Fonts can play a critical role in the success of your logo design. Some designers prefer using text-based designs, while others love symbolic designs. One can also come up with logo designs that combine text and symbol. No matter what type of logo you are planning to design, paying attention to the issue of font is important.

More specifically, while selecting font for a design, ensure that it complements the design and image of your company.

Role of fonts in highlighting your business’s image

Most people are aware of the fact that using the right font can help the audience to understand purposes of your business. FedEx, for example, uses sober fonts for highlighting its corporate and serious image.

However, if someone opts for the same fonts for promoting a cartoon company, it will not create the desired impact. For this reason, before selecting a particular font for business logo design, consider the image and purpose of the company. Here are few ways you can compare fonts and logo designs.

• Font ideal for Signature Logos

Fashion labels usually opt for signature logos to highlight their brand. For this type of logo, handwritten fonts are perfect.

• Font perfect for Contemporary Logos

Contemporary logos usually possess a fresh look. They highlight the latest trends in the logo designing industry and have a distinctive appeal. Many companies prefer to use contemporary logos because it signifies that the company stays in touch with latest trends. Additionally, it conveys the message that the company takes its image seriously.

For designing contemporary logos, you can opt for an elegant or stylish font. Avoid anything loud or over-the-top.

• Font suitable for Comic Logos

Comic logos represent fun, humor, and childishness. Companies that specialize in entertaining kids or designing kids wear usually opt for these logos. To highlight the fun element of comic logos, you can use clumsy fonts. Choosing casual fonts for designing comic logos can also be a good idea.

Selecting the right font for a particular logo design is not easy. You will have to experience the process of trial and error, before finally picking out the perfect font.

A number of famous business logos, like Playboy, BBC, Louis Vuitton, WWF, Nike, etc, have their logos created with either black or white or shades closer to these two colors. A logo designer should know the various positives and negatives related with using black and white in logo design. He also needs to know how to blend these hues successfully with other colors to create appealing logos.

At times, using a greyscale mode, or Halftone Graphics mode, becomes imperative in logo design. There are several shades of grey that exist between white and black. When it comes to printing colors accurately, a designer needs in-depth knowledge of printing methodologies and color conversion. Veteran logo designers often start designing logos in greyscale mode and convert it to color mode when they are satisfied with the result. Because a logo using bright colors may require printing in greyscale mode, the greyscale version must be attractive.

It is also important to use image editing or page layout software to reproduce differences between subtle shades of grey when printing. Some such applications offer extra color palettes for halftone shades. At times, converting color to greyscale with an image manipulation app, just does not work, and instead, causes loss of contrast and tonal variation. Designers need to have solid knowledge of RGB and CMYK color models before designing their logos.

Working with a vector graphics based application is often necessary to maintain a level of quality in the artwork and keep design flexible. Logos may need to be expanded and squeezed depending on where they are being used – on websites, on banners, on billboards, etc. Vector images are ideal for altering image resolution without suffering loss of data. As opposed to raster images, vector images do not become pixelated or distorted when stretched.

A logo design professional must consider the psychological aspect of using black and white in his logo. Black can have different connotations depending on region and the context it is used in. It gels well with a corporate company, but using black as primary color in designing a logo for a baby care company, may not be a prudent idea. White can be used in combination with other colors for designing various types of logos.

Have you ever wondered why, despite having a beautiful logo, nobody knows your brand? You can use your logo for successful corporate branding if you think beyond just getting a ‘pretty’ logo designed. Putting your logo in your business card is not sufficient because to make your brand truly famous, you have to promote your logo.

Logos play an important role in corporate branding and the online media is a great place to promote your logo. Here is a list of the places where you can use your logo to promote your brand.

1. Website Header- When a visitor comes to your website, he notices the header, therefore, when you put your logo in the header, it has better chances of getting noticed. Your website viewers will instantly get a glimpse of your logo every time they visit your site.

Also, when you place the logo in the header, it works as a navigational tool, because most users click on the logo to get to the homepage of your site. To serve the purpose of navigation, you should separately incorporate the logo in the background and not blend it with the background.

2. Website Call-to-Action- The main aim of a website is to market a product or service and lure customers for the purpose. You should use your logo design effectively in your site pages, and especially near the call-to-action button, to give it more exposure. For example, when you download Mozilla Firefox from their website, the download button shows Firefox’s logo.

3. Use it as Favicon- Have you ever noticed a tiny image beside the URL of a website in the browser window? This small image is called a Favicon. Using your logo as a favicon will help web surfers identify your site easily; especially those using multiple tabs when browsing the net, can easily locate your tab by your favicon.

4. Twitter- When you open your company profile in Twitter, use the logo as your profile picture to encourage millions of online Twitter users get familiar with your brand. Whenever you tweet something, your followers will see your tweet with your logo and recognize you by it.

5. Facebook Fan Page- Facebook fan page has become a major marketing medium for many companies, and can help you too by promoting your brand. For this, you must start using your company logo in the fan page instead of a personal picture of yourself.

Brand is constant. Can you tell the name of Nike’s CEO? Probably not, but you do recognize its logo wherever you see it. Always remember that people recognize a brand, not the CEO or VP of a company.

6. Have a YouTube channel- Using a video of products, tutorial, or even a company introductory video on YouTube, can help you to get more online traffic. Using videos for promotion is a popular trend these days and by setting up your own YouTube channel with your logo as your profile picture, you can benefit from advertising on YouTube. This will give your brand a proper exposure and also increase your search engine visibility.

7. Email Newsletter- When sending newsletters to your potential and present clients, never forget to add your logo in the newsletter. An attractive logo design can capture the audience’s attention much faster than images and content used in your newsletter.

8. Blog Guest Posts- If you write guest posts in other people’s blogs; they earn you the reputation of an expert and also introduce you to a new group of people every time. In guest posts, you can use your company logo instead of a personal image to establish the credibility of your brand.

The primary advantage of online brand promotion is that people all over the world get to know you. By promoting your logo online, you can build an easily recognizable and popular corporate identity. Focus on the channels mentioned above to boost your brand’s image.

When a client asks you to design a “symbol only” logo, designing it becomes more challenging than designing a logo using symbols and text. Here are few reasons that explain why designing a “symbol only” logo is a complicated process.

1. Not using the brand name or any other text in the logo design means designing the logo with a piece of graphic that may not be able to inform the target audience about the company or its business. For example, Apple. The half-eaten Apple hardly tells anything to its audience about the company. If it wasn’t for great advertising and many years of market presence, the logo would have faded into oblivion.
2. A logo must look unique. While you have only a few basic shapes to work with, you have to experiment with those shapes and come up with something unique that no other designer has designed before you. This can be challenging.
3. The symbol used in the logo should carry a single message which the target audience should be able to interpret easily. If potential customers misinterpret the design, or don’t get its meaning, the design will contribute little to boost the company’s brand identity.

4.  A “symbol only” logo can put you through a number of copyright issues. It is possible the symbol you have used has already been used by some other company. For example, the logos of Scottish Arts Council and Quark are same, except for their colors. To make sure you don’t copy someone else’s design, you need to check all the patented logos.

5. To make a brand popular, you need to promote their logo. For example, Sony Ericsson’s logo hardly says anything about the company or products it sells, but the logo is easily the most recognizable in the market because of the successful advertising campaigns used to promote it. If your client doesn’t have a budget to market and promote a “symbol only” logo, ask him to steer clear of symbols for logo design

To make a brand popular, you need to promote their logo. For example, Sony Ericsson’s logo hardly says anything about the company or products it sells, but the logo is easily the most recognizable in the market because of the successful advertising campaigns used to promote it. If your client doesn’t have a budget to market and promote a “symbol only” logo, ask him to steer clear of symbols for logo design.

If you want to design a “symbol only” logo, you need to give a lot more attention to details to make sure the design does not match any other existing logo’s design. You should also promote the logo heavily to make your users familiar with your business.

Most clients are skeptical regarding their company’s logo design. You may have designed a professional and aesthetic logo, but presentation of the final design and convincing the client that it will do wonders for his corporate identity, is the toughest part of your job. Presentation requires a lot of effort, time and hard work to get your design approved by clients. After all the time and toil invested, you would not like your logo to be rejected, would you?

There are some designers who think their jobs are over on completion of a logo design. Now, if YOU are thinking along such lines too, you are wrong! Art is an indefinable practice, and this makes it difficult for you to convince the client about its benefits. It all boils down to, “did I get my money’s worth?” Your best bet to success is convincing the client he did.

Here are some ways of presenting your designed logo:

• Is your Confidence Showing!

Confidence matters. As a designer you have to be absolutely sure of what you are presenting to the client. The way you communicate with your client during the final presentation will make a positive or a negative impression on your client. Explain the logo design with confidence. Do not falter and fumble when you are explaining. Any kind of uncertainty in what you are saying might make your client doubtful. The client may ask you a number of questions. Answer them confidently. If you have understood the essence of your client’s business, there would be no difficulty in answering questions.

• Be Rational

Present design facts supported with concrete factual reasoning. Convince the client why you have used a particular color or a symbol. This is important since the client should not have the impression that you have put a particular color just because you liked it.

The color should go with the brand that the client is representing. If you have understood the client’s needs and integrated essentials into the design, your client will definitely see reason…else not. Remember that your logo will be valued only when the client comprehends the reason behind your design.

• Highlight Your Technical Skills

There are clients who think that they know better than you as a designer and don’t appreciate a designer’s knowledge and skills. Do not let the client take an upper hand as far as designing is concerned. You can show them that you are a seasoned logo artist by highlighting your technical know-how on graphics and design.

• Exhibit the Advantages

You have to convince your client about the benefits his company is going to enjoy by using the logo. Tell him he can use the logo in company brochures, letterheads, flyers or business cards, etc. Once the client gets to see how the logo will actually look in his promotional tools, he will understand its benefits.

• Respect your Client’s Opinion

Listen to what your client’s thoughts on designs are. Lend a patient ear and be polite. If there is demand for modification, accept it with a smile. Integrate the changes into the design, exercise a professional outlook and never show your arrogance. Make your clients feel that they are important and their opinions matter.

There are various ways of designing a logo that stands out in the crowd and sends a strong brand message across to its target audience. Veteran logo design

professionals resort to a number of elements and measures to add exclusiveness to their artworks. Some of them experiment with visual effects, including 3D, while some resort to using unconventional font styles.

There are some instances where using cartoons in a company logo can help a designer achieve his design objective. A logo design company can resort to cartoon logo design depending on the need and the type of business. The advantage of using cartoons in logo designs is that cartoon figures stay in the viewer’s mind for a long time and kids too can relate to it quickly. Some of the giant MNCs, including Pepsi, have resorted to cartoons for their logos.

Designers should resort to versatile vector art software if they want to use cartoons in their logo design projects. Vector artwork is easier to modify and hence, designers can make any modification to the design quickly, as and when required. Standalone logo design apps usually offer better provisions for vector shapes and tools that come in handy for customized cartoon illustration.

Now, designers should learn how to use cartoons properly in logos to steer away from design failures.

• When it comes to logo redesign, graphic designers need to be careful about using cartoon illustrations.

Because the existing logo of a company has a brand image, design should not be drastically altered. It would not be advisable to use too many colors in cartoon based logos. Usually, cartoon figures consisting of two contrasting hues fit the bill.

• In some instances, using a cartoon character for a logo can prove detrimental for the client company. This can happen if a cartoon figure chosen by a designer has any kind of negative connotation attached with it. This however, cannot be a universal phenomenon and such things are relevant for specific regions.
• It is not advisable to use clip arts for cartoon based logos as this reduces the possibility of making a professional looking logo. In some cases, it may not be possible to use certain popular cartoon characters in logo design because of copyright and intellectual property issues.

Cartoon figures convey messages to the younger generation, but in some cases, they can also be used in companies that sell services and products for grown ups. Using animal cartoons is a trend that has been observed in a section of graphic designers to send positive messages to the target audience.

If you run a mid size company and don’t have millions to spend on your company’s logo design, you need other alternatives to design a logo. Logo designing softwares are the perfect solution for small companies who want to design their logos at cheap prices. There are some free online softwares that allow you to design beautiful logos for free or at a minimum price. However, are they as good as designs created by professional logo designers? Probably not, but these online softwares will allow even a non-designer to design a logo and save thousands of dollars.

Let’s find out the pros and cons of logo designing softwares.

The Pros of Logo Design Software

 It Saves Time - When you hire a logo designer, he takes weeks, even months to design a logo. You also have to keep reminding him about the deadline to make sure that you get the logo on time. When use a software however, you can create a logo in a matter of hours.

You Don’t Pay Anything - When you use softwares, you don’t spend a single penny on your logo’s design, except perhaps, buy the software at nominal costs. All you need to do is, download and install the software, design your own logo, customize it and use where you want. Even if you have money to hire a logo designer, you can save thousands of dollars this way and invest the money in business expansion.

Do It Yourself - When you hire a designer, he may deliver you something that you don’t like. With the help of an online logo designing software, you can log into your account and create a beautiful logo, exactly the way you want to.

You don’t even have to be a designer, that’s the greatest advantage of these softwares! You can design a logo without a degree in graphic design. Choose any symbol from the software library, add colors and fonts to give it a personalized look, and your logo is ready.

The Cons of Logo Design Software

• Copyright Infringement Issue- When you hire a logo designer for designing a logo, he creates a unique design for your company. A logo designing software only has standard symbols in their library. Some of those symbols may already be used by other famous companies. While you can customize the symbol and give it a new look, the possibility of copying someone else’s logo design is very high. You may unintentionally copy some other company’s logo due to the stock images you work with.

• You Can’t Design As You Wish- Though the softwares allow you to design a logo and customize it, you have to work with the given symbols and fonts. You can’t create something unique. Changing colors, font and rotating the symbol is not enough to create a remarkable logo.

• You Are Not Eligible To Design A Logo- Companies hire a logo designer to utilize their professional approach and designing expertise. If you think you can create the same quality logo without any knowledge in logo design, you are making a mistake. To create a memorable logo, you need to have enough knowledge in this field and unless you have it, you are bound to make terrible designing mistakes.

You can’t create a brilliant logo using softwares. Nevertheless, they are good alternatives for companies who don’t have requisite funds to hire designers. If you want to fulfill your desire to create a logo for your business and can’t spend much, online logo design softwares are ideal for you.

If you run a logo design company, you not only need to have designing knowledge, but managerial skills as well. Here are some of the things you should concentrate on to earn more profits and expand your business.

1. Promote Your Company- What use is establishing a logo design business if the world doesn’t know you exist? You need to promote your company to get more business. However, before promoting your company, decide how you want to present yourself in the market. Would you like to be recalled as the “most affordable logo design company” or “the most unique and innovative logo design company” or “a costly but no compromise on quality logo design company”? Types of clients are varied and while some prefer cheap priced designs, others don’t bother spending millions for a high quality design.

If you are a startup company, have a clear and set goal in your mind. Don’t be impractical and think that you can be the number one graphic design company in the country in just 1 year. Set an achievable goal like “I want to be number 1 graphic design house in my city” and work strategically to achieve it. When you have a clear goal in your mind, your business grows and profits increase.

     2.Charge for the Whole Project- Some companies charge their clients by hour for a logo design project. That’s not very wise, because:

•  When you tell your client that you will charge him $75 for every hour, he considers you a costly logo designer. However, when you charge $500 for the whole design project, he thinks you are affordable. This is how clients work…when you tell clients you charge on hourly basis, they start multiplying and think that you will send them a huge bill. What they don’t realize is that you may actually spend just 5 hours on the total design project, and at $500, you are actually charging more than $75 per hour!
• You may work for just 5 hours and bill the client for 6 hours. Because the client can’t tap the number of hours you are working for, he is never too confident about the time his project has taken.

Hence, majority clients don’t agree to an hourly payment scheme.

     3. Identify Your Best Clients- You may have a total of 20 clients for whom you design logos, but out of those 20 clients, only 5 are big corporate houses who pay you handsomely and give you regular work. You need to identify your top paying clients and give extra effort in their designs. These 5 clients provide 80% of your total income and if you keep them satisfied, a regular income is ensured and the profit margin will never drop.

   4. Repeat Business Increases Profits- It’s easier to work with old clients than with new clients. The more work you do for your present clients, the better understanding and trust you build. This will lead to repeat business without spending too much on promotion.

Most logo designers are shy and think asking a client for reference is unprofessional. Nonsense! If you have a happy client, don’t hesitate to ask him for referrals. This way, you will save time and money on marketing and still get good business.

   5. Track Your Profits and Losses- You must keep an eye on your investments and profits, or, you will spend more than you earn and the company will run into loss.

Separate the essential expenses from the extra expenses. You can cancel that Thanksgiving party at your office and instead, invest in high-end computers that will be beneficial for your business.

When you work with a clear business strategy, possibilities for successes increase. All the best!

Have you ever come across a client who does not want to pay for your designs? If not, you are lucky, but there are those who will tell you what a pain it is to extract money out of non-paying clients! So, before you take up any further logo design projects, it won’t harm to take some precautions. Read on…

As a logo designer, you do a lot of hard work to create a unique logo, but sometimes, may get clients who don’t want to pay you at all. There are plenty of such fraud companies who will ask you to design a logo, and, when you deliver the same, come up with responses like, “I’ll pay you in a few days.” Unfortunately, that day never comes and you lose your money.

Now, every client is not a cheater, but prevention is better than cure!

Check Client’s Financial Condition- When a client contacts you for a logo design project; don’t get impressed with his Armani suit! What appears may not be true. A client can run a small company or a large corporate house. Notwithstanding, you should do some market research about him to know if he will be able to pay you.

Knowing the financial condition of your client will also help you to decide how much you should charge for the logo design. If the client runs a stable and wealthy organization, you can perhaps charge a little extra.

Sign a Contract- Whenever you accept a logo design project; create a contract mentioning your responsibilities, the payment structure, deadline and terms and conditions. Never start a project over oral agreement. You can’t sue the client later, if he does not pay you. But if you have a written and legal contract, the client can’t go away without paying you. Maintain a separate contract for every project you handle.

Ask for Advance Payment- Before starting to design, negotiate payments with the client. When a price is decided, ask for an advance payment, anywhere between 30% and 50% of the total payable amount. This ensures smooth project work; the client will not ask you to stop the project midway and pay you nothing for the unfinished work.

Often, a client refuses to pay because he feels the logo’s design is not shaping up the way he wants it to. With an advance payment however, he will think twice before canceling the project. Even if he does, you at least get part payment.

You contract makes sure of that.

Installment Payment- Some clients may not have the financial strength for a huge down payment. You can go for installment payments in that case. Break the total cost into small parts and ask the client to pay as the project progresses. Make sure the payment structure is written in detail in your contract.

Don’t Show the Final Design before Total Payment- This one’s tricky. If a client refuses to pay before seeing the final design, he’s justified in his demand. As for you, where’s the guarantee he’ll pay you after the final design has been submitted?

Although a contract secures you against fraud, if a client refuses he received the final design from you, you can’t do much about it. Showing copies of mail correspondence does not help. The client can always say he did not receive it, his mailbox crashed, etc, etc.

The solution therefore is to show him the draft of the main design you are planning to achieve, or provide it to him in a password protected file.

In conclusion…nobody knows how much a logo actually costs and you don’t want to give away a logo for free. A logo is a symbol of trust and brand value that will help your client earn billions of dollars. Make sure you get paid for your creative genius, if not a percentage of the billion!

Every experienced logo designer devotes a lot of time to research before designing a logo. If you are a graphic artist, you need to take care of several things, from color to font, to create an unforgettable logo. Here I will discuss the 4 most important and vital factors of logo design.

The Trademark in Logo- Everyone loves a great looking logo and there are many down-market companies who are always looking for an opportunity to steal a famous brand’s logo and use it in their products.

To prevent such blatant plagiarism, famous brands often include a registration mark in their logo designs. The ownership mark gives the logo its exclusivity and trust. Patented logos often have a trademark ™ or a registered mark ®.

When you design a logo, think carefully how you can successfully blend the trademark in the logo design. You have to decide the font size, style and location of the trademark in the logo. You can either use the same font that you used in the logo, or try something new.

When you use the same font, it will create oneness with the whole design. If you use a different font, the trademark will stand out proudly. If the logo contains only letters, then you can put the registration mark near the baseline. It will look like the ™ or ® and be a part of the alphabets used in the design. On the contrary, some logo designs have smaller fonts and larger white spaces. You can put the trademark in the white space to make it visible.

Check for the Anchor Points and Handles- A logo will be used in both small and large sizes. While small defects won’t appear in the small size prints, they will look ugly when you blow up the logo to a larger size and use it in a billboard advertisement. A good logo looks great in all sizes and never distorts. If your logo has many angles and curves, zoom in and inspect for minute faults in those places.

The Color Combination- Every corporate house uses their chosen colors in the logo. But if your client doesn’t have any predetermined color palette and asks you to pick the colors for the logo, select the colors very carefully. Not only does each color have its own meaning and create emotional bond with the viewers, but they have to match with each other to create the desired effect. If you use a color that has neutral value, then it will neither match with other colors in the logo nor will it help the logo be noticeable.

Create Various High Quality File Formats- A logo can be used for many purposes. It can be used in the letterhead or in the TV advertisement. To serve the purpose successfully, you must create the same logo in different formats.

You should design

• A pure CMYK,
• A spot color-based,
• An untainted black ,
• A pure white.

Before saving the logo in the mentioned design formats, check for any useless or extra gradient, color or pattern swatches. If you find anything unnecessary, delete those elements. Before you give the client your final logo design, save the design in these four formats and give all of them to him. The black and white format is mainly used in letterheads, while the CMYK file is used in print advertisements.

Logos are used for marketing purposes in print media, TV and internet. As a logo designer, you should always double-check the logo in different sizes and in different formats to realize whether the logo is retaining its appeal in all forms or not.