How to Create a Crew Logo
Crews typically work together to tackle monumental tasks, make things happen that no single person could accomplish alone and are the silent behind-the-scenes worker bees without whose help a team, goal or event couldn't get off the ground. If you belong to this elite brotherhood (and sisterhood) of multitaskers, having a logo that identifies your affiliation to passers-by isn't just a nice extra, it's a badge of honor for people who love being part of something bigger than themselves.
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Things You'll Need
- Examples of logos for ideas
- Images representing the crew in question
- Computer
- Software (any with drawing tools)
- Font selection
Instructions
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1
Visit the library or troll the Internet for examples of logos. Critically evaluate individual design elements that teams, businesses and organizations use to represent their constituents. Some of the best and most obvious are straight and to the point. For sailors, try anchors, a life preserver or a fish. A film crew might like a reel of film embellished with the name of the movie they're working on, while music roadies may wish to take their lead from the Rolling Stones logo--it has international recognition. Search around and find a few to jump-start ideas. A great place to begin is at Logopond.com, which is filled with winning logos of all kinds (see Resources).
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2
Eschew drawings that are too detailed to make a difference in the overall design of the logo if it's reduced to a very small size or when the color is removed. Instead, choose an illustration that's iconic and as clean, sharp and simple as possible. To be effective, people should look at the image and immediately identify the type of crew it represents.
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3
Pick a font that works with the image you chose in Step 2. Steer clear of most sans serif fonts; they have too many fine lines to stand up to size reduction. Pick a font that reminds you of your crew. Braggadocio is very show business billboard savvy. Engravers MT looks like money, so if you're outfitting a bank's rowing crew, it's a terrific pick. Impact is straight and chunky and is so streamlined you can pair it with a variety of graphic symbols.
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4
Begin combining the fonts and images you chose in the software program you feel most comfortable using. Microsoft Word has enough drawing tools to get the job done, but Adobe InDesign or Illustrator, QuarkXpress and other draw and page layout programs offer more options for creating a crew logo that will look as great on a hoodie as it does on the page.
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5
Try a variety of colors before you settle on the first one or two that you see. If your crew already has a signature color scheme, use it for the logo to uphold existing brand identification. If you don't have specific colors, take this advice from top designers: your crew logo can look every bit as dynamic in black and white as it does in four colors, and you'll spend a lot less money to produce crew products if you limit the number of colors you choose to two.
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6
Share the top three designs with the rest of the crew and reach an agreement on which works best for everyone. You may find that individuals like a font from one sample, an image from another and the color scheme of a third. Take this feedback in the spirit in which it's offered. Everyone on the crew has a vested interest in the finished logo and, as such, wants to be part of the decision-making process.
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Visit vendors that might be called upon to produce items for the crew to make certain the design will hold up and stay distinct if it's transferred, screened, embroidered and/or applied to personalized products like water bottles, crew shirts, jackets and other types of goods.
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Schedule a crew party so everyone can pose for a photo wearing their signature crew ware. Next time you're asked to send the logo to a printer or a vendor, retrieve it from your computer and transmit it as a native file or make a PDF that can be universally read by anyone with Acrobat on his desktop.
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