How to Design an Animal Rescue Logo for Free
Animal rescue programs generally accept donated time to help with the animals, but they also need skilled help in other ways, such as advertising. If you have illustration skills, and the willingness to donate a little time, you can help brand the organization so that it is instantly recognizable to the community. This will help the rescue organization's fundraising efforts, and allow it more avenues for advertisements, such as its own website or printed ads.
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Instructions
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Interview your client. Ask them if they have a particular audience in mind, such as a specific age group. Find out the general timeline, for example, whether they have an event at which they want to feature the logo, and agree on how many days each review round should take. Write down whether there is a particular color palette they like, such as earth tones or pastels, and make your own suggestions in this regard. Find out what animals they specialize in at their rescue. Last, ask them what types of other logos they and their team like. They may have favorite websites to point you towards, or logos of other animal rescues they feel are well done.
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Start sketching in black and white. You should have a general idea of which animals should appear in the logo, and what style the rescue likes based on the other favorite logos they showed you. For help with proper proportions or animal breeds, look at the images on the link in Resources. Try overlapping the animals in interesting ways, and experiment with adding a human element, such as hands or a person's head and torso, which will speak to the relationship fostered by the rescue. Choose five to eight logo sketches to show the client. Since you are designing the logo for free, you may choose to show just the sketches; or for a cleaner delivery, you should re-create your sketches on the computer.
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Modify your sketches, moving towards a final product. Let the client know that the first thing you show them probably won't be perfect, but instead you are there to get feedback and collaborate with them. They should choose one or two of the black and white sketches that they like, and suggest modifications. You in turn should provide multiple versions of that logo, incorporating color. Be sure to stop often, and ask yourself if there are ways to simplify the logo so that it will look good in all sizes, and can be used in a variety of ways (such as in signage or over a photo). Make sure that the illustration doesn't blatantly fall into a design fad, since you want the logo to be timeless. Continue the editing process for two to three rounds.
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Finalize the file. Outline all fonts, changing them from editable text to image shapes. This function is available in professional illustration programs. Save the file as a vector image, which you can scale to any size. Then export a high-res JPG for print, and a web-ready PNG or GIF for the organization's website.
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Tips & Warnings
Use professional design programs that are capable of creating vector art when you design a logo. Examples are Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW.
You can export PNG files with transparent backgrounds, so that the organization can easily overlay it on graphics in its website or even PowerPoint.
At times, clients have trouble settling on certain elements of the logo, and want more and more review rounds. You should kindly remind them that you are working on the logo for free, and had planned for a certain number of hours to dedicate to the project. Let them know that you are happy to continue for a certain fee. Hopefully, this will get the team to come to a verdict.
References
- Photo Credit Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
