For the past few years I racked my brains trying to figure out a simple, yet iconic, logo brand for my online photo business, Wilson’s World of Products. I’d sketch out little logos here and there, on the backs of napkins or my work journal. Nothing. Then a few weeks ago my daughter, Carolyn, sketched my wp logo out in a matter of minutes. Problem solved! She is creatively amazing. I think I bought her a treat or something. Maybe a bagel.
You don’t have to pay a designer big bucks to design a logo for your photo or writing business. I’m a big fan of DIY (do it yourself). If I can do it myself and do a fairly decent job of it, I’d rather and save some money. Like this website for instance. And since we are all getting pretty savvy regarding branding, putting together our own websites, developing our mini-businesses, marketing, and selling, designing your own logo can be part of the creative mix. Doing things yourself makes you more creative. Trust me.
Remember all those days of sitting in class doodling in the margins because your teacher was boring you beyond belief? Now you can do it again with fun programs like Paint.Net or Google SketchUP. Both of these programs are totally free and very easy to use. If you don’t like the intimidation factor of Photoshop I think you’ll find these programs a real joy and fun to use. If you need a picture of something that you really don’t want to design, search the free graphics sites on the Web. There a tons of them and they constantly change. Designers are always willing to give out freebies to get you interested in their products. That’s how I found the globe that fits in the middle of my p.
The best logos are simple and should work on many levels. You should be able to recognize the brand your logo represents. It should stick in your mind. A really good brand and very creative idea is the M-22 logo. This idea is really catching on in Michigan. Broneah Kiteboarding recognized that M-22 represented a life style in an area of Michigan that can’t be duplicated probably anwhere else in the US. Good Morning America viewers did vote Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore as the most beautiful place in America. So they trademarked the design and are now making a big chunk of cash on their unique idea.
As a side note I thought it would be funny to develop a M-44 logo t-shirt with the slogan Twice the Fun, Half the Fudgies on it. Kind of as a parody of M-22. Fudgies are tourists in case your not familiar with the lingo. They get the nickname from the fact that they like to buy fudge when they visit. Why fudge? I don’t know. I’d rather eat local asparagus. Or other farm goodies. Kilwin’s does make excellent fudge though.
I did a little research and found out that a company is already using the M-44 logo and a little further delving made me wary of using the highway design label. It seems that it might infringe on the trademark of M-22 because it might be too close in design and confuse consumers. Something patent and trademark lawyers frown upon. And I don’t want them frowning on me. Remember we are trying to save money by being DIY. We want to avoid paying money to attorneys when we infringe on someone’s trademark. So do your homework and search the US Tradmark and Patent Office if you live in the US. Not sure about the laws elsewhere, but if you live in the US you want to check here and do a search to avoid getting in trouble if you might be inadvertently using someone’s trademark.