. Both are prepared to give, and both want to achieve something in that relationship. Second, just like when you’re on a date, your relationships with clients are governed by a set of largely unspoken rules, the strict adherence to which will define what the outcome of the date will be, and how long the relationship is going to last. And finally, for the union to be pleasant and lasting, the relationship needs to be more or less equal in terms of bargaining power.

While making the customer happy, do not forget yourself

In our culture of consumption, where the focus is all too closely set on satisfying the customer (who, as we all remember, is the proverbial king), we tend to forget, that not all of us live in the Kingdom. In many situations what your company wants is simply a finite network of steady clients (happily, the monogamy does not apply to business), on which it could rely and which would allow for growth in the future. Many businesses, especially those in the early stages of their development, make the mistake to follow the mass production logic, attempting to satisfy each and every customer no matter the cost. In reality, however, this model is not sustainable in the majority of cases. Since your capacity is more or less fixed in the short term, the quality of your clientele really matters. Just like with a romantic relationship, once in a while you have to ask yourself whether you are getting what you want from your clients. A set of bad clients will hurt the work satisfaction, lower the quality of your results and simply suck out all the pleasure of what you are doing.

Bad customer types to watch out for

Unfortunately, it is only possible to judge the quality of a client after you have worked together for a while. Nevertheless, there are some typical features lousy clients possess, and they should warn you of the trouble impending.

The “extra freebie” client.

This one wants nothing less but perfection. He always finds a little detail that can be improved, or a tiny bit of extra functionality that would really improve the product. Of course, he wants you to stay within the same budget. And you do want to help him, since this client is not so bad, and keeping him satisfied seems like the right thing to do. Well, here is a trap: these little extras tend to accumulate into a heap of additional work no one is paying for.

Defense: make very precise agreements on what the scope of the project is, and do not be embarrassed to charge for the extras. That is, unless your prices are so high that perfection goes without saying!

The “you should know what I want” client.

In most situations, you know the particularities of your product better than your client does. As result, the customer might want to delegate the decisions on specific details to you. The freedom to do your thing seems great at first, but for some reason these clients are never happy with your choices when it comes to paying the bill. It turns out they had a “hunch” the product would look otherwise, even though in the beginning they had no specific ideas at all.

Defense: first, just like in a good romance, you need to communicate well. Make sure the client understand the minute details of your choices. Second, the trick is to offer such a client several alternative variations of the product. When he chooses, the option to blame you for the consequences of the choice exists no longer.

The “old virgin on a first date”.

This kind of customers does nothing but hesitate. They ask tons of questions (even the buying ones!), and they always seem like the contract will be signed tomorrow. Yet it never does, there is always some minor detail delaying the process. You spend time and energy pursuing a dead end lead, but only realize it after a good while.

Defense: you need to firmly decide how far you are willing to go to court a customer, and do not yield into temptation to cross that line. No need to abruptly end the relationship altogether, just be aware that this client has yet to prove his value, and act accordingly.

The “control freak”.

This type cannot simply let you do your job. He will trust his doctor and car mechanic with his life, but there is no chance in hell he will respect your expertise over his own common sense. He will examine every single detail of the project and provide the most detailed instructions on each and every one of them.

Defense: while this type of client is not as bad as some others, his overly involvement does slow you down and increase communication costs. There is not much to do against it, though you can simply decide not to continue with this client in the future.

The “discount” guy.

Some people believe that cheaper is always better. In this naïve belief they will seize every opportunity to get a lower price from you. It is tempting to accept, since it seems that little profit is better than no profit, doesn’t it?

Defense: while in the short term this might be true, such strategy may hinder your long term development both financially and psychologically. You can still work for the pocket change in certain situations, but be aware of the consequences. Better to keep your game at the level you feel comfortable with.

The “lazy daisy”.

An average design and development project is a two-way street. While the work is mostly on your side, the client still needs to help along the way by providing the necessary information, making the critical choices and so forth. Spoiled by the consumer culture, many people expect simply to pay their money and receive the completed product without actually participating. More often than not it is an illusion on their part, but it is you who will be held accountable.

Defense: initiating a project, make sure the customer understands what will be required of him. Establish milestones in your project and agree to discuss them with the client, when appropriate.

Let’s be flexible on the payment

Finally, the most dreadful client of all is the one who doesn’t pay on time. You can power through all the other bad situations, but receiving no money for the job you’ve done is just something that that spoils your relationship at once.

Defense: be polite but firm with the client who has a payment problem for the first time. Seriously consider firing the client who does this twice. Alternatively, work out a different payment arrangement which your client agrees on, and make sure to enforce it.

In conclusion you should remember, it is up to you to control the long-term relationships with your clientele. Do not be afraid of firing a bad customer, it is the only way to open a spot for a good one. Good luck!

One thing that can be said about human beings is that we are, by and large, creatures of habit. We establish routines, consciously and subconsciously, that help us accomplish tasks or move us more quickly or comfortably through our day. Habits are formed in the design and development community just as they are in nearly every other professional and personal environment, and they serve any number of purposes. In design and development circles, one established habit is seen with the launch of a website or project.

Naturally, each of us has developed a process that we engage in as we wrap up a project, but a few procedures tend to be used over and over again by the masses. We know this because we ran a poll on this very topic on Twitter. We got many great responses, but the community tends towards a few common practices. We could see as we looked through the list of entries that certain wrap procedures seem to have mass appeal (judging by the number of times they were given as answers), so we began to examine the benefits they offered and what they say about those who fall back on them.

Designers and developers obviously adopt routines for a reason — perhaps because they suit their personalities or even their other routines — so it is possible to gain a little insight into those who follow them. There certainly was quite a range of responses, and we really appreciate everyone who took the time to get back to us with an answer.

Consider our previous posts:

• Five Tips For Making Ideas Happen
• Web Design Criticism: A How-To
• Invoice Like A Pro: Examples And Best Practices
• How To Find Time For… Everything!

Now, let’s examine the final steps that handfuls of people in the design and development community take when the clock says that it is officially “go time.”

[Offtopic: by the way, did you know that Smashing Magazine has one of the most influential and popular Twitter accounts? Join our discussions and get updates about useful tools and resources — follow us on Twitter!]

Freak Out!

One of the responses that seemed to resonate among so many was, basically, to freak out as the launch date draws nearer. Who needs a calm and collected approach when you can run screaming back and forth in front of the computer and pull your hair out as the final hour draws near? The time-honored (even if impractical) tradition of panicking, which flies in the face of the hitchhiker’s motto, is not without its merits. However, for sanity’s sake and the sake of those who share your space, another approach near launch time might prove a bit better.

Image source, by Maks Karochkin.

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Panic!”
• “Cry.”
• “Simple answer: pray!”

Benefits

• There is a great release of pent-up energy when you freak out, which can have numerous benefits — one of which is no longer holding nervous energy inside.
• A last-minute chaotic whirlwind of panic can also benefit the project because it ensures that you are alert and ready should any fault be found.

What This Says About You

Perhaps panic mode teaches us that those who fall back on such an approach lack organizational skills. The tendency to freak out more than likely stems from a lack of confidence that everything is in place. It could also indicate a slightly pessimistic outlook (à la Murphy’s Law): no matter how prepared you feel for launch, you have a nagging feeling that something will go wrong — not because you neglected something, but just because it can. A comprehensive check list could help to curb this tendency in some cases.

Relax

A somewhat different approach — in fact the exact opposite of the previous tactic — taken by many is to just kick back and relax. Though it may seem reasonable, relaxing just as a project will be introduced to the online world might not be an easy approach. In fact, achieving your desired level of calmness could take a lot of effort. If you can find your center and bask in relaxation during the pre-launch phase, then this approach might refresh you before you throw yourself into the next project.

Image source, by VinothChandar.

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Get a good night’s sleep. Launch when you’re fresh, not tired.”
• “Relax. Have a smoke, read some jokes online.”

Benefits

• Peace of mind is naturally a welcome benefit of this approach, especially given how hectic things can get upon launch.
• Mental decompression often helps because, as your mind is switches gears, your subconscious is free to review the project and scan for any missed elements.

What This Says About You

Being calm in the face of a wrap-up is not always easy. If this is your approach, it says one of two things about you: either you are extremely confident in your abilities, and therefore at ease because you know the job is as complete as you could have made it; or you simply don’t care — you’ve done your part, things are out of your hands, and you’re free to move on or just kick back. Confidence is not a bad thing; it could mean that you are prepared and thorough. Not caring, though, may not necessarily be a good thing — but you don’t care, so why harp?

Await Final Payment

Some of those who responded to our query take another route altogether: their final moves are all about the financial aspects of the project. They try to get paid. These people have run all their normal checks, and now they’ve turned for the final check from the client. Most professionals in the design and development community hold off on launching until the client has made their final payment. Whether that would be the final installment or full payment, the last thing on the check list for many is to collect everything owed for their work — and to stay in a holding pattern until that is done.

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Wait for final payment confirmation.”
• “Send an invoice.”
• “Get the cash!”

Benefits

• One benefit of this approach is that you get to move on until payment is received, being freed up for other things.
• It also puts the responsibility for ultimately launching the website on the client.
• Finally, by not launching until you get paid, you ensure that final payment does actually come.

What This Says About You

One thing this tells us about the person who uses this approach is that they are trusting… to a point. They are willing to meet the client halfway and do most of the remaining work for them on good faith. But it also shows that good faith will carry the project only so far; this professional is not willing to give up their only leverage to the client. It also shows a certain level of professionalism, seeing as some sort of contract was agreed on before the project began.

Run Diagnostics

Some members of the community opt to run a final set of comprehensive diagnostics. They go through a full range of tests to determine whether any areas are still exposed to the elements as it were (speed tests, script checks, link trials, spell checks and so on). The list of oft-overlooked yet ever important details can be quite long and intimidating to tackle. But tackle we must, and some save this daunting diagnostic imperative until they are on the verge of launching. Several members of the community even create a helpful check list to aid in this phase.

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Test, test, test!”
• “I go through my check list and see that I just forgot something. I check or preview the project before launch. I do simple and wide checks.”
• “Test whether everything works properly and look for spelling mistakes. Tick off the project check list.”

Benefits

• Of course, a full project diagnostic test will be beneficial, but doubly so if you’ve saved it for last, because no little changes you’ve made will fall through the cracks.
• A thorough examination also brings peace of mind, especially when you use a comprehensive check list to ensure that everything is covered.

What This Says About You

Running diagnostics on your projects simply says that you are professional, sensible and efficient. While that may seem an impressive peek into your personality, those are not surprising qualities in the design and development field. But the depth of your diagnostics process gives a little more insight into who you are. If you take the time to conduct a meticulous check on a project, then you are more than efficient: you are anal, and your personality reflects that perfectionism. If you take a more lackadaisical approach and cover only a few key areas, then you may be efficient but have some traits of a slacker.

Final Cross-Browser Compatibility Check

One obvious and important check to perform at some point during any Web-based project is cross-browser compatibility, and according to the responses we received, some members of the community repeat this frustrating step before the project goes live. In fact, it is usually a safe bet that at least one browser will give you some sort of headache before all is said and done. Some resources can make these checks quicker and easier (we’ll link to them later).

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Do a quick cross-browser check…”
• “Make sure it doesn’t totally explode in IE6.”
• “Run through a quick check — analytics, etc. — and a last x-browser check.”

Benefits

• The benefit of this kind of testing is self-evident. Saving it for last, though, generally gives you a sound starting point for the testing. However, it is always a good idea to test early, and test often. The earlier you test your working protoypes, the more likely you are to avoid compatibility issues in the long run.

What This Says About You

Checking for cross-browser compatibility is unavoidable. Leaving it for last simply speaks to your knowledge and ability to handle the full range of browser checks. What you check tells us even more. If you do a comprehensive test, it shows that you are responsible enough to see your tasks to completion. If you do everything but ignore IE6 (leaving its glitches in place), it shows you are responsible but have limited patience for idiocy.

Get An Outside Opinion

Another oft-mentioned approach is to turn to outside sources for opinions and feedback (always important whenever you do it). There is a reason why the saying about having a second set of eyes around has become so entrenched. Getting someone else in your field, whose opinion you value and insight you trust, to look at a project when you feel it’s ready is always useful. Given the size of the online design and development community and the willingness of its members to offer feedback, all you have to do is ask.

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Have someone test the website out, check for bugs and give you a quick review.”
• “Pass the website over to a network of Web dev friends for them to pull apart and find anything you’ve missed.”
• “Delete and start over (kidding). Send out a password-protected URL to a select group of Web buddies for a last look.”

Benefits

• Getting feedback from someone who is not close to the project, someone who would see things you have overlooked, is always helpful.
• A second look can reveal elements that don’t work as well as you would like or believe.
• Feedback from people who are actually in your field is invaluable. Most other feedback tends to be vague and superficial.

What This Says About You

Anyone who makes this their wrap-up routine plays well with others. Those who seek input from others also possess confidence and understanding and rarely rely solely on their own judgment. They are secure enough in their abilities and know enough about their field to be able to handle professional criticism of their work. These qualities are also needed to implement the recommendations that they get. Also, you are at least somewhat likeable, having a network of trusted friends in the community.

Back Up

The final approach we’ll feature here is an extremely important step that is often forgotten: backing up all relevant data and materials before launching. Backing up all the parts of your project before handing over the files not only is sound and sensible, but in the event of an unforeseen catastrophe, it saves you from losing the entire project and having to start at square one. Backing up is an easy way to play it safe and cover your bases. You cannot know what will happen once the project is in the hands of your client.

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Make a snapshot of it (including data) and put it somewhere in case you need to restore at a moment’s notice.”
• “I take an SQL dump of the database and store it somewhere safe.”
• “Back up and archive! Twice!”

Benefits

• Backing up is beneficial in and of itself, but it also saves you the headache of repetition if your diagnostics uncover an issue.
• Backing up too early could inadvertently cause you to save an inferior version of the project. Then, if you need to restore the website, you won’t have the launch-ready version ready.

What This Says About You

Relatively few people tend to back up last. Doing so indicates a thoughtful nature and a completist approach to work. It also shows that you prepare for the worst-case scenario, either because you are a bit paranoid and pessimistic or because you like to play it safe (or a combination of both).

A Final Word

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to this post and made it possible, including all of you who have taken the time to read it. We have a few related resources for you to check out. After that, feel free to share your thoughts and your final steps before launching below.

Further Resources

As always, here are a few more posts and tools that might assist you in your final hours. Enjoy these helpful check lists:

• 45 Incredibly Useful Web Design Checklists and Questionnaires
• The Ultimate Website Launch Checklist
• Web Standards Checklist
• Aaron Cannon’s Web Accessibility Checklist
• The Ultimate Testing Checklist
• The Ultimate Web Design Usability Checklist

(al)

© Robert Bowen for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | Post a comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine
Post tags: checklists, launch

In today’s news round-up we have a collected a selection of articles that focus on logo inspiration. From the collection below there are well over 150 logos, covering many different styles (ambigrams, music, business…) and all have one thing in command: They are all creative and inspirational.

35 Creative Ambigram Logo Inspiration

35 Creative Ambigram Logo Inspiration

30+ Music Inspired Logos

30+ Music Inspired Logos

30 Fresh And New Logo Designs

30 Fresh And New Logo Designs

Creative Logo Design Ideas for Companies

Creative Logo Design Ideas for Companies

45+ Creative Logo Designed With Text

45+ Creative Logo Designed With Text

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboyand speckyboy@twitter).