Creating a logo you LOVE.
Creating a logo for your business is a pretty BIG deal. It’s the first VISUAL step in building your brand for the big wide world to experience and we all know that first impressions count.
From what I’ve experienced, most people find this process either a.) overwhelming, there are just SO. MANY. CHOICES, b.) exciting as heck…COLOURS AND TYPEFACES AND FONTS, oh my! Then there’s c.) the folks that are a little more nonchalant, it’s just a bunch of words or pictures on a page right?? Um…..not quite.
After recently creating the logo for The Brand Dance, I can definitely say I was both of a.) AND b.) Creating the TBD logo was a welcome flurry of colourful creativity in the midst of the business planning, forecasting and market research I was also doing at the time. For those of you about to embark on the logo creation journey or if you’re thinking about giving your current logo a makeover, here are the 7 easy steps I followed to get to the end result I envisioned, in a really efficient way.
1. DIY or ENGAGE A PRO?
There are plenty of DIY platforms to create a logo yourself, but for me, I knew this was an area I was willing to invest in a professional to take the lead. Enter Morgan Jamieson, an extremely talented artist and graphic designer based on the Victorian coast whose work I was already a fan of. She’s a female entrepreneur running a small business herself and clearly loved colour, so to me, she was perfect!
2. HOW WILL YOUR LOGO CONVEY YOUR BRAND IDENTITY?
My brief to Morgan was clear. I wanted something that was a balance of feminine and fun, strong but not too corporate. I wanted a logo that featured a bold typographical font and pink was to be a definite inclusion. You’ll be staring at this logo everyday, multiple times a day, your logo needs to resonate with your customers but also spark for you, as the business owner, satisfaction, pride and JOY!
3. OUTLINE HOW THE LOGO IS GOING TO BE USED?
Here you need to cover off exactly where are you going to use your logo. A website, point of sale, merchandise, social media, email avatar, email signature, signage, social media platforms etc. Will you need different versions for each of these platforms? Perhaps an abbreviated logo is needed for some of them? List them all down. For The Brand Dance, Morgan created a full logo in web, social and print formats, an abbreviated logo with just the initials and an illustrated icon that compliments the written logo colour palette. We can use these across all print products, presentations, our website and favicon, invoicing, email avatar etc. We even have a black and white version and full colour version, pending what suits different forms of creative.
4. HOW WILL IT STAND OUT FROM YOUR COMPETITION IN YOUR INDUSTRY?
A lot of the logos in our industry were either very black, white and corporate or extremely colourful like a bag of jelly beans. I wanted something that visually sat in the middle because that is what represents The Brand Dance and our client portfolio best.
5. FIND SOME INSPIRATION
Ah, yes, my favourite part! I already had an artwork of Morgan’s hanging in my home and absolutely LOVE it. This artwork formed the inspo for the overall look, feel and colour palette and then I let Morgan work her magic. Ta da!
This is the gorgeous Morgan Jamieson artwork that was the inspiration for The Brand Dance logo.
6. FEEDBACK TIME
So now you have a couple of options and just can’t decide……Don’t waste time with dreaded analysis paralysis, why not ask your friends, colleagues, even clients which one they like better? Which one are they drawn to or do they connect with most? Remember, it has to look right in situ in all of those contexts you listed above. Take the time to check specifications, how fonts look in large and small formats, be sure your logo design works the way you need it do.
We all know the ‘big guns’ who have unmistakable logos, like Apple, Google, Nike et all. They each have versions of their logo that use a typographical font and a VERY recognisable symbol. In case you need some more inspiration, check out a couple of my favourite logos from businesses in my local neighbourhood…..Sum Yung Guys, First Batch Coffee, Simply Style Co and Somedays Pizza. All unique, a mix of different fonts, colours and some with an added illustration.
So feel free to use these when formulating a creative brief for your designer or if you’re embarking on the process DIY. If you need help getting started or nailing down your brand identity to set you on the right path, I’m ready to help you. Get in touch with me here so we can have a chat and get your #branddance started so that you too can create a logo you LOVE.
Have a happy day,
Michelle x
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