LOGOS:
Keep them simple. In fact, try to steer away from any extraneous item that must accompany your logotype name.
“Bugs” can be cool, for sure, but if you are not a designer or an illustrator creating them can be difficult. And if it sucks, that may indeed bring your presentation down a notch or two.
Choose a logotype that makes sense for you and one that you love. Do not try to impress anyone else. You can’t.
Logotypes can be designed on your own of course. If you feel that you are good enough with typography to make one up, give it a shot.
If you think you may need just a little help, here are some links for you.
Creative Market Display Fonts
Creative Market Serif Fonts
Creative Marke Sans Serif Fonts
You can find the complete list of Google fonts here.
But remember that anyone can get a free google font.
When you spend even $10 – $40 on a font, you will be in a very much smaller group. Free is the lowest hanging fruit.
And while I do not want you to spend hundreds on a logo when you are starting out, I do think a few bucks to get something nice and something a bit unique is worth it.
More fonts:
Graphic River Cool Fonts
Graphic River Serif Fonts
Graphic River Sans Serif Fonts
HIRING A GRAPHIC DESIGNER
If you have a friend who is a designer, then offer to do a trade out. Barter always works in this business. Perhaps they need a shot of product packaging they designed or a new headshot.
Give them examples that you like.
Be specific in the style you want.
Ask for three treatments.
Choose one… booyah!
Someday you may be flush with cash and decide to do another logo. Hire the best, get the best.
Spare no expense… as Dr. Hammond would say.
Hey – what happened to his park?
A DIFFERENT APPROACH:
If you are not ready to spend a lot of money but recognize your own shortcomings when it comes to typography, logotypes and such, you can hit up one of these companies for some reasonably priced design.
ADDITIONAL LOGO CONSIDERATIONS
COLORS
If you choose colors for your logo, you may have to pay special attention to printing. Make sure you have the corresponding CMYK information for the RGB color of your monitor.
Computers show RGB, and printers use CMYK. If you want the colors that you have chosen to match (and you do), you will have to convert the RGB to CMYK for lithographic printing.
For digital printing, it is not an issue.
Check with your printer for full info on what file type they want.
SHAPE
Wide logos don’t fit on sidebars well. Their width makes constricts the logo to the width of the sidebar. That can severly impact how you want your logo to present.
Tall logos don’t fit navigation top bars well. If they are tall logos in a wide frame, they will end up pushing the frame down to fit them, and have lots of wasted space at the top of the webpage.
Squarish logos can fit almost anything. Or as close to squarish as possible. But do not think that a square will save you totally – in fact it may be a bigger problem if it cannot scale well.
Just know what you want.
Or have the logo done both ways and be done with it. If you decide to change the web navigation, you can grab the file that is appropriate.
CRAZY OR SUPER STRANGE FONTS
Always seems like such a good idea at the time. I mean, if you choose “Barnum and Bailey” font you can be pretty sure no one else has it.
And of course, there is a reason for that.
It is too far beyond the pale.
Choose wisely, get advice, be ready to be flexible.
Fiverr.com has a solid reputation and a deep well of designers from all over the world. Find a few designers you like by browsing through the galleries of design work.
When choosing a designer, be very specific in what you want. Give them examples. Give them your impression of what you want the logo to say about you. Stress that you do not need a bug (unless you want one really badly – for whatever reason).
The more upfront information you can give them, the better.
Fiverr has an interesting payment policy for a lot of their designers. You pay more if you want the graphic in multiple file types.
And you do. You want the PNG, Photoshop, Vector, and JPEG versions so you will have them for other projects that may come along.
Freelancer.com works a bit differently than Fiverr.
You put in your project (logo, business card, identity package) and you will get bids from those who want to work with you.
Check out their work, and be as upfront as you can when describing your desires. For many of the designers on both sites, English is not their first language so be kind, and be as specific as possible.
Once you choose a designer, you can expect to see some samples from them in a few days. Be respectful, and be specific when you are making changes. (I have used both of these firms for some of my client work. I am surprised by how many times they nailed it on the first round of 3 designs.)
Freelancer.com may be a little more expensive than Fiverr, but not by very much.
ARTICLES:
BUSINESS CARDS
STILL AN IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR TOOLSETGive them out like water.
Make sure you have everything on them a client may need.
Give two and tell the client to share.
Business cards are still relevant.
And will be for quite a while.
BUSINESS CARDS
Yes, they are still relevant. They are still important.
And you don’t need one… until you NEED one.
There are few substitutes.
But you are not in the business of making awesome business cards, you are in the business of commercial photography.
So keep it simple. Keep it clean. Keep it free from ‘kitschy’ silliness.
IF you have decided to put an image on it, remember the importance you are giving to that image.
If you only shoot one thing, then that is fine.
But if you shoot more than one thing, you will be giving emphasis to a single genre and excluding the rest.
(Exceptions would be funny, iconoclastic, ironic, or plays on names.)
You can get business cards and ‘stationary’ made at any local printer.
What matters most is the quality of the paper and how the card ‘feels’.
I personally love the square cards and the double thick (and thicker) cards that are now fashionable.
Making it somehow a bit more memorable comes at a cost.
Square cards are hard to store, don’t fit any cardholder, and can be easily left behind because of that.
Here is a Google link to a lot of photographer’s business cards. Keep in mind most of these are consumer photographers, not commercial.
I suggest you have your designer – whoever you choose – do the complete package for you.
Logo
Business Card
Letterhead (Which you can simply use as a jpeg inserted in a Word doc)
Remember, we are talking MINIMUM viable brand. The basics of the basics.
PRINTERS
RESOURCE
IDEAS FOR WRITING A BIO
HOW TO WRITE A BETTER PHOTOGRAPHY BIO
Expert Advice: Writing a Photographer Bio
How To Write An Awesome Bio Page For Your Photography Website
7 Steps for Writing Your Portfolio’s Biography ‘About Me’ Page
How to Write a Short Biography for a Photographer
What We Learned from Writing 7,000 Artist Bios
HOW TO WRITE A KILLER ARTIST BIO
PHOTOGRAPHERS PORTRAIT
From a Google Search of Self Portraits
Another Google Search.
Spend some time with the Google Search pages above. Make notes and sketches and then take them to a photographer friend and get them to help you make the image you want.
The image should reflect you and your sensibilities.
It should not be sterile or corporate.
It should be as creative as you can make it.
The image you show of yourself is so very important to the way others see your creativity.
There is a saying: “The way you do anything is the way you do everything.”
Make sure your bio and portrait do not look like they were thrown together, or a second-tier priority.
If you need help with writing, hire someone to get it done.
It is far too valuable a part of your business to do it any way but right.
BIO AND PORTRAIT
You are also going to need a portrait and a bio.
Bio’s are used when someone wants to feature you in a podcast, webpage, blog, journal, online ‘zine, or any other type of medium where you may need to be introduced.
Usually no more than three paragraphs.
And please do not make them dry, boring, academic types of bios.
- Who you are is paragraph one
- What you do is paragraph two
- What you have done is paragraph three
Whether you write it in first person or third person is up to you. I prefer first person:
“I am a photographer, educator, designer living in Phoenix, Arizona” – First person.
“Giannatti lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and is a writer, photographer, and connoisseur of tacos.” – Third person.
Start writing it now.
Not when you need it… NOW.
Then store it where you can easily find it and forward on to someone requesting it.
(I have noticed that nearly every time I am asked, they need it right now. NOW.)
To accompany this short bio, they are going to want a headshot or portrait.
PLEASE do not take a photo of you sitting somewhere holding a DSLR with a long lens on it.
If we cannot be more creative than that, perhaps we are in the wrong business.
Here is an old post showing some photographer’s “about pages”.
It could be of interest to you.
