Have you ever been cruising down the street, and you see a billboard or sign that has no regard to the basic principles of graphic design? Do you see design all over the place, and say to yourself, “I could design something better than THAT.” I know I do, and I don’t think I’m alone.

Living in Las Vegas, I have come to realize that everything is extravagant! Well, everything except the design. For the most part the Casinos do a great job with their designs, logos, ads, etc. But some graphic designs are just plain bad.

The above collage is an example of some of the design sins here in Las Vegas. Notice that most of the fonts used in the logos are sans serif. This means that there are no “feet” on the ends of each stroke. Sans serif is great for design if it is used properly with kerning, tracking, or contrast (sometimes using two different fonts is a great way to add contrast; see next example with Lance Burton and Bellagio). The above logos have very little respect for basic graphic design principles . It looks like they just typed out the letters and they were done with the logo! We have all fell victim to this for one reason or another, but it is time to learn from our mistakes and use the creativity we are gifted with.

When you look at the above logos, do you think they are an appropriate identity for some of the most talented comedians, hypnotists, and impressionists? If you said no, then we are on the same page. The only logos shown above, that have a little going for them are Blue Man Group, Stomp, and Wayne Brady. The contrast of letter size and the stacking in the Blue Man Group is okay, but it still doesn’t reflect the great music or comedy that they are known for. Why can’t they add the silhouette of a Blue man standing in the shape of an “A”, or add a silhouette of the special pipe drums they play? A lot of things can be done to improve the current logo. Take the Stomp logo for example. The italics of the lettering are there to resemble motion, but that is all it has going for it. The Wayne Brady logo is the same. If it weren’t for the contrasting font on the left, this logo would be as boring as Carrot Top or Anthony Cools.

When Danny Gans moved from the Mirage to the Wynn, they re-vamped his logo (see the red Danny Gans logo above). They changed the font to have serifs (feet), but by itself, as a logo, it does nothing to represent his hilarious and talented performances. I’m not sure why these top casinos, who are known for being extravagant, let the logos of their talent slide. The logo is the most important part of your companies image, and it should represent the quality of the product you are selling. In this case, the product is their performer.

Maybe they were on a budget, or in a rush, but a logo should always be researched and approached from many creative angles. If you need to cut cost, consider cutting down on printing materials or overhead first. This way the identity of your company does not have to suffer.

Of course, Las Vegas isn’t completely engulfed in bad design. In fact, a lot of the design is amazing, and the logos directly above are some of the best on the strip! These logos represent the extravagance and quality that Las Vegas is known for. By using great fonts and creative graphic design principles, amazing design is born! Take the Mystere or Zumanity logos for example. One look at these logos, and you will have an idea of what their target audience is, and what attitude they are trying to portray. Even the Manilow logo, which is an old classic type font, does a good job at targeting it’s audience. The Cher logo looks enchanting doesn’t it? Well, I haven’t seen her performance, but from what I hear, that is exactly what it is. Do you see where I am going with this? The logo MUST represent your company’s identity, and must be effectively communicated to your audience. Otherwise, your message will not be clear.

If you compare the two sets of logos, you can easily tell which logos had more time and thought put into them. It is unfortunate that the logos in the first example were neglected of the quality that they deserve in order to reflect the outstanding quality of their product.