I’ve just read an excellent post on the YouZign.com blog and wanted to share it:
Logo Design: The Balance of Font, Shape and Color
See it here http://youzign.com/blog/logo-design-the-balance-of-font-shape-and-color/
“Define clearly the focus of your own business (or your clients).
When designing a logo there are a few key questions that you need to answer:What is the business all about?
Is it a business that needs to convey a message of trust?
Is it more of a friendly and playful company?
What products and services does the business offer?
What is the target audience?Once you can answer those questions and you have reviewed the logos of your competition it’s time to think about designing.
With this level of research, planning and visualizing, you can get to the point that you actually know what your logo should look like.
The balance of everything……”
Here there is more detail on Shape, Font, Color and more – see the full post. Here’s the link again:http://youzign.com/blog/logo-design-the-balance-of-font-shape-and-color/
So what sort of business would we want an angry chicken logo for????
Well. I don’t know either, but he/she was just so striking, I just had to put the pic somewhere in the post!!
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Do you spend too much money getting product graphics done for you?
Would you rather spend that money on other resources or family needs?….
My favorite Graphics Creation product is The Logo Creator – it makes logos, banners, headers, Facebook cover pictures and profile images and almost any other graphic you need because the size is so easy to change.
The program is inexpensive and comes with lots of elements to get you started but if you want to be really creative, there are several add-on packs or you can upload your own images.
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Here’s an example I made in a few minutes about the Characters Pack – made just by mixing and matching elements and changing colors. Eye catching, isn’t it?
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If you want to create attention grabbing graphics yourself without having to use photoshop, why not check out The Logo Creator for yourself now?
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Many people, when creating their website, don't think about the importance a logo can play.
Your site's logo is sort of like your business card. When people see it, the design makes an immediate impression in their mind, for good or for bad. Want to make sure it makes a good impression? Follow these easy steps!
1. Begin with a simple black and white design.
You don't have to finish with a black and white design, but you want to start with one. Think of this as the pencil sketch for what will become a great painting. Even the great artists start out with a rough sketch of what the finished product will look like. With a black and white design, it doesn't matter if you have the latest graphic editing software, or a more outdated version. Using black and white as a starting point, you can create a clean design from which to start.
2. Fonts are great, but don't go overboard.
There are a lot of great fonts out there and you might be tempted to put a few of your favorites in your logo. Don't! You never want to use more than two fonts in your logo. Any more than this and you risk having your logo go from neat and professional to amateurish. Professional graphic designers will tell you that too many fonts can be off-putting to a site visitor. Coco Chanel once advised fashion-conscious women to take off the last accessory they put on, in order to avoid looking like they were drowning underneath their accessories. Don't let your logo drown in unnecessary fonts!
3. Make sure your logo looks good in any scale. 
One common mistake people make when designing logos is by designing logos meant to be viewed in only one scale. Remember, you may want to reuse your logo later on in either a higher resolution or lower resolution. Design your original logo in a high resolution and test it out in different scales. How does it look when you scale it down?
4. Avoid overly elaborate fonts.
Avoid overly elaborate fonts
Avoid overly elaborate fonts
Sure, that fancy font with all the bells and whistles looks interesting, but is it readable? There is a reason that the simple fonts are the most commonly used. If your reader cannot read your logo, you might as well not have one. Make sure the font you use can be read by more people than just yourself.
5.Try your logo on more than one background.
You never know where your logo might end up. For right now, it might look great against the white backdrop of your site, but what about when it is on an affiliate page? An advertisement? Does it look great against both dark and light backgrounds? Vibrant backgrounds? Dull ones?
6. Look at your logo from different angles.
People don't think about the impression their logo might make when turned upside-down or sideways. A logo that looks fantastic when turned the correct direction might look different when turned upside down. Your logo might only be on your website right now, but what if it is placed on a product or book later? Avoid unintentional disaster by making sure your logo looks great when viewed from all directions.
7. Get a second opinion.
Second opinions aren't just for medicine. You love your logo. Great! What about other people? Don't be afraid to ask for criticism. Make sure to ask for second opinions from people who are going to give you their honest opinion. Everyone wants to hear from other people how great their work is, but is it more important to have a bunch of people who tell you how great your work is because they think it is what you want to hear, or because your work really is great?
8. Tie it all together.
Your logo isn't complete until all the individual parts of the logo work together. 
Do the fonts and the graphics work together? Does everything flow well together? The components of a well-designed logo should work with each other and not against each other.
Remember to take your time with your logo design. Great logos look like they took time and thought to put together, so make sure you put time and thought into your design! And don't be afraid to deviate from your original design. Your original thoughts and designs may not be the best final choice, so don't be unwilling to adapt. By following these easy tips, you are sure to create a design you will be eager to show off!
Best wishes
Trish
I recently downloaded a free copy of Laughingbird Software's "The Logo Creator" and have already become a huge fan. It can be used for more than just logos because you can create the page to be almost any size you want.
Get Your Copy Free Now!
Go to https://www.facebook.com/Laughingbird.Software and "Like" the page. After that you should be able to see the app for the Free Software – see area highlighted in yellow in the image below.
The software is simple to use anf has many features not found on some expensive programs.
When you open a new logo, the default window size is 560×420 but you can drag any corner or side to make the size you want.
The new window opens with an Element Setter for Text or Images. Clicking "text" opens a box for you to type in and then you click the "Add New Text" button to add it to the page. To edit, click on the text in the logo and in the element setter, edit the text.
Text formatting is done from the buttons in the separate Text Menu and the buttons are Format, Color, Shadow, Blur, Outline and "More text effects…" Inside each of these areas are more options such as rotatable text, gradient colors, 3D, mirror and many more.
Choosing Images from the Element Setter brings up some fancy letters and a menu for more logo objects including banners & star, glass objects, arrows, orbs, swishes etc.
Instead of starting with your own design from scratch, you can load an existing logo from one of the two included Logo Libraries, make your own changes and then save it as a new template for later use or modification.
Go to https://www.facebook.com/Laughingbird.Software and "Like" the page to get yourself a copy now!
The example below was made fairly quickly, using a ready made logo, but inserted my own graphic and changed the text and fonts just to give you an idea. Your creations can be exported in a wide variety of graphic formats and various sizes, making it particularly useful for larger projects like book covers or web pages..
