Here's the thing about doing logos: it's still more art than craft. I mean, like most good art, there's a fair amount of craftsmanship mixed into it – the ability to use your tools, and to learn from your environment – but you're still going to end up with something you like, and the client likes, that doesn't specifically undercut his identity. You'll notice I framed that as a negative [didn't undercut] rather than a positive [does convey]. That's not quite orthodox, but makes sense: if I can graphically represent the business I'm designing for, it's only good, but it's about last on the list of priorities. A logo needs to be: Clear. From several vantage points. Usually translates to 'bold and somewhat simple.' Distinctive. One of the only things we really want out of our coffee shop's logo is that customers not confuse it with the other coffee shop. Variable. It should look good on the big color sign and in the little black & white newspaper ad. This can mean one excerptable element that represents the whole. After all that, is it good to have a picture of a baseball mitt in the logo of your sports bar? Well, it sure doesn't hurt, but it can pretty quickly end up 'chartjunk,' cluttering up the clearness and distinction that we really want. The picture I always have in my head of Best Logo Ever is the American Airlines glyph introduced in the late sixties. [These links open in new windows.] It often appears now with contemporary touches - drop shadows, embossed surface - but it is very straightforward. Two A's and an eagle. It's red and blue, but if you see it in a newspaper, it's clear and distinctive. If you see it in only one color, it's still pretty darn clear and distinctive. If you see it in one color in steep perspective while running around a terminal corner at O'Hare, you still know what the thing is. Now, it's the postmodern era, and I'm all for breaking rules, but some rules are good. Like Clear, Distinctive and Variable. Break them all, and you end up with the Altria logo. One notices, when writing something like this, that Altria has a big pile of rules governing placement. Probably because they need them. Good luck identifying this one as you come tearing around that terminal corner. Oh, you want less of my jawboning and more of my work? Right this way.