We all need a good logo. Dont we?
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  1. #1
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    Default We all need a good logo. Dont we?

    Hey,

    I've recently joined the forums although i have been browsing them for the past while reading different threads and viewing the videos on YouTube, so i'll take the beginning section of this thread to introduce myself. My name is Rami Kevin Kaldas, i am a 15 year old DJ/Producer from Richmond Hill, Ontario and i have been DJing since I was maybe 11 years old, granted at that age it was mostly fooling around on virtual DJ making noises . Now i'm looking more towards establishing myself and i have slowly been doing that and i see myself hopefully hitting some clubs soon in my local city (all ages events are very popular in Toronto).

    I apologize now if this is not the right section to be posting in but i am looking for someone to make me a logo, i will be willing to pay. My DJ name is Solsk3n, From the Swedish word "solsken" meaning sunshine lmfao. If anyone here has any sort of expertise in media arts i would be greatly appreciative if they could email me at solsk3n@gmail.com or inbox me here on this website.

    Cheers,
    Solsk3n

  2. #2
    Tech Guru 3heads's Avatar
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    Nope, a logo is pretty much the least important thing for a DJing career.
    13,3" MacBookPro (Mid 2012) # 2x Technics 1210 # NI Audio 8 DJ # Ecler Nuo 2.0 # NI Traktor Kontrol X1 # Sennheiser HD-25
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  3. #3
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    I guess or points of view differ, i understand obviously there's more important aspects of a DJ career but considering i am already creating music and hosting/appearing at events i feel that a good logo can help my name become more of a bolder statement in the music scene here and show an element of professionalism.

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by 3heads View Post
    Nope, a logo is pretty much the least important thing for a DJing career.
    I would agree about 100%. Logos are amazing for companies, but as some type of performer, I would say no. Take a look at recording artists, none of them have logos, and the one's that might, didn't get become rich and famous as a result of said logos.

    Quote Originally Posted by Solsk3n View Post
    I guess or points of view differ, i understand obviously there's more important aspects of a DJ career but considering i am already creating music and hosting/appearing at events i feel that a good logo can help my name become more of a bolder statement in the music scene here and show an element of professionalism.
    First, let me say Hi, as a fellow Torontonian (downtown).

    Secondly, It's not just a point of view. Wanting something to "look professional" is probably one of the worst reasons to create a marketing piece and probably one of the biggest mistakes companies and/or individual entities make. All over the world hundreds of companies are creating mobile apps, because they think they need to have one, or because it "looks professional", but nobody ever thinks about why they need it or whether or not it's worth spending the time and/or money to get it. It's all about the "desire result". What is the "desired result"? Is it informational? Is it to get sales? And most importantly, is this initiative going to achieve the "desired result"?

    I'm 34, and my background is in corporate marketing. I'm just saying that to illustrate some "credentials" because you never know who your advice is coming from on these forums.

    If you're creating the logo yourself, you're a design guru, and it'll take you no time at all, then maybe it's not a big deal...But it looks as though you're looking to contract someone, so I'll give my advice.

    Logos work EXTREMELY well with consumer based products. Why? Because it illustrates brand identity, and brand recognition. Take Starbucks and Apple for instance. Both logos don't contain words, and why not? Because they're globally recognized logos and the lack of words means that they transcend beyond any language barriers. I've been halfway across the world, and when I see that Starbucks logo down the street, it's like an omen. It'll tell me that no matter where I am, I can order a grande green tea latte. What this means to a company, is that both the Apple and Starbucks logos are resulting in customer sales. So in a consumer business where "sales" are always the desired result, their logos are going to achieve the "desired result" for them. Perhaps that's a bad example because you're not a consumer product, but what is your "desired result"? To get gigs? Is your logo going to achieve that for you? Probably not. DJ Tiesto has that "bird-logo", but is that why he's famous? Is it getting him more gigs? Also, it's not globally recognized. So if you looked at a poster and saw Tiesto's bird logo with a date and venue, how many people worldwide would know what it is? That brings me to another marketing fundamental...KISS. Keep. It. Simple. Stupid. I always refer to the "lowest common denominator". If the dumbest person alive knows what it is, you're good. Back to Tiesto...If you just had the words "DJ Tiesto" in a crappy font, along with the venue and date/time, it would deliver more results than just his logo. People would probably look at it and think "that's a crappy poster" but I'm sure it wouldn't have any trouble putting the asses in the seats, because Tiesto isn't famous because of a logo, and he's certainly not famous for his fonts/design.

    Logos are good for toothpaste, laundry detergent, canned foods, etc. When you go to the grocery store and you want some soup, it's easy to recognize the "Campbell's" logo and their signature red/white cans. Will your logo do that for you? If you're looking to DJ at clubs, people will probably hire you based on word-of-mouth, recognition, etc. however I do think a website is essential for any business.

    If you insist on designing a logo, it's important to understand the proper process. Because a logo has to align with your "brand". It's like visual diarrhea if you see a logo that contains colours or a look that clash with your site, so it's important that all your marketing efforts are designed with your brand in mind.

    What is a brand? For a company it's their entire identity. It's what the company signifies, and the public persona they want to illustrate. For Apple I would guess that a portion of their brand identity is "simplicity of design". They've won various awards on their design, and ease of use, and their logo illustrates that. Clean, white (which to me implies: fresh), and most of all, simple. For some sort of performing artist, a "brand" is basically their persona. What are you doing? What do you want the public perception to be? For an act like LMFAO, I would guess that their brand is about good times, banging chicks, and partying...And their public persona fits into that. They have un-combed hair, they wear ridiculous clothes, and they conceal their identify to some degree...Plus all their songs are about partying.

    At some of the companies I've worked at, they have a colour/design guide for marketing employees to make sure everything you create aligns with their brand. Obviously that's on the scale of a huge company, but the idea is that you don't want one of your efforts (eg website) to look completely disconnected from another one of your efforts (eg: logo). If you don't have a brand, it's easy to identify. You just need to start with a bunch of bullet points that summarizes your company and/or service. Who are you? What kind of music do you play? How are you going to illustrate that to the public?

    For eg, you brand could be:

    1. Fist-pumping electro music
    2. Rocking the hard jam
    3. distinguished taste
    4. Banging chicks

    Now it's difficult to put some of those descriptors into a logo, but you should always keep them in mind. Points like "rocking the hard jam" could be interpreted as "fun" or "party-lovin'" and there are ways to communicate that in your website/logo. Your designer should know how. If you look at the LMFAO website, they have the same pattern for the background, as the pants they wear, and to me it illustrates "fun" because only a total goofball would wear some crap like that http://www.lmfaomusic.com/#!featured. You also have to do competitive analysis and take a look at other DJ sites, because you can't design something that's totally opposite of the industry trend.

    I think it's easiest to design a website first, then put together a logo...Because you can do some competitive analysis on other DJ sites, and design yours with a similar look, then once you have that "look" down, you can ask your designer to design something that communicates your brand. Chances are if you contract someone, they'll ask you about your brand when designing a website or logo, and if they don't, I'd be weary.

    Hope this helps. I was in my 30's when I learned all this stuff...If I was 15, I could have been really ahead of the curve.
    Last edited by tokenasianguy; 07-30-2012 at 07:14 PM.

  5. #5
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    Hey,

    Wow, tokenasianguy id like to thank you first and foremost for shedding the amount of time to display an opinion and teach me something that ill be able to use throughout my career as a DJ. I do agree with the way you put it and in a way it does make sense to me, but in logo i guess i may have been mistaken in the fact that i do not want a logo such as what starbucks or apple have. If im right a typical "Dj Logo" is basically a play on the font or photoshop of the DJ's name, such as what afrojack avicii and alesso have used. I have already put in work and effort to designing and getting a domain for my own website and currently run on several social media networks. I guess the basic necessity for me creating a logo to go along with the rest of marketing and producing schemes i have been planning was an initiative to go forward and show progress and may not have been something that was really needed if you know what i mean. I basically believed it was one of the parts to further publicizing myself. previous to this ive basically ran on word of mouth and i was looking to gather the essentials to creating a more in depth internet expansion then the previous facebook and twitter i had. If you dont mind me asking if a logo does not help much what would be a good way to really imprint my name besides obviously making music people enjoy?

    Cheers,
    I appreciate the great imput
    Solsk3n

  6. #6

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    Do some industrial spying and check out what kind of logos most famous DJs have. Most likely you have a hard time finding any such logos...

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Solsk3n View Post
    Hey,

    Wow, tokenasianguy id like to thank you first and foremost for shedding the amount of time to display an opinion and teach me something that ill be able to use throughout my career as a DJ. I do agree with the way you put it and in a way it does make sense to me, but in logo i guess i may have been mistaken in the fact that i do not want a logo such as what starbucks or apple have. If im right a typical "Dj Logo" is basically a play on the font or photoshop of the DJ's name, such as what afrojack avicii and alesso have used.
    It's the same thing. Whether it's just a font, or a graphic, or both, it's still a logo. The only problem with just using a font is that it's more difficult to remember. But a lot of companies have made logos was uniquely designed fonts.

    [quote]I have already put in work and effort to designing and getting a domain for my own website and currently run on several social media networks. I guess the basic necessity for me creating a logo to go along with the rest of marketing and producing schemes i have been planning was an initiative to go forward and show progress and may not have been something that was really needed if you know what i mean. I basically believed it was one of the parts to further publicizing myself. previous to this ive basically ran on word of mouth and i was looking to gather the essentials to creating a more in depth internet expansion then the previous facebook and twitter i had.

    A logo is "necessary" for some companies more than others, but you have to ask yourself if it'll achieve the results you need. At the most, I would see your logo being easily visible to those that know you and are familiar with it, in which case it's almost useless because they know about you, which is the strongest asset you can have as a club DJ...Or I can see it as being more visible when printed on a poster among a bunch of DJ's that don't have logos, in which case, you have to ask whether that's going to create the desired result, which I assume in your case, would be to create a following...And I would say, no. People will want to hear you, but your logo will only go as far as someone saying "hey, that's a nice logo". Although maybe that's just me. I'm just a skeptic and I tend to think pragmatically.

    If you dont mind me asking if a logo does not help much what would be a good way to really imprint my name besides obviously making music people enjoy?
    There are a number of things I could recommend. I think the first challenge would be your age. 15 is pretty young, and you might have a hard time convincing people that you're professional and reliable. Being an effective speaker can definitely bridge that gap. Effective communicating can bridge a lot of gaps in not having enough experience for a job. It can also illustrate that you're a great leader, and has the ability to impress people when someone can speak eloquently and has a better than average vocabulary. There are a lot of great books on selling. I currently have "selling for dummies" and I'm a big fan of any of the "dummies" books. I'm currently reading "web marketing for dummies" and plan to buy "SEO for dummies" soon. Much of the info I've posted in here were taken from the book "web marketing for dummies".

    Cheers,
    I appreciate the great imput
    Solsk3n
    No problem. I've had a lot of help getting to where I am in my life, and some of it was from complete strangers, so I'm more than happy to help out whenever I can. I also love talking about any and all things marketing related, so feel free to PM me whenever you want.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by 3heads View Post
    Nope, a logo is pretty much the least important thing for a DJing career.
    this

  9. #9

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    I agree that a logo is not nearly as important as reputation...for a DJing career THIS is your logo...what others think of your work, not what "picture" comes to mind. A catchy name, yes...a "catchy" logo or font not so much. If you meant "branding" then that would be your DJ name and reputation not a picture or font.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by tokenasianguy View Post
    I would agree about 100%. Logos are amazing for companies, but as some type of performer, I would say no. Take a look at recording artists, none of them have logos, and the one's that might, didn't get become rich and famous as a result of said logos.



    First, let me say Hi, as a fellow Torontonian (downtown).

    Secondly, It's not just a point of view. Wanting something to "look professional" is probably one of the worst reasons to create a marketing piece and probably one of the biggest mistakes companies and/or individual entities make. All over the world hundreds of companies are creating mobile apps, because they think they need to have one, or because it "looks professional", but nobody ever thinks about why they need it or whether or not it's worth spending the time and/or money to get it. It's all about the "desire result". What is the "desired result"? Is it informational? Is it to get sales? And most importantly, is this initiative going to achieve the "desired result"?

    I'm 34, and my background is in corporate marketing. I'm just saying that to illustrate some "credentials" because you never know who your advice is coming from on these forums.

    If you're creating the logo yourself, you're a design guru, and it'll take you no time at all, then maybe it's not a big deal...But it looks as though you're looking to contract someone, so I'll give my advice.

    Logos work EXTREMELY well with consumer based products. Why? Because it illustrates brand identity, and brand recognition. Take Starbucks and Apple for instance. Both logos don't contain words, and why not? Because they're globally recognized logos and the lack of words means that they transcend beyond any language barriers. I've been halfway across the world, and when I see that Starbucks logo down the street, it's like an omen. It'll tell me that no matter where I am, I can order a grande green tea latte. What this means to a company, is that both the Apple and Starbucks logos are resulting in customer sales. So in a consumer business where "sales" are always the desired result, their logos are going to achieve the "desired result" for them. Perhaps that's a bad example because you're not a consumer product, but what is your "desired result"? To get gigs? Is your logo going to achieve that for you? Probably not. DJ Tiesto has that "bird-logo", but is that why he's famous? Is it getting him more gigs? Also, it's not globally recognized. So if you looked at a poster and saw Tiesto's bird logo with a date and venue, how many people worldwide would know what it is? That brings me to another marketing fundamental...KISS. Keep. It. Simple. Stupid. I always refer to the "lowest common denominator". If the dumbest person alive knows what it is, you're good. Back to Tiesto...If you just had the words "DJ Tiesto" in a crappy font, along with the venue and date/time, it would deliver more results than just his logo. People would probably look at it and think "that's a crappy poster" but I'm sure it wouldn't have any trouble putting the asses in the seats, because Tiesto isn't famous because of a logo, and he's certainly not famous for his fonts/design.

    Logos are good for toothpaste, laundry detergent, canned foods, etc. When you go to the grocery store and you want some soup, it's easy to recognize the "Campbell's" logo and their signature red/white cans. Will your logo do that for you? If you're looking to DJ at clubs, people will probably hire you based on word-of-mouth, recognition, etc. however I do think a website is essential for any business.

    If you insist on designing a logo, it's important to understand the proper process. Because a logo has to align with your "brand". It's like visual diarrhea if you see a logo that contains colours or a look that clash with your site, so it's important that all your marketing efforts are designed with your brand in mind.

    What is a brand? For a company it's their entire identity. It's what the company signifies, and the public persona they want to illustrate. For Apple I would guess that a portion of their brand identity is "simplicity of design". They've won various awards on their design, and ease of use, and their logo illustrates that. Clean, white (which to me implies: fresh), and most of all, simple. For some sort of performing artist, a "brand" is basically their persona. What are you doing? What do you want the public perception to be? For an act like LMFAO, I would guess that their brand is about good times, banging chicks, and partying...And their public persona fits into that. They have un-combed hair, they wear ridiculous clothes, and they conceal their identify to some degree...Plus all their songs are about partying.

    At some of the companies I've worked at, they have a colour/design guide for marketing employees to make sure everything you create aligns with their brand. Obviously that's on the scale of a huge company, but the idea is that you don't want one of your efforts (eg website) to look completely disconnected from another one of your efforts (eg: logo). If you don't have a brand, it's easy to identify. You just need to start with a bunch of bullet points that summarizes your company and/or service. Who are you? What kind of music do you play? How are you going to illustrate that to the public?

    For eg, you brand could be:

    1. Fist-pumping electro music
    2. Rocking the hard jam
    3. distinguished taste
    4. Banging chicks

    Now it's difficult to put some of those descriptors into a logo, but you should always keep them in mind. Points like "rocking the hard jam" could be interpreted as "fun" or "party-lovin'" and there are ways to communicate that in your website/logo. Your designer should know how. If you look at the LMFAO website, they have the same pattern for the background, as the pants they wear, and to me it illustrates "fun" because only a total goofball would wear some crap like that http://www.lmfaomusic.com/#!featured. You also have to do competitive analysis and take a look at other DJ sites, because you can't design something that's totally opposite of the industry trend.

    I think it's easiest to design a website first, then put together a logo...Because you can do some competitive analysis on other DJ sites, and design yours with a similar look, then once you have that "look" down, you can ask your designer to design something that communicates your brand. Chances are if you contract someone, they'll ask you about your brand when designing a website or logo, and if they don't, I'd be weary.

    Hope this helps. I was in my 30's when I learned all this stuff...If I was 15, I could have been really ahead of the curve.

    Gotta disagree with you about the need of a logo, I believe artists nowadays need to brand themself more. Writing from my phone so I'm not gonna write too long. Anyway, get a simple logo, remember "less is more". Use your logo at posters, merch if u ever make some, social media, EP's if ur a producer etc.
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