Color Moods

It is important to choose a color scheme that will add to the branding effect of your business.  There is a lot to be said about color moods and what colors stimulate the reaction you wish to get.  For example a product focusing on a child’s product or service might be bright, primary colors or possibly sunshine yellow.  Where as a product or service that is talking to say seniors might be more subdued and calming.  The color choice can also depend on the product you are offering for example a restaurant would want to use warmer colors because that is associated with hot food and stay away from blues and greens since those are associated more with mold or spoiled food.

So in choosing a color think about the mood of your product, reaction you wish to get, and target audience.  For more info on color psychology check out this link http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html.

Choosing the right color scheme

I know this is a daunting task even for the pros.  After years of doing this you do develop an eye for it but it is still a lot of experimenting before the perfect scheme is developed.  So let’s start picking through this challenge.  First we want to choose roughly three to five colors that complement each other in hue and yet contrast each other in value. 

Ok, I just gave you two words you might not know.  So let’s define them.  Hue is the actual pigment of the color; yellow, blue, etc.  Value is the light or dark of the color; baby blue vs. midnight blue…I think you get the idea now.

What does all this mean?  Choose a combination of warm and cool colors with in a variety of dark and light values.  Check out this link http://www.colourlovers.com/ for some great tools in helping you choose your colors.  You will notice the combinations in the color schemes, even in the more subdued palettes there is variety.

Smashwords

Check out "Your New Business Logo" on Smashwords!  It is available in many popular formats including Sony, Nook, Epub and online viewing as well.  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/75683 

Icons for Logo Design

In My Build A Business guide to Logo Design there is discussion of using icons.  Of course if you aren’t an artist and a simple shape won’t cut it for your business type the next option might be using stock photography.  This can be expensive or inexpensive depending on the resources you choose to use.

Inexpensive line art for logos can be found at:

·         Istockphoto.com

·         Bigstockphoto.com

More expensive, which can mean more unique designs:

·         Gettyimages.com

·         Corbisimages.com

I use istockphoto.com because it is inexpensive and after purchase line art it gives me vector art to use, which means I can easily change the colors and customize for my needs.  You can download a free lo-res raster watermarked version to make sure the design fits before purchasing.

When using any stock images make sure you have read the fine print, the image needs to be legal for corporate use.   If you are thinking about using a “free” image that you find online realize it is copyrighted and you are probably breaking the law.

Inspiration

How Design Magazine has great articles, tutorials and inspiration.  In fact here is the link to the 2010 winning logo designs that are sure to spur some creative thoughts http://howdesign.com/2010logodesignawards.

My other favorite source, with tons of great articles, is Smashing Magazine.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/04/09/beautiful-and-creative-logo-designs-for-your-inspiration/

Your New Business Logo!

Check out 'Your New Business Logo' available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005CA356Y!  This simple guide walks you through designing and developing your new business logo.  It's great for computer savvy new business owners or even designers.  You will learn tips and tricks in Adobe Illustrator so you can customize the project for your own needs.

Why do I need a logo?

A logo is really a marketing tool that will express the meaning of your brand.  Logos need to have the name of your business, possibly an icon and some have a tagline that discuss the brand even further.  This visual branding will represent your company on every marketing piece you do as well as be displayed in your office and any retail locations if you have them. 

Your logo will be used in different sizes so you need to have it built in a vector format.  When I create logos for my clients I build logos in Adobe Illustrator which automatically creates the logo in a vector format.  Once my client decides on the design I build out the logo in several versions: black and white, reversed out, and a full color version.   I save all in a .eps format for easy transfer into any creative element required for marketing.