While having a great-looking website ensures you make a strong impression on those people finding you online, there's a good chance you'll also need to think about other approaches to marketing yourself like business cards, leaflets or even products. Wouldn't it be nice if they all had something similar about them, some kind of consistency?
Branding is about taking a step back from specific end results, looking to develop a broader visual style and set of rules that can be applied across a range of projects and media, both now and in the future. Effective branding creates the visual shorthand that makes your business look consistent and memorable to potential clients, wherever they find you.
Logo Design
Logo design is one of the cornerstones of branding. A motif that emphasises the concerns, ethos and spirit of your work can say a lot about you in a very concise way. A logo should be a flexible symbol that can be applied to any area of your marketing, so if you want to focus your resources on one aspect of your identity which will give you the greatest value for money - and make a first, targeted step towards the wider promotion of your business - the logo's probably it.
But a logo doesn't always have to be a graphic 'badge'. The idea of a distinctive mark can also mean the clever use of a typeface, pattern, layout, or even just a colour that will help make your business memorable and easy to identify. A logo should be a great visual shorthand, whether it is a uniquely crafted symbol or a clever way of rendering your business name, or a combination of those approaches.
Dr. Tara Calin
I provide a bespoke service for people looking to create a new business identity through logo design, or looking for help developing their own ideas into a logo that will work across different media and print formats:
- Design from experience: professional, high-quality work to a clear budget
- Reliable and flexible design with options for colours, fonts and scale all being considered
- Real-world, practical design, considering the future use of your logo in print or online
- Clear advice about the costs and quality of any future print work using your logo, before we start
Working from an initial consultation I produce a selection of ideas, using client feedback to work towards a finished logo or style that is ready to be applied to websites, business cards or other print material. Logos are provided in a range of file formats that can be used by any designer or printer working with professional publishing software.
Designing for Print
Once you have your logo ready you might want to do something with it! Since 2006 I have worked in a variety of media, designing everything from traditional print material like business cards, letterheads and posters to e-books, audio and product packaging. Design for print usually develops out of some initial branding or logo work, though I can use an existing piece of design as source material.
As with logo design, print work is provided in a professional file format that can be passed on to your chosen printer, and if necessary I can liaise with them to help you get the best possible final result.
Click here to see some examples of logo and print work; the PDF is 8MB in size and best viewed on a desktop screen.
