As a new business owner, one of the most important things, if not THE most important thing, you will do is design and create your logo. Your logo will be used on everything including letterhead, business cards, brochures, invoices, forms, website, and much more.It is important that you create your logo properly from the start. A quality, high-resolution logo that looks great every time is essential. Your logo is a reflection of your company and often times the first impression you make on potential clients.

It is important to create a logo compatible for print and web purposes. Note that I said print AND web. They are quite different, and you will avoid a lot of headaches down the road by taking this step.

You may be thinking, “What’s the big deal? There are many sites on the Internet where I can get a free logo or one for $99.” This is true; however, “you get what you pay for”! Not all on-line companies are bad, but there are things you should be aware of if you decide to use them. I have written a separate article on this subject entitled Do It Yourself Logos & Logo Templates, but for this article, I want to focus on creating a quality logo. In order to do that, it is important to understand the meaning of several key terms. They are explained below.

• Vector Art: Your logo should be created as vector art initially. Vector art keeps the edges of your text and graphics crisp and smooth regardless of size. Therefore, your logo can be printed on any output device at any resolution without losing the details. Vector art formats are created in object-based editing software such as Adobe Illustrator, Shockwave Flash, Computer Graphics Metafile, CorelDRAW, and AutoCAD.
• Print Resolution: Your logo should be created at a minimum of 600 dpi resolution. You can always decrease your resolution later, if needed, but you cannot increase it without losing quality.
• Web Resolution: The graphics you use for the web should only be 72-96 dpi for your monitor to display it without it being blurry. The lower resolution also allows for a smaller file size, which means a shorter load time for your web pages. This is why when you print a web page, the images are blurry and not crisp. It is fine for screen, but not for print.
• Graphic Formats: Creating vector art will allow you, or your designer, to convert it to any graphic format you will ever need including EPS, JPG, GIF, and TIF.
• Print Colors: Choosing colors for your logo is also very important, as it greatly affects the feel of your company’s branding. The colors you use must be chosen using the PMS (Pantone Matching System). Commercial printers use a four-color process called CMYK, which stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. Every color is made from a precise combination of one or more of these four shades, and it is the measurement of these shades that allows them to make the exact same color every time.
• Web Colors: Once you have chosen your PMS colors for your logo and business identity, you will use them on everything you create for your business. You cannot specify PMS colors when creating your website because websites are viewed on your screen, which can only display RGB (Red, Green, Blue), not CMYK. By designing your site with web safe colors in the RGB web palette, you will ensure that your site colors will be as close as possible to your original design.
• Fonts: The fonts you select are critical when creating your logo. You must be able to read the text whether you are viewing it at 100% or 25%. A perfect example is your business card. You will have to reduce the size of your logo to 1 – 1 ½” wide and it is imperative that you are still able to easily read the text and see the images clearly. Look at your logo objectively, not emotionally. Avoid fonts that are too thin or condensed, because the text will be almost illegible and difficult for the printers to pick up once your logo is resized to business card size. You should also keep away from elements such as shadows or screens, as they will detract from the clarity of your logo and often end up looking grainy. Your text must be easy to read. If people have to decipher what the words actually say, they won’t take the time to try, and you will lose potential business.
• Graphics, Clip Art, Photos: Using graphical elements with your text to create your logo is common practice. Just because you are creating your logo in a vector art program, don’t be fooled into thinking that you can add any photograph and it will automatically vectorize the image. It won’t. Using clip art is an easy way to add graphical elements, and most clip art is already vector art. How do you know? If you were to open a piece of clip art in a vector-based program and ungroup the objects, you would have many different elements that you could move, delete, or alter any way you wish. Another test would be to zoom in on the piece of clip art. If it has jagged edges, it is not vector. If it has smooth edges, it is vector.

Creating your logo is one of the most important steps in creating your identity and branding your business. If you are serious about it, but are having difficulty creating the logo yourself using the tips above, I highly recommend hiring a professional designer to do it for you. A good designer will be able to listen to what you want, make suggestions, and create a quality logo within a few hours without breaking your bank. Wouldn’t you rather have a quality logo you can be proud of? Remember, you will be looking at it for years to come.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can as long as you include this with it: Connie McVicker is owner of Signature Worx, LLC, a member of the of the International Virtual Women’s Chamber of Commerce, a VAN Virtuoso in Graphic Design, and founding President of Team Women Jackson.