How to Design a Band Logo
Whether you're shredding on guitar or screaming in the mic, the last thing on your mind is promoting your group. Many bands get together and focus all of their energy into their set lists and sound, and completely forget that a large part of being a successful band is to promote themselves effectively. Like any other product, a band needs to market itself to everyone from club owners to fans to event promoters. And like any other product, a band needs to develop a unique identity, or brand, to set itself apart from the millions of other groups out there. The first step in achieving a successful brand is to develop a band logo.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Sketch pad
- Graphic design software (vector-based, such as CorelDRAW or Illustrator)
- Hire a graphic designer/illustrator (optional)
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Know Thyself -- and Thy Market
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Focus wisely. The most common mistake made trying to come up with a logo design is to aim for just something. "Something" does not sell. "Something" that reflects you and appeals to who you are marketing yourself to does.
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Decide how you want to represent your group to the world before you pick up a pad and pencil. That may sound really Big Picture, but it is important to think on a broad scale when it comes to leaving your mark.
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Guide the creative energy. Being creative folks, your band mates will start offering graphic concepts and logo ideas right away -- you'll need to steer them back on course and explain to them that you're looking for input on who the band really is, what they want to be and what they want others to see them as.
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Have your band mates write down keywords that they feel capture the essence of the group's sound, flavor and aspirations, and keep these handy in the design phase.
To the Drawing Board
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Start brainstorming ideas for your logo -- while keeping the creative input of your band mates in mind. You don't have to be an artist in order to develop a number of great ideas.
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Start drawing out basic ideas and shapes. When something you've drawn appeals to you, flip the page and re-sketch that same idea, but start varying the concept or details. You'll find that drawing in this way will help you develop fresh ideas of what to include and how to balance your concept in an image form. Feel free to make notes during the process and keep your band mates' notes handy to help keep your sketches on course.
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Solicit your band mates for sketches and ideas and incorporate them into your design, to give everyone an equal shot at putting their flavor into the mix.
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Keep sketch ideas simple and incorporate your keywords
Don't expect your sketches to be masterpieces, but rather snippets of golden ideas to shape into a finished piece.
Going Digital
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Think high-tech. While there's nothing finer than fine art, if you're looking to get your logo reproduced on postcards, fliers, promo posters, T-shirts, CDs, stickers and websites, you're going to need a digital version with which to work.
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Develop your logo concept into a completed piece on your own by using a computer and vector-based design software, if you feel you have the skills to pull it off.
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Call on the skills of a talented graphic designer or illustrator if your idea of technology is a rotary phone and you feel you've reached the limits of your inner Picasso.
Option A: Going It Alone
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Expect the design to evolve during the creative process.
Get your rough sketch into digital form to have it reproduce well. You can simply freehand it in your illustration software, or scan it in and trace it digitally.
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Refine your concept into a finished digital piece. Keep in mind that this process takes some time, and that patience is a virtue when developing artwork.
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Make sure your logo has a graphical dynamic, your band name, a slogan or catchphrase (if you have one) and your band's website address (if you have one). Select fonts that are legible at small sizes.
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Be aware that while multitudes of color are very eye-catching, it's also really expensive to replicate in print. Unless your group's hitting the big time, stick to just one or two colors to ease the blow on your wallets. You can broaden your palette by using screens and different opacities of your color(s) to add more dynamics.
Option B: Hiring Some Help
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Take your concepts and ideas straight to a professional if the idea of illustrating a finished logo makes you want to write a new song about jabbing pencils in your hands. Finding a talented graphic designer or illustrator isn't very difficult -- you can ask other groups for a referral to someone they've used, you can search online or your phone directory for local designers, or you can post a want ad on an area job board (such as craigslist's creative gigs section) to find someone to turn your idea into a reality.
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Be prepared to show your ideas to the designer, who will generally incorporate them into a digital representation that will go through a revision process to develop a finished piece.
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Remember that professional designers don't work for free -- their time is valuable, and their hourly rate can be high.
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Downsize your design expenses by offering great exposure for your designer's work in exchange for a discount. You can also fish for a diamond-in-the-rough designer by posting a want ad at a local high school or community college; students generally are looking to build a solid portfolio and would enjoy the chance to show you what they've got in exchange for a portfolio piece and bragging rights (and maybe a free CD).
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Tips & Warnings
Getting input from your band mates is great, but making sure there's one deciding vote on the final concept will save hours of revision time. Trendy fonts are great, but can look dated in time, so be sure to pick something that is timeless and -- most importantly -- legible at all sizes. Keep your color count down to avoid expensive printing bills. Make sure you use your brand to sell yourself by remembering to use your logo on all your promo pieces and keeping the look and feel of your pieces consistent. If you enlist a designer's assistance, make sure you get the final files in multiple file formats on a disk as a backup and for future use.
