All About Logos

here are entire books and classes dedicated simply to the world of branding and logos, it would be impossible to explain everything in the course of a blog post, and frankly I’m not sure I’m qualified to dedicate my entire blog to branding. But, there are a few quick and dirty rules that can at least help you get started. If you need further help, you can research things to know about logos and if all else fails contact a designer for help.

The first thing to know is keep it simple. A good logo should be simple yet effective and if at all possible, timeless. Your logo may need to be updated over the course of it’s lifetime, many do, but the best logos rarely need to be changed.

Second a logo doesn’t necessarily have to be a graphical element. It can be text, or both. Or in the case of the Cult of Racewood logo, the text is the graphical element, whatever you feel, have fun with it. Remember, some of the best known logos are incredibly simple. Take Chanel’s logo. Two C’s one backwards and both interconnected. As an author it may be easier to simply use your initials, first and last, or first last and middle if you feel the need, or your entire name.

Third: Don’t be afraid to take inspiration from other logos you like, but don’t blatantly rip them off either. Originality in logo design isn’t really possible, that said, you don’t want to infringe upon someone else’s copyright.

And finally. Chances are your logo may end up in a variety of different places. In the design world we recommend that your logo be able to be seen as big as a billboard or as small as a postage stamp. Chances are you probably won’t have the money to buy a billboard (if you do you’re certainly lucky), but you should ensure that your logo be able to fit in a 1″ x 1″ box. If it’s still completely legible you can put it anywhere. (You probably won’t need to make it that small, but you can put your own images on postage stamps, so it might be worth considering to get your brand out that much further.