Design 101

Tip #1 - Logo Design

Step 1 - Defining the Parameters of the Job

  • New logo or redesign?
  • Who is your customer?
  • What kind of personality should the business project?
  • What values define the business?
  • Check out the competition!

Step 2 - A Collaborative Process

  • Meeting with the client and relating to the client
  • What are companies values: e.g. creative, technical, friendly, etc.
  • Incorporate the clients ideas as much as possible, and when necessary, steer your client toward good design decisions.
font themes

Step 3 - How Will the Logo be Used?

  • Business Cards, Brochures, Web sites, Posters, T-shirts, Banners, Vehicles, etc.
  • Keep company name short and simple. May have to reduce the number of words so that the name no longer portrays the companies business. (i.e. Apple Computers => Apple)
  • Use the tagline to communicate more detail: Think different, The real thing, Just do it, etc.
  • Decide on the information to include in the logo.

Step 4 - Choosing the Tools to create the logo

  • Adobe Illustrator offers excellent typographic controls and sophisticated vector graphics.
  • Vectors = scaleable, i.e. resolution independent.

Step 5 - Type Only Logos

  • Every font has its own personality... Typefaces are like clothes, you don't want to be caught wearing the wrong clothes for the wrong occasion.
  • Use no more than two fonts in your logo (probably just one)
  • Stay away from "fun fonts"
  • For scripts try using your own calligraphy
  • Sans Serif, Serif, Script

typography

A logo represents your business to the whole world so it's very important that you get it right. Your logo is likely to adorn your stationery, shop front, flyers, advertising materials and a whole lot more depending upon the nature of your business.  It should sum up your entire company and its ethos with a few words and a single image.  Therefore, it pays to put in as much time and effort to designing it as you can possibly afford.

Brainstorming is a key ingredient of logo design. More brains are better than one. It's a good idea to scribble down a few ideas on paper before developing your logo on the computer. Take your scribbled design ideas and turn it into a marketable brand using the computer software of your choice. I prefer Adobe Illustrator when designing logos.

Once you've created your brand, you need to consider your printing options, including image size, resolution and formats to whether it will work on everything from cups to menus to billboards.