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Suggestions for Graphic Design of Band Logo?


Phantasm

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Okay, my new cover band is rolling and shows are starting to roll in. Now we're at the point where we need a band logo for posters, stickers, t-shirts, etc. and we just can't seem to find a way for one of us or someone close to the band to get this done.

 

Have any of you paid someone to do this sort of work for you? I'm most curious about cost and if you used someone online that you can recommend. Most bands have someone close to them who can do the work, but we do not and it seems like we're going to have to put up for it.

 

I found www.thelogocompany.net by using Google, it would be a good example of what I'm looking for - a turnkey service where I pay a fee, make a description, and they present several ideas for the logo. The chosen design is then refined to a finished product, in multiple formats including a vector art file. The issue with them is that I've got no experience nor do I know anyone who has experience with them.

 

So, suggestions anyone?

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Depends on how big you are, I just whipped up a Myspace layout and logo for my band since we're not huge around here using photoshop, so if you want to take the time to learn the basics of it/have a touch of creativity that would be my plug. www.myspace.com/straightarmmusic

 

If you're going to be doing a ton of shows and a lot of merch, pay someone. The difference between doing it yourself and a professional's job is unmatched.

 

-Dan!

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Your band name is actually pretty conductive to the kind of logo that those sites make -- something like a little red moped with the letters scattered at an angle across the top left, with a circle on the background, or something. I can try to throw something together for you, but I will always recommend people go to an actual graphic designer for stuff like this, otherwise it almost ALWAYS ends up looking "homemade" ... and unprofessional.

 

Alternately, go to Deviantart and post on their "Jobs" board asking if anyone is interested. That's where I found the person who made our anime designs.

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That's the problem we're having now - the drummer had a concept and an idea, but the execution looked like it was made in paintbrush. It's becoming a source of frustration so it may be time to just pay the cost to get it done.

 

Edit - Did you design your band's logo? I'm guessing that's the logo in your avatar.

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That's the problem we're having now - the drummer had a concept and an idea, but the execution looked like it was made in paintbrush. It's becoming a source of frustration so it may be time to just pay the cost to get it done.


Edit - Did you design your band's logo? I'm guessing that's the logo in your avatar.

 

I "designed" it, but that was a five minute job. It's not our logo; we're a country and rock cover band. I wanted something to throw people off. ;)

 

I did "design" the logo we're currently using at www.jasonswain.net though.

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Here's something I threw together real quick to give an idea of what I had in my head when you said the band name. I'm aware the moped isn't red, and I'm still not sold on the font, but it was quick and easy. If you wanted to take the time to colorize the moped, to separate it from the wheels, shadow, and other parts that should be black, you'd probably get a better result.

 

I tend to favor designs that are easy to reproduce on other materials. For example, if you have a full-color image in your logo, and you print flyers, getting cheap photocopies won't work. Similarly, if you want to get band stickers, full color ones are WAY more expensive than single or double solid colors, which can be done at any vinyl shop for relatively cheap.

 

I did separate the R and M in the logo a bit, because I thought it looked better than just having them overlap.

 

redMopedLogo.gif

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I tend to favor designs that are easy to reproduce on other materials. For example, if you have a full-color image in your logo, and you print flyers, getting cheap photocopies won't work. Similarly, if you want to get band stickers, full color ones are WAY more expensive than single or double solid colors, which can be done at any vinyl shop for relatively cheap.

 

 

If I had a dollar for every time I had to explain this concept to clients...

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If I had a dollar for every time I had to explain this concept to clients...

 

Tell me about it.

 

I run a design company that I put very little marketing into (mostly because I just don't have the time to take on many new projects). I do logo, web, and (mostly) advertising design. The advertising ones never get it. The simpler the colors, the more they'll stand out. Period.

 

I try to demonstrate this by flipping through a phone book. The full color ads look nice, but they don't catch your eye. A simple ad with a solid background sure does.

 

Oh and... holy JPG artifacts, me. Sorry 'bout that. You get the idea though. I didn't even save the master file or I'd re-upload it without them. You get what you pay for. ;)

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But
www.gigposters.com
should help a little
;)
.

 

I'm gonna grab heat for this, but that site is terrible. Yeah, it's got a lot of really talented designers on it. Read through the forums, and it's got a lot of static designers that are unwilling to design something for their client over stroking their own artistic ego. They keep forgetting that the customer has an idea in their head, and they're coming to you for your expertise in taking that idea to the next level, not designing something completely different that misses the mark.

 

Phantasm, you've got PM.

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Tell me about it.


I run a design company that I put very little marketing into (mostly because I just don't have the time to take on many new projects). I do logo, web, and (mostly) advertising design. The advertising ones never get it. The simpler the colors, the more they'll stand out. Period.


I try to demonstrate this by flipping through a phone book. The full color ads look nice, but they don't catch your eye. A simple ad with a solid background sure does.

 

 

Great idea with the phonebook. So many times, I'll get people sending me banner designs that would look great on a brochure, but when it's 40 feet up and you're going 35mph under it, you'll never see the wording.

 

You and I need to sit down and have some beer and talk shop. I'll bet we could learn a lot from each other...and enjoy sharing horror stories.

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I wanted to add, too -- if I were to take my design further, I'd incorporate more of a music theme to it, so that it was apparent what the logo was for. I'd get rid of the "80s and 90s Rock" from the bottom, and potentially have a guitar leaning up against the moped. I toyed around with making the bullseye in the back of the (stock)photo into a speaker of some sort, but didn't come up with anything I was thrilled about moreso than the bullseye.

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Great idea with the phonebook. So many times, I'll get people sending me banner designs that would look great on a brochure, but when it's 40 feet up and you're going 35mph under it, you'll never see the wording.


You and I need to sit down and have some beer and talk shop. I'll bet we could learn a lot from each other...and enjoy sharing horror stories.

 

 

Oh, I'm sure. I do banners at work, vinyl and full-color ones, and ... well, I mean, the customer is not always right, but the customer always gets what they want. I'll suggest changes, but when you give me a company logo that's designed for the Web, and want it blown up onto a 3'x8' banner... it's going to look bad when you pick it up! It'll probably look fine in traffic from 400 feet away, but it's going to look bad when you are viewing it in the shop, and there's nothing I can do about it. I even told you that three times.

 

Or the people who want a vinyl banner but want a novel on the thing, so that it's completely illegible by the amount of crap on it.

 

*sigh*

 

Next time I'm in Michigan we'll have to talk. Which will probably be never. But still.

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That's why I usually give the customer exactly what they want, and a second option of what I think (given the experience) they could use. It's a 50/50 chance, and that way, I never say "I could've done it better. That's crap." They have the choice, and whether or not they pick my design, their money is still the same.

 

I share many of your views on banners (I work here). What I usually tell the women in finishing when we see a really horrible design, is just not to put our company's tag in the banners. Easy enough.

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You're on a much larger scale than I am. I'm the main tech at a computer store, but we also do banners and stickers as a side-project type thing (basically, we wanted to be able to do our own signs and banners and stuff, so we just bought the {censored} to do it ourselves).

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Here's something I threw together real quick to give an idea of what I had in my head when you said the band name. I'm aware the moped isn't red, and I'm still not sold on the font, but it was quick and easy. If you wanted to take the time to colorize the moped, to separate it from the wheels, shadow, and other parts that should be black, you'd probably get a better result.


I tend to favor designs that are easy to reproduce on other materials. For example, if you have a full-color image in your logo, and you print flyers, getting cheap photocopies won't work. Similarly, if you want to get band stickers, full color ones are WAY more expensive than single or double solid colors, which can be done at any vinyl shop for relatively cheap.


I did separate the R and M in the logo a bit, because I thought it looked better than just having them overlap.


redMopedLogo.gif

 

Yeah, that's kinda right in the direction I was looking for. I'm emailing them now so they can check it out and read this thread. They had other ideas for the logo but a this point, they just want something adequately fitting that will get the job done as clubs are asking for it constantly.

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redMopedLogo.gif

 

I like this. Marketing telling you straight. 80'es-90'es rock. The RAF ensign indicates brittish. That's what you get. You are saved from asking fool questions.

:thu:

 

It even explains why there's a black scooter shown. It's a red moped !

Personally, I would never have guessed the band's name without seeing it in writing.

 

 

 

:D

 

 

Just joking. I like the way you have composed it. Good work.

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I like this. Marketing telling you straight. 80'es-90'es rock. The RAF ensign indicates brittish. That's what you get. You are saved from asking fool questions.
:thu:
It even explains why there's a black scooter shown. It's a red moped ! Personally, I would never have guessed the band's name without seeing it in writing.
:D
Just joking. I like the way you have composed it. Good work.

 

:poke:

 

Yeah, like I said... that's what you get for five minutes of work for free while I'm laying in bed. ;)

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