What Most Designers Don’t Consider With Logo Design

Posted by Patrick on Jan 26, 2012 in Artwork Tips, Logo Design, marketing | 0 comments

A logo for a business is a critical component for branding and every business, no matter how small, needs to brand themselves. You may only brand yourself locally, or you may brand your business regionally, nationally, or internationally, however, your logo is a vital part of your company image. Therefore, a lot of thought should go into this process. Logo Design is not slapping your business name under a piece of clipart. Clipart should never be used in a logo, as everything should be completely custom and unique. There are many “graphic designers” who claim to be designers with years of experience; however, many only have what I call tinkering experience. They have played around with Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator and think they are now graphic designers. That would be like a nurse who has a few years of experience saying, I think I’m going to be a doctor tomorrow. You will know amateur designers if they offer some kind of ridiculously low rate such as $100 for 5 designs or anything unreasonably cheap. With these cases, you will get regurgitated designs which either use stock clipart or rejected designs from past clients. Just know that great design and effective ad layouts take time.

When designing a logo there are many aspects such as color combination, to keep in mind to create a visually appealing logo and most experienced graphic designers can do a decent job with this. However, I want to make light of a few key areas that most inexperienced graphic designers fail to take into consideration when designing logos for companies, which can cost the client dearly in the future with increased or ineffective printing costs.

Key Logo Design Elements That Most Graphic Designers Fail To Consider

1. Height and Width of Logo – You have to think of how logos are used for business. Logos are printed on apparel, letterhead, business cards, promotional products, brochures, postcards, etc. In my days the the graphic design business, I have seen many logos that are very wide or very high. And while they may look great on the computer screen, don’t forget to think about the practicability of that height/width aspect. When doing printing on most items, there is a maximum imprint area and if your logo maxes out on width way before it maxes out on height, it will print very small. Sticking with a square, circular, or small rectangle, will help to make sure the proportions of the logo print well on most media.
2. Logo Colors – You can get really crazy with colors in a logo and use many different color that make the logo look great. However, is this the practical thing to do? When printing on paper products such as business cards, letterhead, brochures, and postcards, full color is always an option. But what about printing newspaper ads or printing on promotional items? Full color is not always an option, and if it is an option, it can be much more costly. If you choose to have a full color logo design, make sure you have a version designed that can also be used to print in a spot color form as well as a black/white version.
3. Small Details – Logos can be designed with great detail and look amazing; however, what happens to those details when your shrink the logo down in size. If you plan on printing your logo on products such as promotional pens or other promotional products, will your logo lose detail at small sizes? Really detailed logos will actually bleed together when pad printed or screen printed if they are printed too small. So really think about the long term aspect of your logo. Ideally, the simpler the logo the better. Look at some of the big brands such as Apple, McDonalds, or Nike. All of their logos are incredibly simple, yet very powerful.

During the logo design process, I urge you to think about all of the future issues you might have with actually printing your logo. Will the shape of your logo fit on most items that you will print in the future? Are you willing to pay more in printing costs should your logo be full color? Will your logo print well at small sizes? Good designers can design nice looking logos, but only great designers can create both beautiful logos AND practical designs.

If you want great Logo Design, check out some of the packages below:

$195 Basic Logo Design Package -3 Unique Designs-Up to 2 Revisions of Selected Design-Supplied in 5 Popular formats (.eps, .ai, .pdf, low res .jpg, high res .jpg)-1 artist working on your project

$295 Bronze Logo Design Package -4 Unique Designs-Up to 2 Revisions of Selected Design-Supplied in 5 Popular formats (.eps, .ai, .pdf, low res .jpg, high res .jpg)-Business Card Design with your new logo-Black/White version of logo-2 or more artists working on your project

10 Reasons To Have Your Logo Professionally Designed

Posted by Patrick on Nov 9, 2011 in Logo Design | 0 comments

In the world of business, image is everything. If you want your business to be successful, it is extremely important that the image of your company is professional, simple, yet effective. The image of your company begins with your logo. Your logo is something that you should proudly display on everything possible both internally with your employees, but also externally with your clients and potential clients. While some may be a little harsh, below are just a few reasons why you should leave the logo design to the professionals and not try to put out your own finalized design.

Reasons To Have Your Logo Professionally Designed:

1. Professional Look – Let’s face it, you are not a designer, so don’t try to design your own logo. We certainly want to know your ideas for the direction of the logo though. We recognize you are an expert in your field, so let us know what you have in mind and we will do the rest.
2. Prevent A Cheap First Impression – Using programs such as Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Word, or even Microsoft Works all have the same look and that is “Amateur”. If your logo displays an “amateur” quality, than your potential clients will get the impression that you are an amateur and pass on your company for the competition.
3. Prevent A Damaged Company Image – A bad or cheap logo design job can cause a lot of damage to your company image. It’s better to not even have a logo than to use a poor logo design. Spend a little money upfront and it will pay off big time.
4. Get A Better Response On Your Literature – Everyone knows that when branding, you should include your logo on everything possible. However, it’s not all about how many you can distribute, but the response rate you get. Having a more professional look will help increase your response rate and increase your bottom line.
5. Keep Up With Logo Trends – Being in the logo design business for over 12 years, we have learned strategies that work and ones that don’t. Like any industry, there are taboo tactics and we are well versed on them. We can deliver classic or modern logo designs to fit your business.
6. Capture The Mood Of Your Business – Designing logos is not about slapping your business name above a piece of cheesy clipart. It’s about capturing the mood of your business and portraying a warm and inviting image to your company.
7. No Clipart – We design 100% custom logos. There will be no royalty free clipart inserted into your design that you will find in thousands of other logos around the country. Your logo will be completely custom and completely unique.
8. Big Look For A Small Business – Truth be know, most people would prefer to do business with a small company; however, they trust the resources of large companies. Having a professional look with a nice logo design will give you a bigger look and help your business.
9. Logo Longevity – Your logo should be designed to last for a long time, so it shouldn’t be too trendy or ultra modern. However, it can have a little flair to meet the current times. With our experience, we know how to effectively design for longevity.
10. It’s Much Cheaper Than You Think – We have logo design packages for much cheaper than you think, starting at only $149.

Is Your Logo In Need of a Facelift?

Posted by Patrick on Oct 28, 2011 in Artwork Tips, Logo Design, marketing | 0 comments

Your logo is the face of your business. It is often the first image people see pertaining to your business and, therefore, the first impression potential clients get from your business. It is extremely important to have a professionally designed logo to represent your business. With all of your competitors so easily accessible through the internet, a good first impression is critical. Your Microsoft Word designed logo will no longer cut it. You must have a logo that accurately describes your business and a logo that doesn’t look like an amateur designed it. We have been designing logos and doing completely custom graphic design for over 12 years. We understand the importance of branding, whether for small, medium, or large business. Below is a listing of a few of our logo design packages we offer to help give your business that professional look it deserves.

Express Logo Design Package

Basic Logo Design Package

Bronze Logo Design Package

Silver Logo Design

Gold Logo Design Package

Platinum Logo Design Package

No Logos are No Gos

Posted by Patrick on Sep 7, 2011 in Artwork Tips, marketing, Promotional Products Marketing | 0 comments

We design layouts for business cards, brochures, flyers, car magnets, and many other products every day. Occasionally we run across business who do not have a logo. I can’t stress enough how poorly this reflects on your business. Even if you are a one man (or one woman) business, you should have a logo and proudly display that on all of your printed material and promotional products. This means everything, including newspaper ads, sponsorship ads, letterhead, and on your website. It just kills my soul to print business cards for a client and not have a logo printed on them. It makes me want to tell the client, “Hey, don’t tell anyone where you got those business cards.”, because they look so amateur that I don’t want my business name associated with them. We offer design packages for logo creation starting at $195. The price to design a professional looking logo is worth so much more than than the initial cash layout. It is a symbol of your business and gives potential clients comfort in knowing that you invest in your business. If you hand out a business card with text only and no logo, your business has generic feel and makes you look incapable of handling whatever project the customer has at hand. I urge you to have a logo designed for your business if you don’t already have one. Stay away from clipart when designing your logo and have a custom design so you are not using the same piece of clipart as hundreds or thousands of other businesses. Custom is better because it is unique and it can more closely symbolize and sum up your business. We would love to do the design for you, but even if you have designed elsewhere, please plan on designing a logo and increase your professionalism.

10 Pitfalls to Avoid When Creating Your Logo

Posted by Professor Promo on Aug 8, 2011 in Artwork Tips, marketing, promotional products | 0 comments

In the world of graphic arts, you get a lot of jokers who think they can design because they took a course in college. The art of graphic design takes years of experience to cultivate along with a creative mind. There are many factors and forethought that should happen prior to your logo design phase. In the planning phase, it is important to know what you want your logo to portray. It’s best to have it descriptive of what your company offers, because, let’s face it, very few businesses have a worldwide known brand like McDonalds. Since we don’t all have that recognition, it makes it more important to design our logo in a way that speaks about our business, so that when it stands alone, it actually markets for our company.

When designing a logo there are certain rules of thumb you should live by. Below are just 10 pitfalls to avoid when creating your business logo:

1. Do Not use drop shadows around text. These are the shadows seen just below text as in the example. Some of you reading this are looking at the example and saying to yourself, “I like that look”, but resist the temptation. This is an outdated method and used by amateurs. It also doesn’t print well on many promotional products since shadows are not solid colors and rather a gradient. While drop shadows have their place in graphic design, try to avoid them in your logo.
2. Stay away from outdated fonts such as Comic Sans, Brush Script, and Times New Roman. Thesefonts are overused. If you look at an graphic artist’s portfolio and you notice the same fonts being used over and over, you can assume that he/she is not very creative. Custom fonts work great, but are very time consuming to create. There are thousands of fonts out there, so choose well. Make sure it’s easy to read and follows along with your business theme.
3. Don’t use Microsoft Clipart or WordArt. These are sure signs of an amateur. All of the clipart looks the same whether it’s a donkey or a bicycle. These don’t fair well with logos. If you will be using clipart, be prepared to pay a little extra to buy a nice professional piece of clipart. In most cases, I still advise against clipart in your logo unless you make some modifications to make it unique.
4. Avoid using contrasting colors. There are some color combinations that just clash and there aresome that you eye just can’t read when together. Pick with one color palette and stick with that through your design. This goes not only for your logo, but for any design, regardless if it is business cards, brochures, or any other designs.
5. Don’t have an abnormally tall or wide logo. You will want to use your logo for branding using all kinds of items, so it always best to stick with a square, round, or a rectangle design. If you go too tall or too wide with your logo, it will have to shrink down very small to fit in areas with height or width restrictions.
6. Don’t center everything. This is another sign of an amateur. While some things do have to be centered, everything doesn’t. Left justified is a great starting point for the eyes and sometimes right justified is called for.
7. Don’t use low resolution images. While you may have a tiny little blurry picture of something that you just must have in your logo; however, if you don’t have a nice high resolution version, you logo will not look good. Every time your logo prints on any item, it should print clean and free of blurriness or jagged edges. This all starts with having a good resolution from the start for any elements used within the logo design.
8. I mentioned earlier to not use Microsoft clipart in your logo design, and now I’m saying don’t use Microsoft Word to design your logo. This is a word processing software, not a design software. You can’t design worthy logos for businesses using this program. Plus, printers don’t use Microsoft Word to print from, so it will have to be completely redrawn in a graphics program.
9. Avoid strokes in your logo. Strokes can adjust in thickness when re-sizing, so avoid them when possible. Use only vector graphics that will not change proportions when they are re-sized. Sometimes this adjustment in proportion of the strokes are not recognized by those making the change and can lead to problems with your imprint.
10. Don’t use too many fonts. A good rule of thumb is not use more than 2 different fonts. One for any text in the logo, and a different font if a tagline is included. Using more fonts than 2 makes the logo look messy and amateurish. Sticking with only 1 or 2 fonts will help your logo to look neat and clean and portray your company better.