Close your eyes and what is the first logo you visualize?
Me? I see the swoosh. That swoosh. The Just Do It swoosh.
I don’t know why. I am a Nike fan but not a Nike consumer. Maybe it is because I live one town over from their constantly expanding Headquarters. Or probably because of that one Case Study back in Business School that we studied for weeks…..
….or the constant barrage of Swooshs on practically everything. That and the Mcdonald’s “M”.
Yeah probably that. It is everywhere. Wait…is Nike in outer space? BRB
well that was an exciting curiosity trail. I legit had ZERO idea that Nike had any connection with Outer Space. After discovering this Trail of Curiosity – I am now a Nike member so I can get first access to all the cool prototypes because hello….
Wait. Where was I going with this?……
Logos. More specifically – the importance and value of logos.
Logos are our first impression and can also be our last impression.
The mere idea of needing a logo is daunting. It is shakingly scary. It is scream-at-the-sky frustrating.
Colors? Black and White? Symbol? Image? Icon? Words? Text only? Image only? FONT?! Square? Circle? Borderless? Does this already exist?
Too complicated? Too simple? Just right? Non-offensive…
Why? Because so much, SO much – relies on your logo. If your customers cannot remember your logo – what’s the point?
OK so that’s NOT the point of the logo. But it is still a valid point. I am not going to go into the reasons why a logo is important today. But this is a good article to read
Thinking of needing a logo – is daunting. Bringing your vision to life – is HARD. Whether you create it yourself or not.
But for the case of my story, let’s assume (but not in like the “make an a$$ out of you and me” way) – that you are graphically awkward.
Hi. My name is Kelly and I am graphically awkward. I love words. Words are my world. I can words asleep, awake, underwater, in the sky… I digress.
Anyways – let’s assume you can visualize what you want – but you have zero skill in actually transforming your brain’s visuals “to paper.” Just like me!
I can visualize beautifully complicated scenes. But somewhere between my internal vision and my hands – that perfect, dream-like scene ends as quickly as a 3rd Grade Game of Telephone runs off track.
At which point – I curse the world that requires a visually appealing memorable logo. But it is a necessary evil. So we might as well do it right. But how? I am going to tell you.
What is the first step?
Where do you find a passionate graphic artist/designer?
What about those online logo makers or Fiverr?
Oh ok then. Hopefully I know someone because then I can get the friends and family discount.
You are going to invest in a graphic artist/designer that is as passionate about their craft as you are about yours.
You are going to reach out to your friends and family, your network first. First. Shop Small. Shop Local.
If you discover you do not know someone that knows someone and your journey takes you to those marketplaces – go for it! Do what works for you.
Stop right now. Thank you very much. You are going to ask them to give you give you a quote without a discount. One that they would send to any other client.
So that is exactly what I did.
I reached out to my network with a rough sketch of my idea. One of my Scout friends contacted me back and the rest is history. The best part is – I was already aware of her passion and skills because of the mere fact that she was already in my network. So the decision to choose her – was not that hard.
She just completed a whole month of drawing a new piece every day… I may or may not have been secretly hoping she would be willing to step out of her wheelhouse and bring my vision to life.
I reached out to her. She replied. And based on our conversation – I determined that she was the best person to hand over my ideas too. I knew she would surpass anything I could ever have dreamed of. And I wasn’t wrong.
I sent over an image of what I wanted.
We kept our communication channel open.
I am still speechless when I look at what Felicia – of Felicia Penney Creations – created.
She translated my graphic awkwardness and turned my basic idea into a masterpiece.
Logos are our first impression with our customers. Logos are (also) our last impression with our customers.
Creating a logo doesn’t have to be panic-inducing. In fact, it shouldn’t be.
You are good at what you do. So invest in someone that is good at what they do.
Today at Spirited Wolf Media, we would like to shine a spotlight on Felicia Penny Creations.
Felicia pushed herself past her comfort zones, taking on a project that tested her skills. which makes sense considering her motto is “mistakes are an opportunity to learn and grow,” as demonstrated by the fact that she accepted the challenge and unsurprisingly soared past all of my expectations.
So of course I had to ask her what her Super Power was. I didn’t expect her response but after looking at my logo again – it isn’t a surprise. She said that her “husband says [she is] really good at making people enjoy the simple things in life.”
Ahhh the simple things in life. What are the simple things in your life? Haven’t thought about that in a while huh? Oh you have? Same here. It is 2020 afterall. A year that made us all re-evaluate what is truly important to us.
We as humans, by nature, are not simple things. We are complicated. Oftentimes – our truth is buried underneath layers upon layers. Fun fact – Felicia created my logo with 14 layers (ironically, that is how many layers I can be found underneath when a windstorm hits……).
But you know what isn’t complicated? Finding a logo designer that can take your written words and graphic awkwardness – and make it come alive.
Where can you find Felicia at? I am so glad you asked!
