I frequently get logo design quote requests from my website and once they receive my quote they shoot back an email asking my least favorite question: “why should I pay you X for a logo design when I have found plenty of places online that sell pre-made logos for $150?”.  And the email usually always includes “I LOVE your style, but…” there’s always the but there… so it begins.  I forward them my standard response, since I have gotten this so frequently I have a template that I send out to them, and usually, after that, I do not hear back from them.

Let me go back to the beginning just a little bit before I attack the design factories out there. I began my design career in 1994 when I graduated from design school. Back then computers where still beige and Apple was just a glimmer in most folks eyes and the internet was something that, even I didn’t understand. I started drawing at an early age. My first memories of sketching were back in the 80′s, when my father would take us to the midget car races and we would sit in the pits waiting for him to finish his last race for the night. My sister and I were bored to death so I would bring my comic books, Calvin and Hobbs and Garfield were my favorite, and I started sketching out the comic strips in my little sketchbook my dad had given me. My father was an artist, mechanic, remote control airplane builder and eventually the only sign painter in our small town of Acton, ca. My father taught me about fonts, design and color theory, using the right brushes for the perfect stroke, yes he painted every sign BY HAND.

Design and art is in my blood. This is who I am. I wake up, get my coffee and usually don’t even change out of my pj’s until I have read all my emails for the morning and have thoroughly browsed all my usual design and art sites online. I live, breathe and eat art. THIS is what you are paying me for. My time, my talent and my style. This is how I make my living. Designing websites, branding and anything else that your business needs takes time, research and focus. I am only 1 person. I do not have an office full of designers or virtual assistants or even folks in India creating designs for me in a sweatshop. This is all me and only me.

A website and logo design can take up to 2 months or more to complete. I can only take on a few projects at a time to make sure I give your project it’s full attention it deserves. And I am not sure if you are aware of this but life is expensive. There’s also taxes and business expenses that I have to save for. Now $150 for a logo design sounds like alot of money but when you spend a month or 2 fine tuning it, sending files back and forth and countless phone calls getting to where the client wants it, that $150 does not go very far in this economy.

Now onto the “logo factories”. It’s tough to justify paying money for something that is litterally virtual. But your logo is the face of your business. Your logo should convey who you are, your business model and it should appeal to your target market. Most “design factories” create pre-made logos that you can buy and they just plop in your business name. There is no guarantees that logo is original and won’t be sold to another business in the future. Here is a great example of a “designer” that sells pre-made logos online:

Do either of these look familiar? What cracks me up is that he changed them ever so slightly. This does not mean he can claim them as his own. Why would you want a logo that is pre-made without any research on your business or target audience in mind? Here is a link to a full article regarding this company and the designer/companies that are suing him for copying their logos and re-selling them:
http://www.rockpaperink.com/content/column.php?id=88

Another company that is affordable yet totally mass production based is Vista Prints. How many hair stylists or direct sales women have you seen with this business card:

As a professional designer I feel as though it is part of my job to educate small business owners to the importance of branding for your business. The only way for you to understand how and why custom branding works is to spend some time with a designer who has experience and knowledge about logo design, color theory and how it affects the consumer. Here is a great article to start with: http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2009/03/25/how-color-influences-consumer-behavior

Stand out… don’t be a sheep in a wool factory! Hire a professional designer to give you a unique look and your business will flourish.

Tiki Oasis is a growing event that happens every year at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in San Diego. The event is tiki themed for folks who are into tiki or hawaiiana. I have loved tikis and hawaii for years, since I first moved to LA where I was introduced to low brow culture that featured alot of artists that dug vintage hawaiiana. Once these are gone that is it, no more. only 4 of each. I will be making more in the future when I come accross some hard-to-find or vintage fabric. I hope you enjoy Tiki Oasis and say hi if you see me there!

Now when I first saw it, it caught my eye because of the large fonts on it. I love fonts, especially on clothing and I don’t normally see something like this at Target. When I looked closer I realized that it said “Auto Races” behind the number and of course I had to have it due to the fact that every man in my family has either raced cars or works on them, I was sold!

I didn’t see much more around the floor that looked like this so I went about the store and did the rest of my shopping. Once I got home I washed it and went to hang it up. Then I noticed something… a tag,  a very interesting label poking out of the left hand side with a large H on it. I could barely read the rest of the type on it but what I could make out was that it said Hamilton Type… off to Google I went.

Come to find out Target has paired up with the amazing folks at the Hamilton Wood Type Museum to create a limited edition line of clothing for their stores. My heart racing I opened the YouTube video and my eyes feasted upon the font cuisine before me… Have a look:

The line is for Men and Women and also includes bags. I went straight to Target this morning and got the last brown messenger bag with two tiny little crowns on the front. Now I tried to find this stuff on the Target website and either it’s almost sold out or they just aren’t featuring it anymore due to the end of summer sales dominating their site. But if you search under Mossimo Supply Company you can find some of it there – look for the bold, faded prints on vintage style t’s, sweatshirts and bags.

Also go and visit the Hamilton Wood Type Museum webpage to learn more about this incredible company and what they are doing to keep fonts and printing alive.

Second, I will be attending Comicon this year. For research, of course. I do enjoy all the amazing art and meeting some of my favorite artists at this event. This is San Diego’s biggest event and I am looking forward to nerding out for a few days!

Third is Tiki Oasis where I go get my fill of all things Tiki. This event is held at the Handlery Hotel that is an amazing hawaiian themed hotel. Things I am looking forward to are: Marina the fire eating mermaid, the annual Tiki art show, and of course the shopping! You can find all things Tiki here, Tiki clothes, Tiki mugs, Tiki Fez’s, yes FEZ’S! One day I will get my husband to wear one!

Anyhoo… after all the hubbub is over I will have some wonderful eye candy for you and hopefully be inspired to design some new fun stuff!

Have a wonderful summer and see you soon!

~ Denialle

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The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:

• Delivers the message clearly
• Confirms your credibility
• Connects your target prospects emotionally
• Motivates the buyer
• Concretes User Loyalty

To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. You do this by integrating your brand strategies through your company at every point of public contact.

Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot.

A strong brand is invaluable as the battle for customers intensifies day by day. It’s important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. After all your brand is the source of a promise to your consumer. It’s a foundational piece in your marketing communication and one you do not want to be without.

And just remember folks:

You get what you pay for.
Someone offering logo/branding design for $100 or free is not a deal. You are sacrificing your future business by trying to save a buck on a logo design. You will not get something unique or effective – usually at that price they are using a template and just plopping your business name into the design.

A real designer takes time to research your brand, what your needs are, what your branding should convey and how you will be using your new branding. Experience is key in designing branding for businesses. So make sure you do YOUR research when hiring a designer. Do they have a variety of logos on their portfolio site? Do they have a unique style that fits your needs? Do they have good branding for themselves? If you happen upon a designer’s site and they have no logo or style then it’s a good idea to pass on their services. Would you go to a dentist that has bad teeth? I think not…

Alot of folks say print is dead with the invention of digital printing but I say Yay to online digital design!!! With the invention of digital printing the possibilities of what you can print on are endless. So I decided to come up with a design that I could get a couple yards printed with. I had this pointillism image of this chair lying around since high school. Yes this was a high school art project that actually came out pretty good! I scanned her in and popped her into a fancy frame and plopped it onto my new favorite color – yellow.

I only ordered a small amount on quilting weight fabric to test it out. And I think next time I will order the heavier weight fabric because I like my bags to more substantial weight. But for now this will do.

I will be selling these and more on my Etsy shop and I will also have a booth at the North Park Arts Festival on May 15th in San Diego, Ca.

I hope to see you there!

If you love mid century design, architecture, art and anything Eames inspired you must go to Modernism Week in Palm Springs.

My husband and I went for a short weekend get-away. It was pouring down rain on Friday and Saturday night but during the day it was beautiful.

We stayed at the Caliente Tropics Hotel, which is a restored tiki oasis!

We attended a show at the convention center that featured a ton of amazing mid-century designers and shops. There was vintage travel posters to modern jewelry. My eyes were drinking in all the amazing sights to be had! I was in design heaven.

We also visited the Shag Store. They had some great new prints and wonderful purses from his line that he designed for Disneyland.
Later on that night we went to Trio for some cocktails and ran into Shag himself!

www.modernismweek.com