Starting companies are in need of logo designs for their market emblem, but they might not have enough finances to carry on with a logo design project.

Small-business companies tend to resort to amateurish logo design tutorials and even logo design generators to cost cut expenses in the long run.

However, with this kind of attitude, people, especially potential clients, may judge their company a bit earlier than expected. A logo design symbolizes the company itself, so a poorly designed logo might bring in some false impression.

With the advancement of technology, logo designs are now easy to make due to the wide range of availability of resources that can be used in order to form a unique logo design. Gone were the days of endless brainstorms, doodles and rough drafts; now, with a simple click of the mouse everything can be saved or deleted without compromising the efforts of the designer.

Meanwhile, this innovation in logo design brought about the rise of logo design generators. These are software made to create your own logo from scratch, by presenting different options for you to choose from. Some of these logo design generators are made available online. Just choose the option that you would like to be applied to your logo, and you’re done!

Seeing it in a different light, there are advantages in using these generators. You don’t have to spend too much on logo design projects, you don’t have to rack your brains for ideas and it’s a simple click and save action. What’s more, you can have your logo in different sizes, without the worry of converting your logo into vector format. Plus, you don’t need to fool around online tutorials and bulky softwares like Photoshop and Illustrator.

Nevertheless, do we really see these things as an advantage?

We do not have anything against these logo generators, but what seems to be the problem is that most of the monstrous logos you’ll ever find come from these sites. Even the trade mark characteristic of a unique logo can be copied by an online generator. Unless you are into making spoofs or just for fun, patronize these sites.

Coming up with your logo design generated from some online tool could be a lot of pain for you in the long run. Logos are meant to represent your company. It must be unique but simple, simple yet striking.

Online generators may be free for you to use, but nothing beats an original concept. Creativity is something that cannot be generated by any online source; of course, that is without the help of a human. Your logo might look like just any other generic logo on the web, or it might end up as an utter failure in bringing your clients to trust you. Visual perception is important in attracting your clients; best mean to achieve this is through your logo.

We might have mentioned in some articles that designing a unique logo is a must since it embodies your products or your services rendered; these cannot be simply conveyed by an online logo generator.

Seeing the probability of negatives coming your way if you are to search for a logo designer, you’ll never go wrong with this decision. It’s time to turn the tables on the saying “the end does not justify the means“. In this light, think of “the means does not justify the ends”.

There may be good generators out there in the web, but nothing beats the human’s vast capacity for creativity and imagination.

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Filed under: Logo Design Tips by impactlogo on Monday, February 27, 2012 | Social tagging: Logo > Logo Design Generator
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We can’t stress enough on the importance of making your logo design something genuine to your product or service.

Logo designs may be hard to conceptualize for some, especially to those who weren’t gifted with the skills for design ad drawing. Alas, logo design freelancers and companies are here to render services for your logo design needs.

However, not all logo designs are very efficient in making a lasting impression on the targeted audience. Why so? It’s because, from the start, the logo design is a total failure.

Logo designers should keep the following in mind to avoid the common pitfalls of logo design making. Whether you’re a client or someone who’s venturing into the logo design business, keep these in mind in order to appease your client, and save your pride and
honor from shame:

a. Too Much Font Styles

While it is true that design entails a lot of creativity, you don’t need to overdo it with showering the logo design with too many font faces. This is certainly not eye-catching; instead it’s more of an eye sore. Maintain at least a maximum of two font faces for your logo design. Moreover, take note of how you use your font styles; the typography or the text that accompanies a logo design should have an impact that wows its audience, not to drive them away in ambiguity.

b. No To Raster-piece

Say no to logo designers with outputs set in raster images. Quality logo designs should come out as quality pictures; this is essential in reproduction of your logo. Having logo designs in vector form makes it possible to adapt into other media platforms. Also, resizing and editing your logo will be much easier. You would not want to have a pixelated logo, right? Unless it’s a style to have the images on the logo design pixelated, opt for vector images instead. Instituting visual consistency is possible through software like Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator.

c. Redundant images

Have you ever considered making your own logo design, just to save money? Let me guess. You just downloaded an image that relates to the purpose or objective of your product or service, add some text or edited and put effects in Photoshop, and ta-da! Instant logo design! If you are one of those who did this, then delete that crap you just did. No matter how beautiful or impressive it might be, it’s still just a rip-off from some image hosting site, and there goes your originality rating. Logo designers are here to help you conceptualize your own unique identity; something that’ll make you rise above the rest. If you’re serious about your business, then be serious in creating your logo; it wouldn’t hurt to spend for something you’d be using for a long time.

d. Color Power

One does not simply rely on colors. Bear in mind that your client’s logo design might be used for different purposes. Whether for t-shirt projects, posters, letter heads, newspapers, other forms of print ads, and many more; a logo design must keep its striking characteristics. While the logo design’s color must be taken into consideration, it is an imperative that the logo itself can readily adapt itself to a change of hue.

These are some of the tips you might want to look out when brainstorming with your client. Logo designers must know their own craft and avoid pitfalls like these to create a harmonious and productive relationship with your client.

Create a logo with impact, not with crap.

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Filed under: Branding, Logo Design Tips, Logo Designer by impactlogo on Thursday, February 23, 2012
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Despite a increased focus on logo design quality and a recruitment drive in 2011 Impact Logos will be reducing prices by half in 2012 due to increased competition in the online logo space.

Lara Johnson Director of Marketing at Impact Logos explains “Over the past few years we have seen a steady but consistent increase in logo offers under $100 with promises of a horde of designers, unlimited designs and in some cases even free business cards. This increased competition has diluted our market share considerably.”

After an internal review Impact Logos concluded that the only way forward was to pivot in order to survive. “We did extensive customer surveys and were frankly shocked to find that over 70% of our online customer base had an ideal budget of just $100 for business logo design. Further testing and qualitative surveys have convinced us that our ideal price points are between $199 to $250.” explains Lara Johnson.”

Impact Logos has taken the opportunity to review their complete online presence, including user interface, conversion funnels and bounce rates.

“We are currently in our final stages of testing price models and soon to be releasing our new website. Our focus remains on recruiting superior designers and creating inspirational logo design. We just have to get used to lower margins and try and make it up in volume.”

Impact Logos is a leading online logo design company. You can find them at http://www.impactlogos.com.au

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Filed under: Logo News, Online Business by impactlogo on Tuesday, January 10, 2012
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In an effort to better understand my logo customers I recently started using surveys to find out more about the customer that sits on the other end of the computer.

This all started some time ago in a effort to try and understand how online businesses tick and why some online businesses do great while many others fail. More recently I read a great book that is now a best seller called the Lean Startup by Eric Reis.  This book is about how startups with so many inherent unknowns can navigate the highly probable possibility of failure. The book embraces small incremental steps to dip your toes in before mortgaging the house. So fail fast and many times to find the right path.Truly a great book in my opinion for an business owner that is experimenting on any innovative idea or product.

Anyway I was thinking about how you decide where to start with a new products or service say for an existing business like impact logos and found many in silicon valley recommending starting by surveying your customers whoever they were.  Some further reseacrh lead me to Kissinsights.com a highly engaging and simple survey tool that is worth its weight in gold.

There are 3 standout features I love about this survey tool.

1. Its got  a nice clean modern deisgn

2. It pops from the bottom and has around 10% engagement for me ie  very high

3.  Free templates so easy to use

A great piece of software is easy to use and this is no different. Right off the bat when you enter the dashboard there are many template surveys and its highly recommended you start with one of those.

??The types of questions I asked my customers were as follows:

What is your maximum budget (this was a shock

Are you a startup, small business, big business, designer. (to see if what I thought my audience was correct)

How can we improve our service?

So you have a vast amount of options on the backend like when a customer see the survey pop up, mutiple choice questions or open ended, and many other options.

I highly recommend you start finding out more about your online customers.

For more information visit: http://www.kissinsights.com/

Written By Manny

Director, Impact Logos

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Filed under: Online Business by Manny on Monday, December 19, 2011
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Ford has unveiled a clever social media campaign to drive traffic & publicity to the laucnh of their 2013 FUSION Hybrid Car.

The new iphone and android app allows users to drive a simulator game of the fusion car on their tablet or phone. In order to access up to 23 racing tracks.

The clever part is Ford fans will need to ‘unlock’ the app by taking a photo of the ford logo on their car or on the computer, thus promoting the brand and logo and also adding exclusivity around the brand.

Ford it seems has gone all out to try and win some ground from the increasing popularity and success of the Camry Hybrid.

The app was produced by a cutting edge team of gaming developers and has since been applied to over 10 cars.

The App aims to draw a large audience of fans using facebook and twitter sharing inbuilt into the apps to virally attract more users, ford fans and potential customers.

All in all a nice campaign by Ford who has more often than not been trumped by the forward thinking Toyota Company.

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Filed under: Branding, Logo News by impactlogo on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 | Social tagging: ford app > ford fusion > Ford Fusion Hybrid > ford logo > social marketing
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Do companies still regard logo design as crucial in their businesses? Yes, for the simple reason that logos are here to stay. They are practically seen everywhere, in big billboards, print ads, in some packaging, and in the products themselves. You’ll see some famous logo designs in a can or bottle of soda, box of cereals, in a laptop or personal computer, mobile phone or even automobile.

This early the logo design industry is now showing logo design trends for 2012.

Having a good logo entails a lot of effort and involvement from key people which include the marketing, graphics and design team. While the creativity of the logo designer greatly matters, it does not ensure the success of the logo. The logo should always reflect the concept and values of the brand at the same time appeal to the target group. And while it is a given rule that logos should be timeless, logo designers can still benefit from the latest trends in logo design where they can get new ideas and inspiration.

What is hot or in demand two years ago in logo design may no longer be attractive today. The blue color which proved to be effective in software logos may not have the same appeal in the coming year. Thus, it is important for logo designers to stay up-to-date on the latest trends in logo design. Remember that a successful logo design could definitely translate to more product sales and could improve the standing of a brand in the industry where it belongs.
In 2011, some of the logo designs that hogged the spotlight are futuristic 3D designs, isometric shapes and line art. Because 2011 witnessed more powerful gadgets from Apple, Inc., the equally powerful logo proved to be an inspiration to some businesses enticing them to use fruit design in their logos.
Some companies have also embraced the ecological trend and have gone environment-friendly so they used the color green in their logos or added some plant designs.

Let’s take a look at the logo design trends for 2012.

1. Go Green or Plant design

The plant or flora design will continue to make waves in 2012 just like in the past years. Companies who use plant inspired logo design project an environment-friendly image. Such logos have images depicting nature like leaves, flowers, soil and even animals which could also represent growth and expansion. One good example is Blue Oak Construction. http://blueoakprojects.com

2. Badge and button design

Badges are synonymous with quality service or authority. Most popular badges are those used in the military. They also indicate the status and identification of a person. Badge combined with button designs are now also being used in advertising, promotions and brand awareness. The badge and button design greatly appeals to consumers because while it may appear as regal, it still seems real and touchable to them. Lamborghini’s logo remains one of the famous logos with a badge design. Blogger’s logo, on the other hand, is a good example of a button like logo. http://www.blogger.com

3. Speech Balloons

Speech or thought balloons are no longer confined in comic books, comic strips and cartoons where they are used to show the dialogue or thoughts of a given character. Speech balloon and thought balloon may look differently because while the former means words that are spoken aloud, the latter refers to just thoughts.

New companies in particular are hooked to creating logos using this design. This logo design is not just simple and timeless. This design looks hip and appealing especially to the younger generation. Notice that most companies or businesses online use this logo design. Among these are Google Talk, Technorati, imeem, and Bubble Share. Another good example of a logo bearing this design is Job Thread logo. http://www.jobthread.com

4. Quadrilateral

A quadrilateral is defined as a polygon with four sides and four corners. Sometimes the term used is quadrangle. In logo design, quadrangle is neither a square nor a rectangle but a fun shape. It’s a design that elicits attention. The Groupon logo (http://www.groupon.com) is one perfect example.

5. Type font

This could be the simplest but this does not mean it is not difficult to design. Logo designers face various challenges on how to create type font logos that are remarkable. This logo design best promotes the company name or the brand name. Best examples are Google and Facebook. There are numerous advantages when using this design. For one, logo design can be reproduced in other colors or in black and white. This design is also easy to recognize. For traditional reproduction, very little technical knowledge is needed for this.

There will always be new trends for logo designs. Logo designers can draw inspiration from these designs. But at the end of the day, it is still the designer’s imagination, talent and creativity that could give life to a logo design and make it memorable and successful.

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Filed under: Branding, Design Reviews, Logo Design Tips by impactlogo on Friday, September 30, 2011 | Social tagging: Design > Logo > Logo design 2012 > Logo Trends
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Without going into an elaborate definition, we all know that the creator or creators have the right of ownership to their works, such as a logo design. However, in our modern world, copyright has become more than a right; it turned into an item used as leverage in business. Within each copyright, different rights exist, such as the right to display, distribute, reproduce, and make derivatives of the work. The copyright owner can divide these rights and transfer one or two to other people for a specific duration.

Employees of a logo design company, however, may not have full enjoyment of this right. Traditionally, this scenario works because the company owns whatever work they produce as stated in their contracts. Non-traditional employment, on one hand, has a more complicated system. The matter of copyright ownership differs when the company hires a freelance designer or outsources the job offshore.

A freelance designer owns his or her logo design or any other work as long as the client failed to explicitly state in their agreement that any work produced for the specific project is owned by the client. On the other hand, an outsourced employee who works at an offshore office does not own any of the works produced during his or her employment.

In the case of typefaces, copyright is owned by their creators. Therefore, any graphic designer who wants to use a copyrighted font would have to ask permission from that person. On one hand, typefaces strongly associated with a business or an artistic work, such as film or animation, are not necessarily copyrighted by the business owners or their producers. On the safe side, designers should avoid using them in logo design.

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Filed under: Copyright by impactlogo on Friday, May 27, 2011 | Social tagging: copyright issues > copyright laws > logo design tips > typefaces
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Unlike interior design or fashion, color schemes in logo design normally number up to three in an image or icon. Using more than three is tricky because the eyes will not notice the other hues and the brain will only register up to three shades. Too many colors or too many lines can crowd in a small area and produce confusion and chaos rather than a pleasant visual experience.

These three colors are chosen based on how well they match each other. Choosing these matching colors requires a tool called the color wheel, which arranges primary, secondary and tertiary colors in a circle. Each secondary color is between two primary colors that produce it. For example, blue and yellow flank the color green, which is produced when the two colors were mixed. Tertiary colors are produced when a secondary color is mixed with a primary color. For example, one of the primary colors, blue, is mixed with green to produce the tertiary hue called blue green, which produces different shades, such as teal and turquoise.

With a color wheel in hand, you can use five types of relationships when combining colors for logo design. These color relationships include complements, split-complements, triads, tetrads, and analogous colors. Based on these relationships, graphic designers create visually appealing color schemes that strike a balance between strong and weak colors in the wheel.

Complementary colors consist of a primary color matched with the color opposite it in the color wheel. This opposite color usually is the result of mixing two other primary colors. For example, the complement of red is green, which is an equal combination of blue and yellow. If a secondary color, such as violet, is used, then its complement is orange, which is a mix of yellow and red. These colors are perfect opposites in the color wheel.

Split-complements consist of two tertiary colors and a primary color. For example, the combination of blue-green, yellow-green and red is a split-complement. Again, their position in the color wheel puts red in direct opposition to green; however, in this formula the color red matches with two tertiary colors that contain green, which mixes with either blue or yellow on each side.

A third formula uses triads of colors. This is the easiest because designers can use all primary colors or all secondary colors in a logo design. These schemes usually exist in logos for children’s products or in logos of organizations for children. Other color schemes used for children’s logos include split-complements.

The other two formulas used for logo design has three or more colors, which might look incongruous at first glance, but actually match when skillfully applied in logo design. The tetrad uses four colors that are at opposite sides in the wheel. For example, one tetrad color scheme consists of blue-violet, yellow orange, red and green. Essentially, there are two pairs of complements in that formula.

Analogous colors, on one hand, consist of parallel hues, such as red-orange, red and red-violet. All colors have the same base color, which is a primary color. Other schemes would use blue as base color; thus, another analogous color scheme consists of blue-green, blue and blue-violet. However, other analogous color schemes use more than three colors placed side by side in the wheel.

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Filed under: Logo Design Tips by impactlogo on Friday, May 20, 2011 | Social tagging: color formulas > color relationships > color schemes > color wheel > logo design tips
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To find the right artist or designer to create a logo design that fits your brand or corporate image seems easy at first. The best ones out there already made a name for themselves. They would be easy to spot through word-of-mouth, advertisements, and a quick online search. However, the high rates may inhibit your desire to hire the top guns, and instead, encourage you to look for other ways to source fresh talent for designing logos for your company.

The job of selecting the right person to create a logo design that best represents your company image or your brand identity seems a breeze. Most popular designers or design companies have advertisements in trade magazines and have online sites that display their portfolio of projects done under different clients. They would be easy to locate and initiate contact for a business meeting. However, the rates these professionals charge may not be practical for some small or medium businesses that have limited budgets. This calls for a search of graphic artists and designers from alternative sources of recruitment.

When looking for the right graphic artist for your logo design, think of how young professionals start in their ladder of success. Most of them begin with joining design contests, not only to win cash prizes, but also to make a name. Sponsors of these contests usually come from the same industry, either as agencies or as clients who frequently outsource design projects. You may take advantage of this opportunity by either sponsoring or by organizing a contest for your ow corporate logo.

A logo design contest is just one way of crowdsourcing, which harnesses the creativity and skills of several people to come up with the best output. Another way is to call for bids for the logo design project. Choose up to five proposals from freelance designers that quote low prices, promise fast turnaround, and propose the best design concept. From these five design concepts, select the kind of design that best fits what you envision your logo should represent.

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Filed under: Logo Design Tips, Logo Designer by impactlogo on Friday, May 13, 2011 | Social tagging: choose the right logo design artist > logo design tips > logo designer tips
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Generally, it is the designer’s job to state a price for a single logo design job, but when commissioning a job, it is the responsibility of the buyer to choose wisely. Many factors contribute to the pricing of a project. It’s not just the skills of the designer alone that should be given emphasis, but also other aspects of the job, such as the time it takes to finish and the requirements of the client (you). Through a brief analysis of the price or quote, you can approximate the quality of the design you might receive.

A high price usually elicits a strong response when you have already seen the samples of work the prospective designer has done and they did not pass the standards you have set for logo design. However, for those with a complete portfolio, raising their quote may mean they are so good that they believe they deserve a higher pay for their skills and creativity.

Once you have received a quote from a would-be designer, ask him or her for a portfolio of his or her work. Without a portfolio, a designer lacks proof of the valuable experience required in designing. A reference to a previous job is an alternative way of knowing the designers quality of work. Immediately verify the veracity of the referenced work and inquire into the time it took to finish the job.

In contrast, a designer who gives a low quote for the job may not be the best choice. For one, the low price could be a sign of desperation on the designer’s part to find a job. This may not mean anything to other clients, but if you want to dig deeper, then you should question the ability of the designer to submit the logo design on time. If the designer submits on time, then look at the quality of work submitted. Look for possibility that the designer has no artistic skills at all or that the previous projects failed because of personal issues with clients.

It is alright to acquire the services of freelance designers or to find other sources of talent, such as crowdsourcing sites or design contests, wherein the cost of your logo design is fixed and the quality of work is enhanced because of competition. In these avenues, the need for a portfolio or a background check is gone, but the reduced timeframe accommodates rapid development with your project. As soon as you acquired the logo design, submit a trademark application to the concerned agency and have it approved as soon as possible to claim your right over its use.

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Filed under: Logo Design Tips by impactlogo on Friday, May 6, 2011 | Social tagging: logo design > logo design pricing
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