Logo Design – What you need to know before wasting money!
Asking for a logo to be created is not a simple straightforward request in itself. Even if you know exactly what kind of image you want and you have the name of the business agreed and operating. The designer must stop and ask you several questions to be able to deliver the best result.
To begin with a ‘Brand’ is not a ‘logo’. Some businesses will only want an icon to represent their products and services and on the most basic branding level it should create identity recognition and be memorable. However a ‘Branding’ goes much deeper and many factors need to be considered including target market, brand positioning and value proposition. It’s a full scale project and takes hours of research, development and consultation.
However, whatever level of design you require to create your logo there is some basic information you need to discuss with your designer that will help them deliver what you need. Your designer should be asking you the following…
Where will it be used it? – Does it need to work on the web, social media and print.
To be honest whether you are using it across all media now or not you need to have the flexibility when you are.
Will it appear on products, ie curved surfaces?
This is actually useful as some fonts may not look great visually when curved around objects and could be distorted which will alter the ‘look’ of the whole brand.
What colours do your competitors use?
Very important to stand out from other similar businesses in your sector.
What colours do you like or hate?
No point in creating a logo in pink if you hate pink, even if it hits the right target market!
Check out design-seeds.com for great colour combinations which may inspire you.
What fonts have you seen that you like or which ones do you want to avoid?
There are thousands of fonts out there, and all down to personal taste. It really helps if there is a font you have seen and liked so the designer knows where to start. https://www.fontsquirrel.com/ or https://www.1001fonts.com/ you can input the name of your business and check through to see what you like.
What logos do you like and admire, and why?
Give your designer a few screen shots of logos you do like, from any sector of business. It’s not cheating but giving the designer the best head start to create designs you will like rather relying on mind reading – as I can tell you that is fallible! also why, why do you like them?
Guidelines
Finally, when you have approved your logo make sure you are going to receive a ‘Colour and Font Specification’, at least or a ‘Brand Guidelines’ document. This gives you the breakdown of the colours used for the different processes for print and web. A colour on your screen will not match a printed document exactly and sometimes can be totally different. Print uses CMYK process and web uses RGB or Hex codes. All colours are made up of either ink or light. Knowing the percentages that make up the correct Red or blue enables you to create consistency across all your media, ensuring your red in your logo looks the same wherever it is wether on line or in print – (or as close as possible). Read more about colours.
You also need to know what font is used in case you want to match it at any time.
Simple guidelines are essential.
Logo formats
You also need to receive your logo in various formats for different usage. this is very important and the most common problem when receiving files from clients that are unusable for purpose.
Ideally, a high resolution PDF vector file, EPS, (also a vector file) (NOTE – don’t ever throw these out if you cant open them a designer with the correct software will be able to) in CMYK, a JPG in RGB, and a PNG, can be either RGB or CMYK but usually with a transparent background.
A JPG and PNG (RASTER files) file can only be used at the size they are created, if enlarged they will pixelate and look blurred and unprofessional. Read more about Fuzzy Images.
Be aware – naughty designers may save a JPG as a PDF, this does not work. It will still remain what we call a RASTER file and be made up of dots and will still look pixelated when increased in size.
If you only have a JPG of your logo at some point it will have to be recreated which is going to cost you more money. Make sure you are investing in the right designer who will give you the right media for what you need.
I hope this is useful and helps to make you more informed, avoiding disappointment and wasting money.
Written by Angie Phillips, Design Consultant – Helping you create business by creating effective design with expertise and efficiency. Personally committed to my clients and always happy to offer advice. Promoting and helping you to grow through strategic introductions even after our work is done. #CreatingBusinessByDesign #DeliveringaWORKofART #ArtnGraphicsThis content was originally published here.