THE ART OF GRAPHIX

By Deidre M. Bastian

WHEN starting your small business saving costs is always a concern for new entrepreneurs, hence designing and making your own logo is a good way to save some money. However, creating a logo for your company can be as simple or as complicated as you want it.

Moreover, if you are familiar with photo editing software, you can build the entire logo from scratch or you can even build one in Microsoft Word if you wish. Nevertheless, here is an excellent tutorial (how to create a logo in Adobe Illustrator): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r2qHTKPBmU

It’s always good to stick to industry standards such as Adobe Illustrator which is a vector based artwork that can re-size a logo without losing quality. Clearly, Illustrator and CorelDraw are recommended especially if you intend to use the logo offline. Also bear in mind that print and web media require different types of graphics. In print you want the highest quality; in web you want the fastest loading. So make sure to create your logo in a few different forms for overall use. Tip: Always create a black-and-white version of your logo first. Always create your logo with a vector-based programME, such as Illustrator or Corel to ensure that you do not lose quality when resizing.

Have you ever thought about some of the companies you do business with every day, aren’t the logos simple, easy to read and recognisable? Principally, if we are to use simple steps to design an easy but great logo, then the best place to start is with your company’s name and finding a font that you like best.

Let me analyse the popular toothpaste logo for Crest that has a simple glow in the middle that hints at shine and glow which is what one would want in a smile. The play on colours separates the word ‘rest’ from the letter which implies that you can trust and lean on this product. Decide if you are going to add an image to the logo. Again, you may download free images off the web as long as you adhere to the copyright usage agreements. (Stock photos could be a good starting point). Try to brainstorm which elements you would like in your logo and ask yourself: “Do I want just the company name, or do I want to add pictures?” You can use standard fonts that are provided by Adobe Photoshop or you can look for free fonts on the web. There are lots of websites out there with fonts; e.g Cooltext, 1001freefonts, Dafont, or Urban fonts, just to name a few.

After you have found the desired fonts, download them to your PC and then use your photo editing software to make the final design. Thereafter, ensure your logo has a transparent background so that you can use it on a webpage as well. Afterwards type your company’s name and play around with the font and text sizes for some creative ideas.

If using Adobe Illustrator/ Photoshop or CorelDraw the more knowledgeable about your photo editing software the more you can manipulate your image. When your logo is completed you can save it as a gif file for the internet or shrink it down to make business cards or whatever. Designing logos for the web, even if created initially with illustration software, requires conversion to GIF, JPG or PNG.

If you are not able to create the logo on your own then there are websites that can assist you. “Cooltext” has a few free logos, “Vista print” is free, but it charges to download the image. “Logosmartz” may also be purchased to help design your logo however as an alternative, try using a free open source program such as Inkscape www.sourceforge.org which multiplatform complies with a number of standards. Secondly to repeat myself, it’s FREE! Lastly, know that a company’s logo should always tell a unique story, even though often times, logo designs flop because the attempt to cram too much static in the creation leaves the message convoluted.

To this end, if a logo can intrigue as well as inspire potential customers then the job of the logo is well executed. So how about getting started with your new logo and begin marketing your business today! So until we meet again, fill your life with memories as opposed to regrets. Enjoy life and stay on top of your game.


Columnist welcomes feedback at deedee2111@hotmail.com. About the Columnist: Ms Bastian is an extensively trained graphic designer who has qualifications of MSc., BSc., and ASc. She has trained at many institutions such as Miami Lakes Technical Centre, Success Training College, College Of The Bahamas, Nova Southeastern University, Learning Tree International, Langevine International and Synergy Bahamas.