Goodbye Lazy Days of Summer!

Let me first apologize for my 2 week leave of absence on the blogging. It's been a very busy August at Kalico Design. Goodbye lazy days of summer, hello busy busy fall! Of course, I can't complain about the slew of work that has recently come in (I did just buy a new house, after all!) Check out some of the exciting projects I'll be working on in the upcoming months:

1. Downtown Frederick Partnership's 20th Anniversary: I am super excited to be working with the Downtown Frederick Partnership to celebrate their 20 years of promoting and preserving the vitality of Downtown Frederick. Be on the lookout for an anniversary logo, plus lots of great commemorative products courtesy of local downtown businesses.

2. Find It Frederick: I remember picking up the premiere issue of this Frederick-based magazine and thinking it was the coolest thing ever! I have lived in the Frederick area all my life, but Find It Frederick manages to report on the unique finds throughout the Frederick region—even the things the "locals" don't know about! I am very excited to be working on the the Fall issue of this publication. I'll be sure to let you know when it is available, b/c you won't want to miss it!

3. Damascus Dental of Mt. Airy: I have loved working with this laser dental office over the past year, developing a whole new identity with them. It started with a logo and ended with a new state-of-the-art cosmetic and laser dental center in Mt. Airy MD. (ok, well, the logo at least helped with the office decorating!). I'm getting ready to start revamping this company's website to reflect their new look!

4. Interior Design Services (IDS): Just finished with the logo and business cards for this start-up interior designer who focuses on green, eco-friendly and energy efficient residential and commercial interior design services. I really enjoy working with start-up companies and helping them to develop their brand image! IDS even offers an online consulting services for those DIYers.

These are just a few of the amazing jobs I have coming up! I'll keep you updated on the status of some of them and will also showcase some of the final results. Now, back to the graphic designing...

Expose Yourself!

Want to get more media exposure for your business or product? It may be as easy as signing up for HARO (Help A Reporter Out)! And the best part is that it's free!

HARO was founded by Peter Shankman and runs on the philosophy that "Everyone is an Expert at Something". It is a web source for reporters around the world to find their sources, and a way for you to get the press you're looking for. HARO is currently the largest free source repository in the world, sending out over 1,200 queries from worldwide media each week.

Once you sign up to be included on the list as a source, each day, you'll receive up to three emails, each with anywhere from 15-30 queries per email. They'll all be labeled with [shankman.com] in the subject line, for easy filtering. If you see a request you can answer, go for it! HelpAReporter.com really is that simple.

I'll admit, I was a little weary of getting the daily emails, but it hasn't been a problem. The emails are divided up into categories (Urgent, Business, Travel, General, Health, etc.) for quick scanning and each request is just a very simple description of the query, contact person and publication info. When I have time to read through them, i do; when i'm too busy, I just delete them. I've also been able to send some source requests to clients, which they've greatly appreciate.

Again, sign up is super easy and FREE! And may be the chance for you to get the exposure you want!

Get Published!

Submit your work for free. Crescent Hill books produces a variety of design-related books featuring only the best of today's graphic design. And the best thing is that it is free to submit your work! No entry fees, no publishing fees, and no award fees! Go to the Crescent Hill books submission page and create an account. You can then upload your designs for potential submission in a number of great design books (some upcoming titles include The Best of Sports Marketing and Design, The Mini Book of Great Logos and The New Big Book of Layouts). Your design submissions will then be judged by Crescent Hills panel who will let you know whether they make a good fit with the publication or not.

This is a great way to get your work published! Let me know if you submit your work, so I can be sure to look for it in upcoming publications!

The Logo Low-Down Series: Tip 6

We have reached our final tip in the Logo Low-Down series. I hope these tips have given you some insight on some of the factors that go into creating a profession, custom logo, as well as how to do your research before hiring a graphic designer. Keep in mind that your logo will be one of your most important business marketing tools! You will use it on all your company marketing and materials, so you really must be sure to have a mark that will represent your company now and in the future. Remember, your logo is extremely important—please hire a professional!

Logo Tip #6: Consistency is Key
Once you have your eye-catching, thoughtful and professionally designed logo—keep it consistent! This is the mark that will start to define your business, one you should use on ALL future marketing materials. Don’t confuse the customer by changing the colors, editing the format, or skewing the dimensions. Keep it easily recognizable by your market by staying consistent with it’s usage.

The Logo Low-Down Series: Tip 5

Logo Tip #5: The Black and White of It
Another important design principle to consider when designing (or re-designing) a logo is the ability for it to read well in black and white, as well as at large and small scales. A logo must work equally in black and white or color. Even with the predominance of web and 4-color printing, your logo must still be legible on such simple business paperwork as a fax, invoice or photocopy. Your logo also needs to work on various size scales—small enough to fit on a pen, and large enough to work on a billboard.

In order for easy and clean scaling to occur, a logo should always first be designed as a vector-based illustration file. (This is one main reason why hiring a professional is important!) Special design programs, such as Adobe Illustrator should be used for logo development—never programs like Word, Publisher or Paintshop! Have your logo created in the correct file format the first time around—it will save you frustration, time and money in the long run.

The Logo Low-Down Series: Tip 4

Logo Tip #4: K.I.S.S
My design instructor at Salisbury University instilled a very valuable design principle on us—K.I.S.S., “Keep It Simple, Stupid!”. This concept applies best to logo design. Frequently, over-used effects such as glows, shadows, 3-D effects, gradients, unreadable fonts, and unnecessary graphics take away from the readability—and ultimately the success—of a creative and compelling logo. The old saying “Less is More” certainly applies here.

The Logo Low-Down Series: Tip 3

Logo Tip #3: Research & Plan
A logo is much more than clip art and your business name. A successful logo requires planning and research by both the business owner and logo designer. As a business owner, you should reflect on your company’s core values and how you want to be perceived by the public. Do you want to come across edgy vs. traditional, artsy vs. corporate? You should also research existing logos either by flipping through a logo book at your local bookstore, or viewing some online. Two great online resources for logo samples are LogoPond or LogoGala. Pick out the logo designs you like vs. those you don’t—try to determine why—and make sure to convey these thoughts to your designer.

A professional designer will also do their homework. A designer will interview you to get an in-depth understanding of your company. They will research your competition and will also consider your target audience base, making sure to use colors, fonts, and graphics that will be appealing to your market. At Kalico, we do an in-depth, free consultation with each of our logo clients. We go through a series of questions that are designed to help us get to know your company better—how it is run, who your audience is, and how you want to be perceived by that audience.

As I mentioned before, a logo is so much more than just your favorite font or a piece of clip art you found online (which gets into a whole other issue of copyright law, but I digress). Your logo needs to be carefully planned, researched and executed. Be sure to hire a professional!