The core of your brand presence
Why do you need a Logo?
Man is a “visual being”. This means that we usually remember graphics and forms more easily than texts or complex contexts. A good, unique, differentiating logo is therefore an important marketing instrument for brand recognition.
Imagine Apple without the apple or Mercedes without the star … !
Just as you are a brand! Therefore you also need a logo, so that you stand out from other musicians and have a unique recognition mark.
Your logo is your unique trademark.
What makes a good logo
So that your logo has the desired effects, e.g. on your fans, audience, bookers, promoters, labels and on media, some rules have to be observed:
– Uniqueness: Your logo should be associated ad hoc with you – and only with you. It should make you unmistakable.
– Memorability: A working logo should not be too complex to facilitate recognition.
– Comprehensibility: It should be related to the topic it and you stand for. Only in exceptional cases can it stand in direct contradiction to the topic in order to generate attention.
– Reproducibility: During the development you should pay attention to good reproducibility. It should also be reproduced in a reduced form, easily recognizable. The technical requirements for reproduction should therefore not be too high.
– Consistency: When developing a logo, you should be very careful, as a later change of logo is not possible without great “losses”. Because: Fans and audience have memorized the logo after some time and a significant logo change can irritate these target groups and in the worst case lead to the loss of these followers.
In this respect, later logo changes should at most involve a sensitive redesign, e.g. moderation – but not a complete redesign.
A logo must be maintained
It is important to modernize the logo sensitively from time to time in order to adapt its look to contemporary design requirements and to keep the brand visually attractive.
That’s how you get a good logo.
In general, the final design of a logo is best done by an experienced graphic designer, whose know-how makes the difference between “is professional” and “is wanted, but not skilful”. And: A later re-design, i.e. the “repair” of the logo designed by an amateur, does not only cost money, but may also lead to a loss of recognition value and customer loyalty – which should absolutely be avoided!
It is allowed to be inspired by other bands and artists. It is helpful, if these inspirations come from a musically similar area, because logo and artistic style should be as close as possible to each other.
Some tips:
– Use the Internet for inspiration: How did other bands implement their logo ideas? Take a piece of paper and sketch your ideas. This doesn’t have to be artistically valuable and well-designed – it’s just about capturing your own ideas. But be careful: avoid using too similar motifs to existing logos. This will not only dilute your own appearance, but can also lead to copyright infringements.
– Show your sketches to colleagues and friends and get their feedback. This restricts the variants somewhat and excludes unattractive ideas. But don’t get discouraged by negative feedback when you have a good idea – just talk to us about whether your idea can be preserved, but still be optimized.
This applies to bands
– Don’t forget to discuss your ideas in advance. After all, you all have to stand behind the idea and the logo should represent you all – as a band!
– The logo can be the band / artist name (e.g. Metallica) or a separate graphic signet (e.g. the outstretched tongue of the Rolling Stones) or a combination of both. A logo should have links to music style or band names – this makes it easier for your fans to make the connection between band and logo. But sometimes it’s enough if the logo is concise enough to be immediately associated with you. For example, are there specific symbols that would be important to you in your logo?
– Basically: A logo should never be created in a “quick fix”. It will accompany your band as long as you play and can only be changed with great sacrifices. Who acts hastily or saves here, pays later on it.
The Sound Marketing Team will advise you competently on all questions concerning logo design.
The challenges
You want to use colours? Colours must be very similar in print and on the web, because your appearance should always have the same visual effect. Your logo also needs to look good on both a light and dark background – or consist of 2 alternative colour designs. And: Especially from a financial point of view, it is important to remember that colour gradients and multicoloured logos can drive up costs in print reproduction.
The promotion of your new logo
So, you have your new logo and it doesn’t just look fantastic, it sets you apart from all other musicians and bands. Now it “only” has to be promoted or used perfectly in the relevant places, e.g. in your brand communication or advertising, in your press work or in merchandising, so that it generates attention for you and you not only create recognition, but also earn money with it.
Use all possibilities to place your logo in connection with your artistic work in the foreground. Starting with the band flag in the background of your live performance and the bass skin over your CD releases up to merchandising articles like band mugs, shirts and caps. Use the logo dominantly in a central place in every social media appearance. Be it the coverage of your last live gig, or an info about Spotify demo songs. Give the logo in good quality to the press to be able to present you in a press article with logo. Give the logo to your label so that they can promote you with a logo. Get stickers with your logo, so that your fans can advertise for you or you can stick them on your tour bus or private car. Also make sure that your logo can be seen everywhere on live gigs, e.g. beach flags.
The Sound Marketing Team will be happy to advise you comprehensively. We will give you tips on your marketing possibilities, support you in the implementation of your ideas and realize your logo on request.
Phone call: +49 175 1864695
or e-mail: info at soundmarketingteam.com
Autor:
Timo Bierbaum