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Just because the competition has ended doesn’t mean you can’t ask those burning Logo Design Questions. if there’s something you need to know about Logo design or about how to go about approaching your logo project, pop us a question for free. It’s like a free consultation session.

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1. Rating: +5

   

   How important is a logo for my business

   Logos are extremely important for business on many levels. Without a logo your company cannot be clearly distinguished apart from its competition and has no face by which customers or potential customers can recognize it easily. A logo helped create a memorable picture of your business in the minds of those who interact with it and gives people a means of differentiating your company,of understanding the feel of your business, of remembering what products or services you offer. In developing a relationship with companies logos play a big role in giving companies a sense of brand. Your logo and other brand elements like graphical, textual and colour create a subconscious connection with your company. All good experiences customers have with your company will be associate in their mind with your logo and when they see the logo or think about you this image will pop into their minds. It's like remembering the face of someone you know.

2. Rating: +3

   

   Where do I start if I need a logo?

   Start with defining your company, what it does, its products & services, the way it delivers these, your unique selling points. Look at what value you might be adding above your competitors. Look at yourself and the value you add and that of your staff. Consider the environment you are operating in, the culture and language of those you are targeting. It's important to have a clear idea of what you are trying to achieve. Doing a business plan is a good step to take before deciding on the design of your logo so you've answered enough questions before giving your company its face. Writing a vision statement will give you something to work towards and will play a role in the type of logo you design. First define as much as you can, know how you want to be perceived, then work towards creating that vision.

3. Rating: +2

   

   What's the next step in designing a logo once I have a clear company vision?

   Logo design is a a specialized field of design and needs to be undertaken by someone who knows how to give life to the ideas which need to be expressed. Finding a good design resource or partner is crucial to arriving at the best design suited to your company. It's important that the designer you choose can show you some of their work and that they can explain the process they might follow to come up with the design you need. Doing a little bit of thinking before hand, with some of your business plan and company vision might spark a few ideas, but don't go into any logo design project with too much of a fixed idea of exactly what the logo must look like. The design process is just that, a process of evaluating ideas and graphical representations of those ideas and weeding out the bad ones and fine tuning the good ones until the best solution surfaces. Speaking to the person responsible for the design of your company's logo is very important. Conversation can bring out many new and interesting thoughts and ideas. Ask a few designers to show you their portfolios before selecting the one you want to work with. The one who displays the most interest and insight into the design process could prove to be the best choice.

4. Rating: +2

   

   How do I brief the designer on designing my logo?

   There is no 1 recipe for briefing on logo design and the briefing method depends largely on the parties involved. Communicating as much as possible on the requirements of the logo, not necessarily exactly how it should look, but more importantly what it should achieve. When your designer has a good understanding of your company and your target audience, he/she is much better equipped to create what is necessary to meet the needs of your company and your target audience.

   Many times in logo design projects the right information is not conveyed in the first sessions which results in a design which falls outside of the expectation of the client. This is very common between designer & client and should not be seen necessarily as the designers inability to deliver. What is important is to re-look the information which is being used to create the logo and see where more clarity can be provided.

5. Rating: +3

   

   What Information does a designer need to be able design my logo?

   This is very important. Imagine ordering a new pair of shoes without giving your foot size, the type of shoe, telling the shoe supplier about your taste in shoes.

   Your Corporate Profile should have a good amount of information in it to get your designer thinking in the right direction. Your Company's vision statement, or even the entire business plan could be even better as it will give deeper insight into where you started, and where you'd like to be going.

   Your products, services and unique selling point should cover a large amount of territory in giving anyone interested a good understanding of what you're all about. This should also include who you're selling those products or services to and who you'd like to be selling those products or services to.

   Next a little bit about you, your partners or staff and what makes you different from other players in the same niche. This should include some info about your competitors, direct and indirect. It's important to have a well rounded picture of a business when designing their logo. Also include some information about who the logo needs to appeal to. Are you speaking only to environmentalists? Is your main target market the youth market, maybe doctors, only women, Tourists, whatever. It's crucial to know who you're speaking to so that the image can be directed towards those people.

   How the logo will be used is another factor to bare in mind. Is your business exclusively and online business, or does it only have printed material. Is faxing one of your primary communication vehicles? Will you be using your logo on large outdoor displays or billboards? These questions will allow the designer to consider the type of graphical elements based on size, colour and media usage.

6. Rating: +5

   

   How do I know when to go with Web2.0 or a plain 'flat' logo?

   Aha, now here's an interesting Question. Like I said before in a few of the other answers, the style, colour, theme of your logo will depend largely on how you'd like to be perceived, who you're speaking to and what market you're in. Another factor is where your logo will be used. Though many have spoke on the fact that web 2.0 is by no means a style of design it does seem that certain design trends have developed alongside the web 2.0 phenomenon. The web 2.0 style I think you're talking about is probably the glossy, bubbly shininess we see being spread all over the place. If the company you're trying to promote is playing in the web 2.0 space, and everyone else is sticking to glossiness it may be refreshing to go a different route like the guys of electric pulp have done a while ago. See their site at http://www.electricpulp.com/. It seems though that many have followed in their footsteps and now "water colours" style imagery is spreading quickly as well. I'd suggest havign a logo developed which works better flat than in glossy style and then seeing what it might look like all glossed up if the need is there. You may find you'd need to print you logo in black & white or in a certain setting where the web 2.0 styling you speak of just doesn't work for printing or whatever other reason.

7. Rating: +7

   

   Should the values of my organisation be reflected in its logo, and how would a designer go about communicating these values visually and in an enticing fashion?

   The best example to illustrate would be my new logo. I haven't communicated much about my new logo and that's because I've just been so snowed under lately (bad ad for someone trying to promote branding :)) but its the truth. Look at the top left of this site and you'll see a symbol with a round paintbrush style open circle and 3 coloured Dots. The red dot at the core represents "heart" which is the starting point of any endeavor, an intention from deep within. The open circle represents holistic action and a continual process of this holistic action. The Green dot represents "mind" and the action of thinking, the blue dot at the top represents ideas the ideas generated from that mind and thinking process. What does all of this mean, how does it represent me and does it convey all of this at a glance.

   To help people understand my brand I need to tell them something about my brand. If you saw a Figure of a man on a door and no-one ever told you what it means would you automatically know it was the males toilet? The logo is one aspect of a brand and it gives people a way to visually recognize your brand. If they hate the products you sell, it doesn't matter how cool your logo is, unless they've never used your products. So it's part of a greater strategy. It (You Logo) should most definitely have something which gives people a way to attach the meaning you want to convey through your company, products, services and approach. Have you ever seen Logo's which have no text on them? Which ones do you recognize and which ones to you associate certain feelings or meanings with. Logos can lose their text and still offer value, sometimes more value once they have embodied and conveyed the meanings they represent.

   So to the Second part of your question. Each designer will have a different approach which would ideally follow a discovery phase where aspects of your company and its values are analyzed. Symbols, images, icons, metaphors and stories are explored which link to these values and meanings. Aspects of the execution of the chosen symbol are further analyzed and explored to see what the best connections with your intended values and meanings are.

   The final result has alot to do with your relationship with your designer and your understanding or appreciation of the design process. Huge Global companies have gotten it completely wrong or had fall-outs with their design companies and small almost unknown companies have gotten the recipe just right. It's got alot to do with you, how you allow the process to happen and how you analyze the outcomes.

   lastly what you do with your company and how your logo is involved in your companies activities will be the ultimate test. Like I said if you offer no value your logo will lose value and if you build very strong relationships with your clients they will automatically attach value to your companies image. Nike's tick was not as well known when it was first designed and did not have the meaning it does now, but the symbol is simple, it has inherent meanings that could be associated with it, it lends itself to varied uses and ha a memorable shape.

8. Rating: +5

   

   Logos seem to follow trends, the whole Web 2.0 movement seems to have spawned a certain look. Should one follow the trend or does this mean you 'lost in the crowd?' ... even though you do want to be part of said crowd?

   Part of this Question could be answered by reading the answer to question #6.

   Trends are something we can't avoid, whether we follow them or not. Not following a trend is as much of a reaction to the trend as following it can be in many cases. With the new approach to design which seems to have been influenced by the web 2.0 phenomenon many web based companies are asking the same question, do we go shiny, gradients & reflections or do we stick to "older trends". You will notice some of the most memorable logo designs are almost completely neutral. Many of them are flat and are not influenced at all by their colour or their context. Even if some of them were given the typical shiny bubbly look which is making it's rounds online at the moment they would still be recognizable and outstanding, though in their original form, even just as a simple black & white shape they stand out.

   I think meaning is important, originality, simplicity, ability to function in many circumstances, legibility, not relying on specific trends but being as trend neutral as possible. In the pre-dot bomb era you would have noticed a large percentage of start-ups had logos with a swoosh and a little orbiting sphere somewhere in them. This made gave them that "web" edge, or so they thought. How many of those logos are still out there now? You Logo needs to be able to stand the test of time as well. K.I.S.S. is a very important principle.

   having said that though most of the worlds biggest and most recognizable brands have at some stage re-designed their logos, a few times for many over a period of years. It's the same as someone growing up. You Parents don't dress the same way you do, well most of them at least and neither do they dress the way they used to when they were your age, at least most :). Change is the only constant. be prepared to evolve as well.

   Lastly, the web 2.0 crowd as you put it is by no means a group of copy cats only, you'll find within the web 2.0 space quite a varied array of brands though due to the vast amount of start-ups it may seem like everyone is doing exactly the same thing. Look around at some of the most popular and mature players in this area and you'll find a few outstanding brands. Take flickr & Facebook for example, they are so recognizable nowadays yet they do not make use of alot of the glossiness of being spread around.

9. Rating: +5

   

   What are three of your favourite logos and can you explain why you like them?

   Very very tough question but an exciting challenge to answer. I think it's almost impossible for me to be 100% clear on my 3 favourite logos and I've been thinking about it quite a bit over the past day or 2. I'll have to start with Google and I might be criticize heavily for this choice but I'll explain why. A choice on a completely different level would be the logo for a local social media company cerebra.co.za. The current BP logo is another major contender.

   #1 - Google
   The google logo may seem like an odd choice to many, especially designers. Firstly from a visual perspective I like the cleaness of the colours on simple white background. Seeing the google brand extended is quite cool for me as well. I've seen a few images of just simple coloured spheres and without seeing the name I know it's from google. I particularly love the changes to the logo which are made for specific events. This is something not many companies are willing to do in anyway and most big brands have extremely strict brand rules, which works for many but I think a degree of flexibility is healthy. Yes the google logo is rather webbish but it's something that has grown on me to the point that I have my own personal collection of event specific google logos.

   # 2 - Cerebra
   South African social media marketing company cerebra has a really cool logo. They focus on online social networking and the bringing together of many minds as their tagline states - < making the most of many minds >. Their logo is made up of people grouped together in the shape of a brain and expresses the idea of collective intelligence.

   # 3 - BP
   I haven't seen BP in the media for a while now but still remember when they re-launched their brand quite a few years ago. Their new logo uses a graphic which is made up of little diamond shapes in different shades of green & yellow. I remember a few of the ads which showed these shaped blowing in the wind like leaves falling off a tree and then assembling to form the star shaped graphic. The logo is a clear representation of a shift in focus from being an oil company to being an energy company which wants to be seen as environmentally focussed company as most self conscious companies do nowadays. They even changed the perception of the letters BP from British Petroleum to Beyond Petroleum.

   I'll see if i can post the logos on this page a little later, I know google is a little strict in allowing others to use their logo so I have to investigate the procedure.

10. Rating: +3

    

    Ok, so I've got a logo but I think it's starting to look out of date. I'm also worried that we shouldn't change our branding when we're already recognised by it. What can I do?

    Having discussed flexibility in one or 2 of the other answers this might be an easy one to crack. The majority of successful companies throughout the world have at some point reached a stage where they have decided to re-brand themselves, part of which entails re-designing their company's logo. I say re-brand because the process of re-designing ones logo should be accompanied by other changes to corporate materials, maybe a new brand launch campaign, re-design of ones company website etc. Change is something we have to accept and it's important to remember than no matter how attached we might be to some aspect of our business if it does not serve our progressive business interests and objectives we must be prepared to do something about it.

    It does not necessarily mean that i have to re-invent myself over & over again completely. Many companies have gone through very successful brand evolution processes where gradual changes are made to their Identities. In other cases a complete shift is necessary if the company is attempting to completely re-position itself. Take BP for example, a global player and a company which would have gone through a rigorous and very expensive brand development programme which would include months or years of research and strategic study. They completely re-designed / re-branded themselves and even changed the interpretation their name & wat it stands for from British Petroleum to Beyond Petroleum. They realize that their company was not just an Oil company ad that they were in the business of energy. They also realized the need to be seen as a environmentally friendly and a progressive company interested in innovation in the sphere of energy solutions. Their new logo broke away from the old identity drastically and embodies alot of what they now want to be seen as.

    How you go about re-designing depends entirely on your reason and goals for the re-design. once you've analyzed that you may find your design is exactly what you need, or you may decide it only needs some tweaking. You May however realize you need to completely re-invent yourself and even change your companies name. All of the above has been done with both great success and failure and theses steps need to be done in a calculated and controlled fashion.

11. Rating: +5

    

    Is there a difference between a logo and a brand and if so how are the two connected?

    Ah nice question. To give it to you straight out there is a huge difference between the 2. I'm currently working on a post explaining what a brand is so I don't want to go into too much detail with this answer but I'll use an example.

    Is there a difference between your company and it's business card? Of course, your company is everything including it's assets, customers, staff, etc. The business card is only a representation of that. In a similar way ones Brand is the sum of all the elements which come together and form a perception of what you, your company is. The logo is a visual symbol to give people something with which to visually recognize your Brand. The brand is made up of "touch points", every interaction someone has with you, which in some way shapes their perception of you. This includes the way your staff interacts with customers, the way you dress and the style of language you use when communicating in writing with your target audience. It is largely an intangible thing, a sense of you, a personality. It is possible though, that a logo can play a big role in how your brand is perceived. If the design is developed using imagery, colours and other devices to enhance the desired perception then is has played a positive role. On the other hand a great brand with a badly designed logo could produce a disconnected entity,something which is misrepresented. Take one of the most recognized Brands in the world - Nike. Is the brand only the logo? What happened to the Nike "Brand" when we heard about the sweatshops? The logo is still the same but the Brand suffered.

    A hypothetical Example: a pink fluffy animal meant to represent an internationally recognized business consultancy which wants to be perceived as a serious corporate player. The 2 don't live together nicely. An argument does exist which says that the brand will give meaning to the visual representation and this is true on many levels, but synchronizing the 2 will produce a much more certain and complimentary result.

    Stay tuned for the What is a Brand Post to hit the front page of nomad-one.com soon

12. Rating: +7

    

    Every new entrepreneur tends to think he can design the logo for his company, I think so too. But I also think that there could be a better idea somewhere else, with somewhere else. My question is if I get a outside help for logo creation how do I get myself compare the two (the one I already have and the one outside agency makes) with a open mind.

    Difficult question. If you're not sure how to judge between designs and determine which one is better for you maybe getting some other people who are not personally or emotionally attached to you or your company to give you their opinion. It helps to get outside opinions on some cases as many times we are blinded by our attachments & emotions. In many cases companies prefer to make their own design decisions and don't want to take advice as they feel they should have total control of their own company's decisions.

    This is not always the best approach. If you company is in need of legal advice for example and you don't have much legal knowledge you will pay a Lawyer to give you this advice and most times not question his knowledge. The problem comes in when we as individuals have personal taste and many times have seen something which we like and prefer to stick with what is familiar to us. This will cause us to make personal taste decision which affect our business as well.

    Have a brainstorm with your designer and ask him what lead him to making certain design decisions, or sit with someone else who is also in business and maybe has a different perspective on design issues. Usually asking your wife, mother or best friend is not the best thing to do as they are giving you advice from a personal perspective and not a business one.

    Many times companies go through re-design processes without asking anyone and then when they launch suffer criticism for the design decisions they have made. Maybe set up a page on your company's website and put a few logo options their, send the link to a few business people, maybe business partners, suppliers etc and see what feedback you get. You don't have to take everyone's opinion but it will give you a good idea of what a varied group of people think.

    I don't often use this approach as many times people consult with the wrong individuals and get feedback which has no meaning. Asking those who are business minded and possibly have some experience with design could help.

    If you need some feedback on a specific design send it my way and I'd be glad to give you some.

13. Rating: +3

    

    How important is it for a designer to know how & where your logo will be displayed? For example, my new company and logo will exist primarily online.

    It's very important for the designer to know the place and manner in which your logo will be used. If your logo will be used on a fax sheet for example it will need to translate into black & white easily without losing it's essence. The size of your logo is also important. If your logo needs to be displayed on huge billboards it will need to be designed in vector format so it can be easily scaled to large formats. If your logo will use used on small web buttons then it will need to display well at small sizes so having a logo which is simple would make a difference in this case.

    In the case of web logos as you might have noticed especially recently the types of colours & Gradients which are being used suite screens displays as the screen is able to display intense colour and reflective qualities very well whereas in print the colour intensity is less. the screen uses light to display colour whereas ink cannot show colours in the same manner.

    All in all it is crucial to know where you logo will be used so you can create logo alternatives for different sizes, different colour backgrounds, black & white as well as web or print.

14. Rating: +4

    

    Logo’s these days are designed to flashy shiny and very web2.0 … what are the principles that you would use to design a timeless classic.

    It's true, shiny flashy logos with gradients & reflective surfaces are very much the rage even though many are against them. I think one of the keys to designing a timeless classic is designing something which has the ability to fit into different contexts and to be used with different styles of design. This would mean the logo should not be based too much on a current trend which is bound to die out which would then put it to an end. Simplicity is key here. The logo needs to work equally well whether one uses flat colours or even just flat black & white as it would if more colours & gradients were used.

    Simplicity does not need to mean boring, research and crafting will help find a unique graphic solution, one that has not been used to death and one which has the potential to maintain it's uniqueness. having a clear conceptual basis for the logo is important as well as this will keep the design from being too random or generic. If the unique graphic treatment fits in with a uniquely different concept you're closer to a winner.

    Doing a bit of research is important as well. Knowing what other companies are using,especially in your niche will help you create something which is differentiated from the competition. Logo Lounge has done a great job of following logo trends over the past few years and release a compilation of the years logo trends so we can keep track of developments and use that as a reference point.

    Brainstorming before the design phase and coming up with as many ideas as possible can help weed out the ideas which are common from the unique. Sharing the initial design drafts with a few visually literate people helps. Visually literate people are those who are in contact with design and know how to analyse design and compare designs with what is out there. Many times you might get opinions on design from people who are not very exposed to media and branding and so their opinions will be based on the limited amount of designs they have been exposed to. This is usually the type of person who will bring something they have seen before and say,create something like this for me.

    Testing out logo design drafts in a number of settings, in a mock web design or print ad or on a large scale billboard design will give you a better perspective as well. I don't mean on actual designs but finding something existing, maybe even a few and taking pics of them or scanning them and placing the logo on a few different designs just to see how compatible it is with different types of media could help as well.

    Ultimately though it's up to how you use your new logo and how you keep using it which will add to the timelessness of it. many companies think that by sticking to the same tired designs for years and years will give their brand more recognition and build it's value. This can backfire and take a brand down into boring territory. Keeping things fresh is important and understanding how your brand interacts with new trends can make or break your visual brand.

    This is not a once off exercise. designing and then maintaining a brand is an ongoing process, sort of like a person going through his or her periods of his/her life where fashion trends change though it is the same person the person also changes and his/her needs, social scene and functions change.

    One needs to have an understanding of many sides of the equation, not only design and design trends, but also the business side, culture and popular culture, strategic branding, and other aspects of branding which are less tangible like perception. Service delivery has alot to do with how your brand is perceived as well. A great design can appear very ugly if the company it represents becomes ugly in the minds of those who interact with it. It's like looking at an attractive person and being pleased with the way they look and then seeing ugliness in their personality which then makes them appear ugly.

15. Rating: +4

    

    How important would you say, typography is in a logo? Should one rely on imagery alone or a mix of both?

    Oh nice one,typography is a very important part of any logo, though it's a part which is sometimes very much neglected or not given the appropriate attention for various reasons. A logo could be design without any "imagery" just using text and many very successful logo designs have made use on only typography. It could be as simple and the colour, or even just the choice of font. A new font could be developed just for the logo. I don't like using web 2.0 examples but flickr has distinguished itself just by the different colouring of it's letters and so has google.

    IBM, one of the worlds most recognized logos uses type treatment logo without any other visual elements. I would argue that purely typographic logos are the most difficult to perfect yet can be the most effective and timeless.

    Just an interesting modification to one letter in the companies name could make a great logo, but as simple as this seems to the viewer it takes days even months of work to reach that final brilliant concept which most clients are not willing to pay for. the problem I find many times working for smaller companies on logo design projects is the lack of appreciation for the process and for the importance of crafting. Though budget is one issue it's not the only one. I like to show my clients every step of the process and get thorough feedback throughout the process. Asking the right questions is key and allowing the client to see the potential of a design is no easy task though the time spent on talking and testing is invaluable.

    Getting back to the question and the issue of typography I think it's an area which is neglected in design in general. the proliferation of thousands of cheap free fonts has stopped many designers from carefully considering font choices and has also stopped many from developing totally unique letter forms specifically for a logo. I think time is another problem.

    Attention to detail, perfecting the letter forms, making sure weighting, balance, legibility and alignment are all perfect or as close to perfect as possible takes many many hours. In an age where people are using automatically generated logos or web 2.0 filters to style text and give it a reflection there is definitely a space for the perfectly crafted text logo to shine above the rest.

    The typographic logo takes the letters and turns them into more than just letters, they simultaneously convey information and graphic meaning. the letters form an image which can hold more than just what the words say, the letters can convey personality, can identify with a specific target audience, can give us a sense of the type for company or industry or set the company completely apart with a unique usage of the letters, which expresses the product or service in a memorable way. The purpose of any logo is the set whatever it represents apart, to make it memorable and to convey something of the essence of what is being represented.

    Letters and typography have all the abilities which other graphical elements have. Some interesting ways typography is used to create good logos are: exploiting the initial (first letter of the word), Creating acronyms, turning letters into elements which carry meaning like an "o" into an eye.

    All in all I'd say typography is an indispensable part of logo design and is extremely important in any good design. Mastery of typography is a discipline all on its own.

16. Rating: +5

    

    Considering the CSS and latest web trends, If I were to choose a web site that promotes my business and I am willing to have similar business cards / logos and branding as my site graphics. But I want users to choose a theme they like to see.. just the way yahoo offeres color customization. My Question is - what would you suggest or choose and Why.. 1. A logo that is in contrast or matches all the 4/5 color schemes I plan to keep on my site. OR 2. Logo with Different color based on theme. Imp: I do not wish to use a logo that uses all of the colors - max. 2 colors. psst... I hope I win this contest and get my logo done from you .. :)

    You just made it inside the cut off time which is midnight. :) Mmm, nice specific question. I think many of the answers cover different aspects of your question. many companies tend to think of Brand consistency as always sticking to exactly the same colours for the logo and that might work for most but what you have in mind is much more interesting and adventurous.

    I think whichever way you go your could end up with a different result which could be positive. It depends on the design of the logo and how the colour will affect the meaning which the logo is intended to convey. If your logo has a red apple in it hypothetically speaking changing the logo's colour won't work and the colours used along side it would need to be complimentary to the red apple. The colours you have in mind for the style changes to your site are also important to consider. What are they meant to represent or is it merely to allow the user the ability to change it? If you're not too specific about the colours then colours which specifically compliment your logos colour could be chosen.

    The iPod logo and advertising comes to mind now. Have you seen those silouhettes with the white iPod earphones? The logo is white if I'm not mistaken to it goes with any of the colours. Designing a logo which is either one colour, white or black or both could be the answer. Or you could have the logo designed in such a way that you have the ability to change the colours depending on the background its on. A dark on light version, or light on dark version.

    I think the direction you choose depends on what you want to convey, what your product or service is and who you're speaking to. Any of the above suggestions could work in my mind.

17. Rating: +1

    

    who designed the bp logo?

    If I'm not mistaken I think it was Ogilvy as they had the BP contract at the time of the re-design, but having searched online for more information I can't seem to find any further detail.

18. Rating: +0

    

    If I have to represent my brand with an image of an animal, which animal do you think will suit from our delivery perspective?

    Unfortunately without a little more detail it would be mere guessing to suggest an animal as i don't know what your Brand represents. the choice of design, graphic symbol or any other choice for that matter will need to link to your companies values, it's offering and it's name as well. If you coul shared some of these details with us it may help us give our perspective on which animal might suite the Brand, or whether an animal is the right choice to begin with.

19. Rating: +0

    

    I'm interested in Designing Business Logos, so I'd like to know where should I start and which softwares are best to use if I want to design a Business Logo, as I want to start my own Business one day (Designing Business Logos, etc)

    If you are interested in becoming a designer, especially developing Logos i would recommend focusing on learning the design principles first before the software. Way too many people are focusing on learning to use software but have not spent enough time learning what to do with the software.

    There are loads of software packages out there which focus on design but by far the best are the Adobe Creative suite programmes. Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator would suite logo design best. There are older programs like Macromedia Freehand which are no longer being produced which also do a good enough job. For logos which will need to be scaled up to much larger sizes like billboards etc using a vector program like Adobe Illustrator is best.

    there do exist a few open source(free) design programs,Gimp which has Gimp Shop trying to emulate Photoshop and Inkscape which is a vector drawing program, though they are not as user friendly and powerful as the Adobe products. Other software includes the Corel suite which has both vector and pixel capabilities.

    Like i said though, if you want to be good at designing logos, first become good at design and then focus on the software. design principles stay pretty much the same though the trends may change, but software is always changing.

    Hope this gives you something to work with. :)

20. Rating: +0

    

    how do i start my own company and make it work have you ever had any problems with your company and if so what did you do to make them right?

    Hello & Thanks for your question. If you were specifically asking with regard to branding & Logo design, then reading some of the above answers might fill you in a little on the ins & outs of how to make the right decisions. In terms of starting & running a business in general, this is a vast area and covers so many different subjects I would not be able to do justice in a few paragraphs.

    I signed up with a business development program called VeloCITI running here in Cape Town, South Africa and have gained alot of insight into the knowledge and skills required to start & run a business. Asking people who have done it before is definitely something you should do.

    I would say the business you want to start needs to suite you, your personality and values for it to be sustainable and to work. You would also need to investigate whether there is a need for the product or service you wish to offer. Knowing the market is the key. Knowing what you can offer is also important.

    At the end of the day you need to do lots of research, planning, talking, strategizing an "selling, selling, selling!" If you can't sell what you offer you'll never make money. This is where marketing, design and web communications some in. With these tools you can communicate to the right audiences in the right way and make sure you make an impression on them.

    I hope that briefly answers you question.