Hey Dolls!
as I promised in my business cards post, I would be doing another post in collaboration with Made in Print on do's the don'ts as well as TIPS on creating your first logo as well as branding. (My post on my business cards is here )
Lily from Made in Print gives me the insight on first time branding. She gets her ideas for logos from everywhere because anything thing can inspire you. For her, she is most inspired on the new things she sees on her travels! When Lily sees a logo, she is looking for overall harmony of the elements like colours, font and shapes. As well if the logo represents the business. And since Made in Print primarily does printing work, Lily pays attention to if the logo can be reproduced in print. She makes sure no lines or text is too thin.
To make this post really clear and as helpful as possible to all my readers looking to design their first logo, I am going to go Q&A format :)
Q | Key Elements to a good logo?
A | 3 things make up a logo: company name, tagline and a symbol that summarizes the company. If you do not just want a good logo, but the best logo, it needs to be simple, memorable, versatile, enduring and most of all appropriate for what the business is about.
Q | The one thing to NOT do when creating your first logo?
A | Do NOT use Photoshop!!!! Use a vector graphic program such as Adobe Illustrator or Corel draw. Creating your logo as a vector will ensure the logo is visually consistent across multiple sizes. As well, avoid using too many fonts as it can confuse the viewer and will take them more time to recognize your logo.
Q | Should the Logo be Text or Symbol based?
A | This is dependent on the stage your business is in. Enduring and versatile logos evolve, like McDonalds and Starbucks. If you look at the evolution of their logos, you will see the earlier years were predominately text based, but after many years of branding and marketing, consumers have been conditioned to recognize the symbol without the company name.
Q | Why not start with symbol for first logo?
A | For start-ups, it is best to establish your symbol and text as one so your audience can be trained to recognize your brand and name. The green siren alone can now be recognized as the symbol for Starbucks after years of intensive marketing. Starting your business with only a symbol for the logo is risky since no one knows about your business name. You essentially put yourself at a disadvantage since audiences would not be able to search up your business.
If you are really determined to have a symbol only as your logo, one solution is to have it your website attached to it. However, this still requires you to get your businesses' website to your audience.
Q | Is there an ideal number of colours a logo should have?
A | Like all good designs and all things in life "balance is key." As long as it is all balanced, you can have as many different colours as you want. An example would be if you use contrasting colours, make one colour the dominate one.
Q | What is the key to making a logo that can be used across multiple platforms - cards, websites etc ?
A | Horizontal logos are the trend at the moment because this shape works well with headers on websites and mobile devices. As well, by using a vector graphic design program to create your logo means there will be no pixel issues.
Lilly's biggest branding tip is to establish a distinctive identity by defining what your brand (business) represents. Be innovative, bold and daring so it stands for something you believe in. Most importantly, stay consistent in your marketing across all your platforms to not confuse your audience.
I hope this helps everyone who is looking to create their first logo or revamping their current brand! I had a lot of fun when I designed re-designed my logo and I hope you all do too! Have fun and do what feels right to you.
BYES
