© 2009 Vinny Ribas
Your logo is as much a part of your identity as your face and your music. Think of the early Beatles bass drum head, and how their name was written. Then there’s the rock band ‘Yes’. You could recognize their names from across the room!
There is a lot to think about when you’re designing a logo or having one designed. Here are some thoughts to consider.[private_member]
A logo must be recognizable from a long distance away.
- It should be simple enough that anyone could draw a reasonable facsimile of it.
- Design it in black and white first, and then add color. It shouldn’t depend on the colors in it for its identity. Two reasons for this are:
- It must look good in black and white (photocopy, newspaper).
- It must look good as a knockout (reversible, like a negative).
- Your logo should never overpower your name.
- It should be simple, not busy.
- It must be clear, distinguishable, recognizable and readable when it is reduced very small for business cards, merchandise etc.
- The font should be readable and not dated, unless your act represents a specific time period (e.g. you play all Woodstock era songs). Also, don’t use too many fonts because it can look very sloppy and amateurish.
- Create something original. Don’t use stock images because there are copyright laws protecting them.
- It should not be similar enough to anyone else’s logo that people will get confused.
- It should be something you really like because you’ll be living with it for a long time!
- It should be timeless! If it represents a current trend or time period, then it may soon look outdated. Pick a design and a font that can last forever.
- It should be designed using vector graphics, not raster graphics. If you don’t know the difference, your designer certainly should. Here are some benefits of vector graphics:
- With vector graphics, the logo can be scaled to any size without losing quality.
- You can easily edit the logo later on if you need to.
- It can easily be used in media, and is required in some (such as embroidery).
- It should reflect YOUR personality, sound, look etc., not the designer’s! Don’t get talked into something that he or she really likes if you don’t also love it.
Take your logo design seriously, because your fans certainly will. In many cases, it is what they’ll see first before every hearing your music, and they will make a preliminary judgment about you from it!
There is a great article called “10 Common Mistakes In Logo Design” by Gareth Hardy in Smashing Magazine (6/25/09) that I admit I based some of this on. You can read it HERE. It has great illustrations of many of these points![/private_member]
