No! Bad logo!

Look at number 5. Now look away quickly, then look again. Yep.

Chalk it up to my typographic tendencies, but I’ve noticed that many solopreneurs and small business owners take one of two paths:

Scenario 1: They get excited about their products and/or services and try to fit information about everything they can do into their logo, usually in the form of ugly clip art. While not a crime, it comes across like a little kid flailing around shouting “lookwhatIcando!”–definitely not very professional.

Scenario 2: They ignore it all together, in hopes that no one will notice. Er, sorry dear. People notice.

Because I’m such a nice, helpful person (ha!) and I love seeing go-getter types succeed (really), I’d like to share some tips for creating a simple text logo.

How to create a simple text logo

This approach works quite well if you’re a small or independent business owner without the design skills to create something elaborate, or the money to hire a pro designer (you can do that later, when you’re raking in the big bucks). For now, you just need something clean and professional.

1. Find a few appropriate fonts

I love dafont.com for free fonts, and MyFonts and FontShop have great inexpensive ones. PLEASE, I beg you, don’t go all Avatar and use an inappropriate or overused typeface like Papyrus or Comic Sans (yes, I know the Avatar titles were a custom job, but IT LOOKS LIKE PAPYRUS. Which is even worse). I will talk about you.

Put a little effort into your brand and find a good typeface.

2. Install the fonts

Download and install the font so it’s available on your computer. It’s a bit different for each operating system, but it basically involves downloading the .ttf or .otf file to your computer, then exporting it to your Fonts folder. Most type foundries and font repositories will include instructions for doing this on their site.

3. Test your options

Try a few options and see which font works best. I like FontPicker, which automatically detects the fonts installed on your system and provides a preview of your custom text in each style. Narrow it down to two or three of your favorites.

4. Make it vector

If at all possible, use a vector illustration program to create the logo. Adobe Illustrator is pretty much the standard, and you can sign up for a 30-day free trial if you don’t want to buy the whole shebang. I also like the open source (free!) Inkscape.

5. Get creative!

Now let’s get creative: Open your graphics program, and choose the type tool. Working in shades of gray or black, type the name of your business in your chosen fonts. You can stop there, or make some adjustments to add interest.

Try:

• Adjusting the space between the letters. The closer together they are, the more it begins to look like a cohesive form. Overlapping letters adds interest (see: NARS), while increasing the spacing adds a sense of lightness.

• Using all upper- or all lowercase letters. This creates a more cohesive form because there’s less deviation between letter heights.

• Changing the angle of the words or one of the letters. Going up diagonally from left to right implies a dynamic organization!

• Making one of the words a different font or weight. Use a serif with a non-serif, a heavy slab with a light, something plain with a script. If that seems daunting, use different weights of the same font or even a different color.

• Removing the fill and using just an outline

• Merging letters with similar forms, or removing crossbars.

• Adding punctuation. A period or exclamation point could add a little something.

• Adding a stroke (outline), line or border around the logo form.

• Filling the bowls (open spaces) in the letters.

• Enclosing the text in a shape.

6. Add color

Notice how we haven’t really talked color ’til now? Work with colors once you’re satisfied with the letterforms. While color is important, your logo has to look good in black and white, and preferably in reverse type as well.

Pick colors you like or a few that represent your business (for instance, a landscaper might use use shades of green to represent plant life). I like to use Color Scheme Designer to test and choose colors–you might also try adding a gradient or mixing several colors at this stage. Get a few opinions and pick your favorite combination.

7. Save it!

Save your logo in its native file format (whichever program you used to create it), as a PNG for web while maintaining transparency, as a JPEG for images, as a TIFF for crisp print letterhead and business cards, and as a EPS or PDF for large-scale projects like signs and banners.

Et voila! Now you have a professional-looking logo that reinforces your expertise as a successful business professional. I’ll tell Papyrus you said thanks, but no thanks.

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Last weekend I was headed to a class at Media Bridges (I’m hoping to learn about video production) when I noticed a commotion at Washington Park.

You should’ve seen everybody groovin’ to “Da Butt!”

It was one of Go Cincinnati‘s service projects, Go Grub. Washington Park was packed to the brim with ‘hood regulars, neighborly urbanites, and suburban families eating, dancing, and playing together. It was friggin’ awesome, and I hope the “revitalization” plans take into account include the people who currently call the park a second (and sometimes first) home. Improvement does not equal displacement.

Later that day, Fountain Square was hoppin’ prior to the Reds’ Civil Rights game.

It was such a beautiful day.

I finally had a chance to sit down and flip through my print copy of the latest issue of Style Sample magazine–it looks so good!

Flipping through pages of issue #7

You can order print copies at MagCloud. FriendBoy read through it and promptly told me I should be a millionaire…and generously volunteered to be my sugar baby. Thanks, babe.

Speaking of FriendBoy, he was in a grillin’ mood all weekend. On Sunday, he made some pretty fantastic barbecue ribs.

Technically, I’m transitioning to vegetarianism (very slooowly and gradually, you see), but I couldn’t resist a rib or six. Add southern-style potato salad and baked beans, and I was in a food coma for a good hour.

Later, I went to Venue 222 to watch Casablanca, and ate even more food (how? why?) since I wasn’t able to resist the sweet potato fries and mini key lime pie from Cafe de Wheels.

I left singing my own completely off-key rendition of “As Time Goes By” and wondering if it’s worth it to don a white tuxedo and matching fedora just to sit on the couch and watch TV.

How was your weekend?

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His name is Beauregard Aloysius, Beau for short (see also: Beau-bear, Beau-bunny, Baby B, Wheezy Beau, and a jillion other unnecessary cutesy-poo nicknames) and as his name suggests, he is a southern gentleman.

He was sick as a dog (ha!) due to an upper respiratory infection when I picked him up, but after a week of  cuddling, petting, syringe feeding (not fun), nose drops (even less fun), and playing catch the mouse, he’s no longer hiding under the bed and ducking for cover. He’s eating well, playing hard, and loves to curl up in a ball in my lap while purring like crazy. I think I’m in trouble.

Just FYI: I’ll be switching this blog and stylesamplemag.com over to self-hosted WordPress, which is turning out to be more trouble than I expected. I hope to have it all completed by the weekend after Thanksgiving, so if things look a bit wonky between now and then, please bear with me. And pray for my sanity.

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A former coworker convinced me to try on this blazer even though I was more than a little apprehensive about the bright color. It was on clearance, so I figured what the heck…

To my surprise, it fit perfectly and I wound up loving the color. I guess it never hurts to try new things, right?

Blazer, Donna Karan; dress, Forever21; bodystocking, Hustler; ankle boots, Sigerson Morrison

Have you ever picked up a pleasant surprise on clearance? What was it?

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So, since I have a long bus trip ahead (yes, that’s right: bus. Pray for me.) I spent some time (read: 20 minutes. Because I procrastinate. I’m the queen of “Eh, that can wait.”) considering what to pack. I need to be comfy (10 hours on a bus), warm (31 degrees in DC), but not sloppy (“Why yes, President Obama, I am a model”). In the spirit of The Glamourai’s post about travel dressing, I also brought a few special pieces to add a little sparkle.

Side note: Nina over at Femme Rationale tagged me, but I swear, I’m so bad at this stuff. I’m working on it!

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Toning it down?

Do you ever feel like you should tone your style down a bit? I work in a corporate office where it’s acceptable (encouraged, even!) to wear a polo shirt and khakis every day, so sometimes I feel a bit overdone. Not to mention, I’ve received my fair share of “what the hell are you wearing?” looks. And once, I was walking down the street and two teenage girls literally pointed at my outfit and laughed! I felt like I was 13 again! (Trust me, that was not a good time. I won’t get into details, but those days were filled with coke-bottle glasses and teased/curled/bleached/sprayed bangs.)

How do you balance?

So, I always seem to struggle with maintaining a balance between my personal style (which can be a bit funky) and “professional” clothing, which, according to most people, is limited to boxy navy blue suits and sensible (read: ugly) shoes. Y’all know I will not wear sensibly ugly shoes!

I think I’ve managed to find a compromise above–dark trousers and a fitted sweater in shades of blue balance a vintage tie-neck blouse and wine-colored shoes and belt (thrifted!). Decorative hoops and a camel-colored beret add interest without being too distracting. Now, if I could just get my co-workers to appreciate the finer points of shredded jeans and dominatrix platforms, I’d be all set!

Do you ever feel out of place because of your outfit? Did you tone it down or just say screw ‘em?

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Someone has got to be f-ing kidding me.

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1. Green Dolce Vita boots

2. Juicy Couture watch (it’s purple!)

3. Anthropologie sweater (I need a belt or layers or something, right? Suggestions?)

4. Sony CyberShot digital camera

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