To consider up front that I am The Logo Handler and not a company logo and branding. I have designed a few logos in the past, but it will not be my forte. Clients entrust their logo to me pertaining to printing and marketing purposes. While I can’t design that you a glorious logo, I can tell you immediately if the logo might cause you troubles along the way. I’ve spent the major element of my career working with corporate logos. Some logos are fantastic and others are a problem. They might be pleasing to the eye, however pose a myriad of printing issues.
One critical mistake people today make at the very beginning is to offer their designer virtually no direction. They find a designer, give them the company name plus tell them to design a logo. In most cases no further direction has. Perhaps some preferred colors or a suggestion or two using a symbol that might be used, but that’s it. The business holder assumes that the designer understands the needs and parameters with logo design. From my experience, about 50% of the trademarks I encounter are centered on aesthetics only. While a close watch pleasing logo is important there are many other things to consider that will enjoy an important roll down the road.
SELECTING A DESIGNER
While it might be alluring to use a friend or family member who dabbles in graphic design (and are frequently very cheap or even free) the logo usually ends up costing you later. You are more likely to encounter issues with design egos and have to get over time delays. They may also not have the technical experience (bitmaps vs . vector, bleeds etc . ). This is a smaller amount of an issue for logo design but can cause major challenges on other projects. On the other hand, don’t discredit these people. I seen some great work come from aspiring designers and those just who design as a hobby.
Regardless of where you find your logo designer, you should review their portfolio and then confirm these two criteria:
one Find a designer that will provide you with a vector logo. If they aint able to, get another designer. If they don’t know what a vector video is, do NOT hire them!
2 . Make sure they will provide the following files:
- The original (vector) file from the method the logo was designed in.
- A (vector). pdf of your logo.
- A (vector). eps of the logo.
aid Three high resolution. jpg’s of the logo, one 2″ huge, one 12″ wide and one 24″ wide.
While your personal machine probably does not have a program that can open the first three information, make sure you have them on a disc in your office and placed away on your computer. Future printers and designers will need such files. See Images 101 for more information on vector or bitmap.
LOGO DESIGN GUIDELINES
In addition to a logo that looks decent and makes sense for your business, make sure your designer follows these guidelines. You too should run their designs through these types of considerations (color, size and shape):
Colors
Colors participate in an important role in a logo. Ideally you should keep colors down, avoid shading and keep colors separated. When printing color digital graphics you probably won’t run into any issues. Electric printers print graphics just like your color inkjet or simply laser printer. In general, digital printing is expensive as well as being not always available for non-paper items.
Keeping colors to a minimum can help you money. Printing applications for apparel, signage and discount products will cost more for each color. Promotional products frequently have a set-up charge and a run charge per coloration. Screen printing will also cost more for each color. Design your logo with one or two colors or have a version that can be used as the single color.
Tight color registration can cause issues. But if your colors are touching that’s considered tight registration. Word that has an outline around it is a good example. Promotional items that are silk screened or pad printed can’t continually achieve this. Tight registration can also become a problem if you are photocopying something in black and white. Two completely different colors can be like the same color and end up being a big black blob as soon as photocopied. Avoid tight registration or have a version of the emblem that doesn’t have tight registration for these situations.
Color fading/shading can’t always be printed. Most non-digital printing applications publications solid colors. If you have a solid color that fades or blinds into a darker color or another color you will need a customized version of your logo.
Olasto 