So You Purchased a Logo..
Now What?
We all know when it comes to your business, a logo is a must. It’s the face of your company, the staple of who you are. When people hear your business name or think of your brand, their first thought will almost always lead to your logo. It represents you. So when it comes to taking this first big leap and purchasing a logo, it’s always important to remember what you need to look out for as you go through the process with the designer to brand your business. This blog will guide you through everything you need to know about what is involved with the process of logo creation and what you must have at hand in order to utilize your logo to its fullest potential. Read on if you need a logo or have a logo now what.
The Process.. The File.. Oh My!- You bought a logo now what?
The process of creating a logo and working with your graphic designer can vary, depending on what they offer. However, the overall process will be quite similar. Usually, you will meet with your designer and discuss your wants and needs for how you want your logo to represent your business. These meetings are a great way to let the professional branding expert know your desired design style, color palette and typography. It’s also a great opportunity to let them know what you don’t like and what you’d like to stay away from. Every graphic artist will provide a variety of design concepts when it comes to your first proof, whether they provide 2 different logo variations or 25. They will offer revisions, which could range from 2 revisions to unlimited and they will continue to work closely with you until your final, approved design is set in stone. After approval and once the process is complete, your design specialist should provide to you most, if not all, of the following file formats below: Having these types of files will help with “I have a logo now what?” You will need different file types depending on where you are showcasing your logo.
You purchased a logo now what? Make sure you get the right file formats.
EPS: A vector file format that is great for large format and high-quality image printing. More ideal for laser jet printers, embroidery, t-shirt printing and publishers.
PDF: A high resolution file that best represents your native file regardless of which computer system it is viewed on. This file is great for print marketing items.
TIFF: A large image format file that is ideal for inkjet printers, photographic printers and publishers. To keep it simple, this is what we call a “lossless” file, meaning that no matter how many times the image is edited and re-saved, it will not lose its overall quality.
JPG: A very common image file format that is used for an array of needs such as: photos, social media graphics, email graphics and any online digital advertising.
PNG: Your one image file that will include a transparent background. It’s a perfect file for anyone who needs your logo without a background to place on top of another design.
A Graphic Design Question We Get Often: What is a Vector File?
A vector file is a high quality flexible file with infinite pixelation that consists of points, lines, curves and various shapes. You can resize and edit this file without losing the overall quality of your logo or design. Just like your EPS file, it’s perfect for large format printing and is commonly requested from printers.
Examples of vector files include: EPS, PDF, AI and SVG.
The quality of a vector file will be just as crisp and clean regardless of how much you zoom in and resize the image. If you start to notice pixelation or the image becoming more “blurry” as you zoom in, your file is a raster file. Raster images include examples such as a JPG or PNG file, where the design or image has been compressed upon exporting. You have asked for different files types of a logo now what?
Color Combinations of your Logo
You purchased a logo now what? Make sure you get different color combinations
Now that we’ve touched base on the overall process of purchasing a logo and what files you should expect to receive after approval, let’s talk more about what color files are expected upon file release. 4 color is your most common color file that you will receive. 4 color simply means you are using the standard CMYK color format (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) to produce all colors within your logo. So any colored logo you might see around is in a 4 color format. Other formats might include a solid black version of your logo, a solid white version of your logo and some designers might even offer a solid white version with a pop of color from your original color palette, which is also called an inverted color option. If you desire any of these color combinations, make sure to speak with your designer on your needs! Any solid color logos are great for watermarking images, social media content and print marketing needs. You have great colors in your logo now what?
What About the Layout of your Logo?
While the overall layout of your logo depends on what you’re envisioning and what the Designer has created for you, it’s not uncommon to receive a few variations of your design. Some might offer a stacked version of your logo if its original format is horizontal and long. Some might offer an abbreviated version, showcasing only the first letter of each word in your business name with the main design included. And some might even offer just the brandmark alone. Below are a few variations of the same logo, if you bought a logo now what? You will want different layouts
You purchased a logo now what? Make sure you get different variations for different applications.
While purchasing a logo can be a long process and even at times, difficult when it comes to the amount of decision making involved, it’s also an exciting adventure that each business owner experiences. Whether your logo will be used for a rebranding campaign, event flyers, large signage, digital marketing assets, social media posts, or online ads, it will be an amazing representation of YOU and your company! You got some great different layouts of a logo now what?
Adding Animation to your Logo
You purchased a logo now what? Could it be animated?
Animation is another way to spruce up your logo if your business utilizes platforms such as YouTube or Instagram. The graphic designer simply takes your logo and adds a touch of animation to your brand concept to bring your logo to life, bringing that overall “WOW” factor to your videos. Keep in mind that when you’re adding animation to your logo, you want to ensure that you stay close within the company’s values and that the animation represents who you are as a business. For example – check out the video below:
This video is an example of a logo that we have added animation to. The company, Ready Power, is a generator company that ensures the safety and comfort to families during major storms. Their primary goal is to keep their customers power on during major hurricanes, heavy winds or severe storms. So our goal when animating this logo was to recreate the feeling of “turning the power on” by animating the charging bar then adding a “push” feature to the power button, giving that feeling that the power has been turned back on. Once the button is pushed, you see the rest of the logo fade in, with a shine running across, which represents light.
You bought a logo now what? Want to see our full animated logo explaner video? Check it out here.
Tying in all of those key elements to this animation is important, as each little step in the example above represents the purpose of the company. So remember when you’re ready to animate your logo, make a list of what you’d like to see when it comes to life!
While purchasing a logo can be a long process and even at times, difficult when it comes to the amount of decision making involved, it’s also an exciting adventure that each business owner experiences. Whether your logo will be used for a rebranding campaign, event flyers, large signage, digital marketing assets, social media posts, or online ads, it will be an amazing representation of YOU and your company!
Still wondering, I have a logo now what? Give MD Integrated a call and we can help with all types of advertising campaigns. If you have a logo with only 1 file type and need a more detailed logo with the different options we have mentioned, give us a call. We can fix those logos too.