A logo is a graphic of one or more combined elements with or without text added and used to identify a company. From my experience in the printing and publication field, plus as an owner of a small business, logos are a very important part of a company’s identity and image. For a new business logo design can be a difficult choice that requires careful consideration. Here are a few pointers that may help you narrow the field down a bit.
Keep it simple! If you plan to use a graphic in your logo chose a simplistic line drawing or a silhouette. You will need a design that can look good on something as large as your sign, but also as small as your business card. If there is too much detail it will look like a rather messy blob at a small size.
Pick something you really like! You’re going to be seeing this design a lot and the last thing you want is to gnash your teeth every time you print an invoice or open the doors in the morning. This is supposed to be a positive environment conducive to success.
Choose something easily recognizable! Having to to continually explain what the graphic is will get annoying very quickly and it can be very costly to have everything reprinted if you get tired of it.
Find something that identifies your business! If you’re opening a restaurant choose a food related graphic. If you will be serving ethnic cuisine use an element to identify it. Like pizza for a pizza parlor or a taco for a taco stand. There are billions of graphics available on the internet, many for free. Do a search and see what comes up.
Use a readable font! This is something I cannot stress enough. If you use text in your logo make sure it can be easily read at any size. Don’t just pick one because it’s cool looking. Make sure you type out the words in the font to be sure it truly looks the way you want it to. Look at each letter, especially any uppercase letters to be certain the letters you are using are easily read. I have seen some very interesting fonts having one or two letters that are strange looking and totally undeciferable. If you have chosen one of those fonts accidentally there is often at least one very similar font you could pick instead.
Use color wisely! Businesses today have many options where color is concerned. You may be printing everything yourself on your own computer with a full color laser printer or having your printing needs handled professionally. Either way you might need to consider other items such as; signage, decor, aprons and table linens when it comes to color so you can tie them all in together. Color becomes part of a company’s identity too.
For the serious business, have it produced. Once you have your concept in mind, work with a logo developer to build out the concept and the graphical design. Creative companies like Logoworks are great resources for this type of help - you’ll be amazed at the professional quality that your logo can have!
In printing black counts as a color. Any time a different ink needs to be applied to the rollers of a press, even if it is a lighter shade of the same color, it is considered another color and it will affect the cost. All the areas of one ink need to be printed a one time and allowed to dry before the next color can be added. So even a business card with two colors of ink would need to be run through the press twice. If you go to full color printing it is a different process and has different costs.
I hope this helps. Good luck with your logo design and your new business.
