What Makes a Good Logo?

Logo is the graphical representation of an organization's image. In order to make an effective logo there are certain design characteristics, which has to be followed, in order to bring out a visually effective logo.

Following are 4 important characteristics of a good logo:

1. Defining Shape

A recognizable shape or size is always necessary in order to make the logo clear. Human brains can easily identify a well-defined shape. The logo should be distinct.

2. Importance of Presence

Presence is judged by the boldness of the logo. The logo should be capable of covering the maximum space allotted for the logo design. But it is useless if the space filled with the logo fails to convey the desired message.

3. Importance of Weight

Good weight means that a logo does not rely on fine features in order to be recognizable. If a logo is bold, it can be effective in more environments. The finest logos have a weight of existence and are decipherable when view alongside other strong images. Apply of color is essential getting a clear, bold logo or icon. Too many colors, gradients, 3-d effects and complex patterns can be detrimental to your logo's weight. Usage of colors becomes important here. More the number of colors used, less will be the weight. Gratuitous 3-D effects should be avoided. The logo must be done without them.

4. Contrast

After selection of colors, fonts and texts, the logo designer has to see if the logo that he prepared is at all capable of creating the proper appeal. Good logos have lots of contrast on the edges of meaningful visual elements.

Catherine is an experienced logo designer who has been working in the industry for over 10 years, she has designed literally thousands of logos and is known for her ability to catch the client's vision and turn it into art: cheap logo design.

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Chuck's 10 Common Web Design Mistakes

Good web page design software makes it easy to produce good-looking websites. (Our website reviews the easiest ones to use.) But the content you select and how you organize it is the difference between visitors staying longer than 3 seconds or not. I've identified 10 common mistakes made by web design newbies:

1. Too Many Advertisements Making money from your website is fine, as long as you don't get too greedy by jamming too many ads everywhere. (Of course, by doing this, you will make less money anyway.) What's "too many?" Go to your website as a visitor, and have someone else look it over, too. Trust your first impression and compare it to what your friend or family member thought about it. If you do have ads, make sure they're not too intrusive or obnoxious--like flashing banners, for example.

2. Using Flash Intros; a "Splash Page" with a little movie Bad idea! Don't use a Flash intro on your website. Only rarely is it ever done tastefully and appropriately. Even when it is done well, it's a waste of effort. It's just too risky and the rewards are NONE. No matter how cool a flash intro may look, it has never, ever proved to increase traffic or website "stickiness." It almost always has the opposite effect.

3. Too Many Plugins

Keep any media that uses plugins to a strict maximum of one per page. For example, if you've got Flash, then you shouldn't have a media player, or if you've got a little program run by Java then you shouldn't have Flash as well. Don't be tempted to plug in stuff on your website just because you think it looks "cool."

4. Confusing Layout and Navigation Many websites seem to make the simplest task take several steps to achieve. Remember that web surfers are in an extremely short attention-span mode and won't stick around to try to figure out your website. This is where choosing good web site design software pays off.

5. Unclear Website Theme It's easy to get tunnel vision about getting all the little tasks done to your new website and forget the big picture. What I'm talking about here is the need for you to have a main theme/main purpose for your site...One that is completely obvious in the first 3 seconds of someone landing on your homepage.

Think of television commercials that you finally figured out after seeing several times, because it wasn't clear what the ad was about...It's not that you weren't smart enough to figure out those ads; you simply didn't invest the mental effort--very slight though it may be--into figuring out the ad the first time.

Because watching T.V. commercials is often no different than surfing the internet as far as the mental effort you're willing to devote to it. But with the internet, your visitors are only going to see your site ONCE--for about 3 seconds before making a decision to stay or leave. If they leave, they're never coming back, unlike T.V. commercials. So you have to make your message and your site very clear. Slight confusion = Instant Back button or the red "X."

6. Broken Links You should check all your links regularly to make sure that they all still work. Think of the times you find a site that has links that don't work: You instantly make some assumptions about the site--like it's outdated and unprofessional. It's the same feeling you get when you see simple words misspelled.

7. Weird Fonts Never get too cute and creative with your website fonts. Stick to the most common web fonts like Verdana, Arial, Times New Roman, and Tahoma. Besides, many of your visitors won't have other fonts installed in their browsers and computers, so all they'll see is gobbledygook. If you do want to use non-standard fonts, then limit it to graphic header images or logos--where they're displayed as part of the image.

8. Bad Sized Fonts It's important to keep your text around the standard size--like 10, 11, or 12. Making text too big or too small makes it hard to read and is a great way to get your visitors to leave immediately.

9. High-Contrasting Webpage Colors You've seen those webpages that have a dark background with bright-colored or white text. Or sites with very bright or very dark margins, which contrasts with the actual webpage content. All of these puts a strain on the eyes, which makes it hard to read and = Instant Back Button. The tried and true method is to use black text on a white background.

10. Auto-Sizing Webpages Look at this webpage: craftown.com and you'll see an example of how not to use auto-sizing webpages. The idea behind auto-sizing webpages is to use the whole desktop real estate instead of limiting the page to say, 750 pixels wide. This way, on small monitors the webpage looks large enough to read. But the problem comes with larger monitors where the text gets stretched way further than is normal for reading. And nowadays, most people have larger monitors. The fix? If you do use auto-sizing webpages, be sure to limit the text to a specific pixel amount. If you don't know how to do this, get a web design pro to do it or don't use it at all.

Discover easy to use web design software at WebsiteMakingSoftware.com. You don't have to buy pricey software to get the best html editors that are very easy to use.

Chuck Brown is a full-time webmaster whose home website is http://honestysellsbest.com

Successful Logo Design Tips

Logo designs are typically a visual representation of a graphic or text or a combination of both that provides a unique identity to a company and its products. Logos help to create a visual recognizable identity for a company that effectively contributes to the company's branding.

With the wide artistic possibilities, logo designers often become too enthusiast in creating a company logo design that actually fails to meet the purpose. An extremely abstract art, or a very complex illustration is often not a good example of a logo though they might be considered as a good art if considered from the perspective of a general artwork and not a logo. A logo design should be well thought out, with factors like usage, application and the nature of the company being kept in mind. These few simple tips will give you a grip on the job and even when you get a professional logo design firm to do your logo, you will know what exactly to ask from them.

Primary Identity for your Business

A company logo design creates the primary identity of your business and it should be designed in a way to represent the attitude and nature of the business in the best possible way. A logo designs should not be "dated" and should always have a fresh and contemporary look. Also while deciding on the logo you should consider where and how you are going to use it. Depending on the various mediums on which you are going to put the logo, the color and nature of the logo should be chosen. Also, a logo design can have a long term cost impact, for example having a four color logo can cost very high when you need to print it on your business cards and corporate stationary. Logo design is one of your most important business decisions that are sure to have a great impact on your business for its lifetime.

Simplicity is the Key

Do not go for a complicated design, always remember a logo is not a piece of art but it is a symbol for your corporate identity. Complicated designs are difficult to remember and are not easily recognized. Also, if you ever require a miniature version of your logo, say to put on some gift items like pen or coffee mug, it will loose the clarity and look like a colored blob.

Use Less Colors

Even if your logo design company does not charge you more for using more colors, always restrict your choice to a maximum of three colors. Using more colors can make the logo look good on the web but how would it look when you are sending a fax with the logo in black and white? Besides, the more colors you use for logo the more will be your printing cost.

Use Regular Fonts

Though some fancy fonts might look good on your company logo try to keep your font choice as close to the regular fonts that are commonly available. This makes commercial reproduction and reprint of your logo much easier even if you are using a different printer than the one who actually printed your logo when it was created.

Always Use Vector Graphics

The most important reason for a logo design to be done in vector format is that vector graphics can be resized without any loss of clarity or image quality. A company logo design is used for varied purpose like in business cards and corporate stationery, websites, signage etc and in each of these you would require a different size of the logo. To meet this requirement, it is essential that the logo be created as a vector graphics in some vector software application like Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand. Logos done in software like Adobe Photoshop would loose quality and stretched once the image is enlarged.

Trademark and Registration

Now that you have got the company logo designed it is always wise to get it registered and trademarked to ensure that the logo is protected from any sort of plagiarisms. Most logo design companies would transfer their complete copyright on the design to the buyer; however, it is advisable that you ask your logo designer to confirm on this point.

Ray Smith is a marketing Expert with years of experience in different industries and specialized knowledge on branding and Internet marketing. Corporate Logo Design,

Color Web Design Psychology

Designing websites isn't only about creating something alluring. There must to have thought supporting all design related choice and one truly significant decision is what hues your web site should be. selection of colour can be the differences in between the success and failure of a web site.

Being aware that a handful of colours can lead to an emotional response is key to choosing the right colours for a site. knowing what colours have a calming effect & which cause feelings of excitement can make choosing a colour scheme very easy.

Colours can also be used to create contrast & attention to a design. this can direct users to certain parts of a webpage.

There's a guide below to how some colours affect human emotions & perceptions.

Black is associated with power, refinement, riches & mystery. in designing for the web, it can be used effectively with bolder colours to create good contrast.

White is associated with cleanliness, simpleness, calm & purity. used on websites a lot, it can convey a sense of style & indicates that the content of the site is strong enough to stand alone without the any strong visual aid.

With connotations to lust, anger, fire & power, red, used sparingly, can be a great way to direct the user's attention to a certain area.

Associated with feelings of cold, royalty, peace and air, blue is the best-used colour for corporate websites. Itcreates a very different reaction to red.

Green symbolises nature, environment, peace and luck. Green is a effective colour to use for a calming effect.

Representative of joy, happiness, warning and energy, yellow has a similar impact to red, although it is not as popular. to can be used to emphasise areas of a site. However, if it's used too much, it can be an overpowering colour.

Stirring up feelings of style, modernism, fashion and refinement, grey is usually used on places that cover fashion, design and tech.

Purple is a blend of blue and red. it does have the highlights of red, but has more bold properties than blue. It stirs up images of royalty, religion and luxury. However, it isn't a frequently used colour in designing websites.

Brown, particularly the the lighter end can be very soothing. Beige is also a popular colour in web design as it gives an earthy & relaxed feel. it might also mean tradition, poverty & mother earth.

Grey can be linked to elegance, innovation & the future. The paler side is similar to white in that it's a great colour to use on a website's background to build a sense of space & modernism.

Knowing about what colours symbolise & their subconscious power can be of great benefit when designing sites. by knowing about the target audience, designers can choosing colours thoughtfully which connect to the end user thus making the site look attractive and appealing. E-commerce sites can be improved by pointing the user in the direction of the purchase now button by drawing attention and creating contrast.

Sherryll Juarres is a professional web design and offer web design services in Costa Blanca with Fiesta Siesta web design agency, who also provide web hosting in Costa Blanca.

Color Theory - Color Choices and their Meaning

Whether you're new to the art of web design or you're a seasoned veteran, choosing an appropriate and aesthetically appealing color scheme can be difficult. This article will briefly describe some of the basic principles associated with color choices on the web.

The Basics

Due to the endless amount of different computer configurations, it's often difficult to determine exactly how various colors will be rendered on a particular computer. In the mid 90s, computers could typically interpret 256 basic colors derived from the primary colors. From those 256 basic colors, 216 of them could be interpreted by most web browsers. The 216 usable web colors were collectively known as the web safe palette.

Due to the creation of more advanced video graphic technologies, most users will now have a color setting of 16, 24, or 32 bit. Most web designers will tell you that the web safe color palette is no longer applicable due to these advances in graphics technology, and for the most part they are correct. It's estimated that only 9 percent of online users still use a 256 color (8 bit) setting.

What does all this mean? Well, if you anticipate that a majority of your users will be using older computers and a 8 bit color setting, then by all means stick to the web safe color palette, but for most design applications this is not necessary, but it won't hurt. A good way to alleviate color rendering issues is to limit the amount of colors you utilize in your design, because it will reduce the chances that a specific color is rendered poorly. Also, it's a general rule of thumb to avoid using more than 3-5 colors within a website design.

Which Colors do I choose?

Your color choices should compliment your site and coordinate well with your content. The colors you chose should not only be visually appealing, but include good contrast and convey a desired emotion to your audience. It's important to recognize the cultural connotations we associate with specific colors. Different colors invoke different emotions, and you should be conscious of these sometimes subtle connotations. For example, I would not want an e commerce web site aimed at selling baby clothes in a black and red color scheme, because these colors simply do not invoke the appropriate emotions.

Color Theory: The Beauty of Harmony

Many of you have probably heard the term color theory. Color theory is not a new concept, but an ancient idea that has been pondered upon for centuries. Some of the first writings on record about color theory come from Leonardo da Vinci's personal notebooks. Color theory is basically a set of principles used to create harmonious color combinations. A harmonious color combination is any grouping of colors that is pleasing to the eye. A harmonious color arrangement will appear neither chaotic nor subdued, but create a sense of balance.

One of the most common tools for determining an aesthetically appealing color combination is the color wheel. The color wheel is a circular organization of the color spectrum that will show a variety of relationships between colors. According to color theory, harmonious color combinations utilize colors opposite one another, any three colors that are equally spaced in relation to one another, or any two sets of opposing colors that form a rectangle on the color wheel. The color wheel is a very helpful tool when choosing a color combination and can be found in a variety of places all over the web.

Landon Wisser is a content developer and web specialist at NLI Media Group.

NLI Media Group is an Austin based web development and media firm that uses cutting edge online marketing and traditional advertising and promotion to create premium brand experiences for clients.

http://www.nlimediagroup.com

The Theory of Color and Design Psychology

Color theory is an entire science unto itself, and to get a full picture of how it all works, I'd suggest picking up a few art books. In this article, however, we're going to take a brief look at the essentials of color theory, in light of the concepts of Design Psychology. we'll first list a term, and then offer a short summary of how the term relates to Design Psychology.

Hue

The base name of a color without any white, gray, or black added. The terms hue and color are interchangeable.

Color wheel

A color wheel contains twelve colors, based on primitive pigments. The three primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. Three secondary colors (composed of combinations of the three primary colors) follow: red and blue make purple; red and yellow make orange; yellow and blue make green. Six tertiary colors (comprised of combinations of primary and secondary colors) form the remainder of the color wheel: yellow-orange, red-orange, violet, blue-green, and yellow-green. Black is the total absence of color and white is the reflection of all colors.

Value or Lightness

This denotes the degree of lightness or darkness of a hue, in relation to pure white or black.

Intensity, Saturation, or Croma:

This term describes the degree of purity of a hue as compared to neutral gray of the same value. This is the freedom from added white or gray; how bright or dull a color appears in relation to the basic hue.

Shades

These are deep tones, in which black is added to a color.

Tints

These are pastels, in which white is added to a color.

Tone

Adding gray of the same value to a hue or adding its complement creates a tone.

Saturation

The intensity or depth of color, such as dark or light.

Monochromatic Color Schemes

This term is used to describe rooms with only tints and shades of the same color. Neutral color schemes are usually monochromatic.

Analogous, Side-by-Side, or Related Color Schemes

These rooms use adjacent colors to the principal color on the color wheel. This is considered a friendly scheme, because the colors blend well and create a soft effect.

Complementary or Opposite Color Schemes

Rooms that use colors from opposite sides of the color wheel. This is considered to be a power and action scheme.

Triad

Consists of three colors, spaced an equal distance apart on the color wheel. Triad color schemes can potentially cause glaring and confusing feelings when all the colors are intense.

Tetrad

Consists of four colors, spaced an equal distance apart on the color wheel. Tetrad color schemes create interesting effects because of the potential variety available. They are best when two colors dominate.

Topographical Color Schemes

These schemes contain colors from nature, such as rocks, earth, sky, sea, and plants.

Floral Color Schemes

These schemes use brilliant or pastel colors found in plants and flowers.

Colorways

Fabrics and wallpapers come in different combinations of colors, or colorways. A fabric pattern will have several selections of colorways to choose from. A pattern may be available in colorways of: yellow, blue and green, red, blue and green; or purple, burgundy and blue.

Visual Vibration

This occurs when neighboring colors appear to clash and vibrate in our vision, creating a dizzying effect that adds to nervousness and tiredness.

Cusp Colors

These are colors on the edge of two colors that take on different values under different lighting situations, such as, dark blue/purple (periwinkle), orange/red (terra-cotta reds), and blue/greens (teal). Periwinkle may appear more purple than dark blue at night or under different lighting systems.

Simple Color

This is a true color, without additive colors, such as sky blue, grass green, or apple red. A simple color is a pure color.

Complex Color

This is a combination of colors, such as silvery blue, or lichen (grayish green-brown). A complex color is a color that requires a long description, such as “sort of a grayish-blue with a hint of pink.”

Palette

The entire range of colors used in a design project.

These are the basic terms used to describe color schemes within the concepts of Design Psychology. Learning them is the first step toward creating dynamic spaces for both the interior and exterior of your home.

by Jeanette J. Fisher

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm

How Web and Print Design Differ

One will realize that prior to the advent of computers and Internet, print designing was the only known career! Thus web design came much later and is evolved from the discipline of graphic designing. The words graphic, print, and web design are really synonyms of the same creative art that goes into building an attractive or aesthetic multimedia presentation. Of course, if one thinks a little bit, there is surely a thin hairline between these terms and each seems to have evolved into a specific work culture.

Print or Web, a Tug-O-War?

There is always a little tiff between these two jobs though we should consider it to be unnecessary! Let us look at it in another way. The traditional "print designer" was always an artist. The graphic or web designer of today is more a technically oriented "mathematician" who calculates and solves designing problems. Nevertheless, both have, repeat, evolved from the earlier print designers. It is like Human Evolution where time necessitated a slightly different school of thought to incorporate the growing needs of the human race. There need not be this tug of war as one discipline complements the other in bringing about a high degree of combined creativity!

Analysing the Two Cultures

Look at it from another viewpoint. Taking an hypothetical company the CEO hired two individuals on the advice of the Consulting firm. Each manager was qualified and experienced in print design and web graphic design respectively. Everything worked out well and the jobs were progressing to the satisfaction of the companies profit margins and forecasts. Then a couple of tricky assignments came up that involved both print design and graphic illustrations. The two disciplines were confused and the CEO had to intervene and insist on their working closely together. Though it should have been the easiest thing to do the designers could not arrive at a mutually satisfying conclusion with the result that the project was delayed and an ultimatum issued by the customer to offload it to some other company. The teamwork expected was surely missing and therefore the job turn around time was not met. On analyzing the problem it appeared that the print designer could not translate the graphic designer's colour chart into a hard copy. The computer graphics can always be very different from the actual printing process and whatever standardization one uses for adjusting the monitor chromatic configuration may still vary with the practice! If the web graphic designer had some knowledge of the printing process and its limitations the process could have followed a smooth execution.

Hire both disciplines if budget allows!

Whenever one hires a print and graphic designer the possibility must be probed of training both in their colleagues' expertise as well. It does no harm if there is a bit of overlapping since common knowledge will always help in solving intricate problems and one also has the flexibility of each designer temporarily executing the job of the other in case this becomes necessary!

Wes Towers runs Omnific Design, a strategic graphic and web design studio based in Wyndham, Melbourne, Australia. Check out their website here: http://www.omnificdesign.com.au