People want a name that describes what business they're in. I get it. I make websites and logos. My business's name is Pixel Riot.

People also want an available website domain for their business name. Also, reasonable.

The problem is when the business name gets so long, it hurts the logo's composition and makes it difficult to fit anywhere. The same goes for a long website address.

Shorter is better.

Your business name doesn't have to be so short that it falls into abstract territory, like a computer company named after a fruit. But it also shouldn't work so hard at describing your business that the name reads like a whole sentence.

Entity name vs. DBA

Perhaps you're worried that your chosen name might be unavailable and the federal government will hunt you down in the middle of the night if you try registering it. And honestly, maybe they will. I'm not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. Check your state laws.

But you should know there's a difference between the name on your logo and your checks.

Your entity name is how the state recognizes your business. You'll use your entity name to open a bank account, and it's what you'll see on your first check from a client.

Your Doing Business As or DBA goes on your marketing materials like your website, business card, and logo.

As far as I'm aware (again, check your state's laws), your entity name and DBA can be different.

For example, my company's legal name is Pixel Riot Marketing Agency Augusta, LLC*. My company's DBA is simply Pixel Riot. I submitted a super long entity name to the state to reduce my chance of choosing an unavailable name, and the state subsequently rejecting my LLC application.

There are websites where you can check if your name is already in use. Here's one.

Conclusion

In short— descriptive name good, long name not so good. Do your best to find a happy medium. Or, go bold with it and name your business Pomegranate.

In a future post, we'll explore the various logo types. I'll try to remember to include a section with special design considerations for a long-ass business name. All of which you can avoid if you choose a short DBA.

Helpful resources:

• How to form an LLC in all 50 states
• Business name generator
• Business name search by state
• How to register your business name

*I changed up my legal name for this post because it felt weird to post that information publicly.

Don't miss the next post of the series. Subscribe now. It's free and I don't spam:

Series Tag: #SeriesLogo

Categories: #Series #Guides #Logos #Design #StartingABusiness #YearOneFreelancer

Our previous series post identified three objectives for your logo design project. You can read that post first for more context if you're just joining us.

Today, we'll discuss how to identify some key aspects of your business's “brand identity” so you can offer some guidance to your logo designer.

Your brand's identity before the logo design

Listen, you really should write up some thoughts on your brand's identity and purpose. It'll save you time, stress, and maybe even some cash. At a minimum, you'll need to share what your business does, what it sells, and a couple matters of tone and vibe to your logo designer (and everyone else for the rest of your life).

I know, I know. Sitting down to a blank computer screen, expecting to make a wholly remarkable brand out of thin air, is not what dreams are made of. I'll let you off the hook a bit and tell you that you won't get it right the first time. Hell, you probably won't get it right the fifth time. I sure didn't. But you have to start somewhere, sometime. How about right here and now with something small?

Let's take 30 minutes and get that first drivel out of the way. You'll likely learn something about your business you didn't know before. And when your designer asks you their discovery questions, you won't have to start with a blank screen.

I took the liberty of writing out some fun prompts that'll help you gain insight into your business without dying of boredom.

Answer the following questions as sloppily and long-winded as you can make it:

The most annoying family member just cornered you at a holiday dinner and asked, “So, what does your company do?” How do you respond truthfully without encouraging follow-up questions?

The New York Transit Authority called. You just won a free advertisement on the E train. How serious is your ad's tone on a scale from Vitamin Water to the CDC?

Follow up: Which typeface do you use? Times New Roman, Helvetica, or something fun like Lobster?

Side note: don't use lobster font for your logo. This is just an exercise, you weirdo.

You're setting your business up on a blind date (stay with me). What companies do you think your business would be into?

Now you need to buy your business an outfit for its date. Would you shop in the men's or women's department? Or something more androgynous?

Oprah called. She will buy one of every service or product you offer on grand opening day. Write out a list for her.

Write some thoughts down. Set it aside. Come back with fresh eyes and start a new draft.

Conclusion

This article was initially going to outline a few core concepts that will meet the three objectives from the previous post. A thousand words in, I realized that the entire series is about meeting those three objectives. Isolating a few concepts into a single article became increasingly difficult. I kept adding sections until I was dipping into future posts I've outlined. So, I backed up a bit and limited this post to a single concept— communication.

Conceptually, communicating clearly to your stakeholders is the best way to meet any objective. In the matter of logo design, that would be to your designer. Most experienced graphic designers will ask a client some discovery questions. These questions are designed to help them understand your needs, wants, and sensibilities toward design.

The longer you have to mull over the answers, the better you will be at communicating your vision.

Later in the series, we'll discuss the various logo “types” and why you can choose any one so long as it's the one I recommend.

Next up: Some thoughts on naming your business

Table of Contents: How to Commission a Logo Design: A Practical Guide for Non-Designers

Don't miss the next post of the series. Subscribe now. It's free and I don't spam:

Series Tag: #SeriesLogo

Categories: #Series #Guides #Logos #Design #YearOneFreelancer

Start here.

This article will be part of a series called How to Commission a Logo Design: a Guide for Non-Designers (working title).

Unless you're starting a graphic design business, you probably have little experience with project managing a new logo. This series aims to show you how to do that using straightforward logo design principles, so you end up with a logo that meets your needs.

Today, we're identifying your objectives, or goals, for your new freelance logo. There are only three of them.

“Fight against the ugliness” — Lella & Mossimo Vignelli

Your three logo design objectives:

1. Your logo fits neatly in a social media profile photo.
2. Your logo's design holds up on a black and white invoice.
3. Your logo can fit on a horizontal business card above a tagline.

That's it? That's it.

Should your logo look cool? Sure. Should it pop? Fine. But those metrics are hard to measure. This is “Three Objectives…” not “Three Subjectives…”

Also, don't get too caught up in whether or not you'll have a social media account or black-and-white invoices. These objectives are simply measures that are indicative of good design.

Let's take a closer look at the objectives:

If your logo fits neatly on a social media profile photo, that means it looks good and is identifiable on a small scale. If it looks good small, that means your logo can adapt to different mediums.

This is important because your logo will appear in many places with varying sizes, from mobile websites to billboards (if we're lucky).

“Logos survive because they can adapt to countless formats.” — Sagi Haviv

If your logo retains its design on a black-and-white invoice, that means it can be used monochromatically. If your logo can be presented in just black or just white, it can identify your business in different mediums and contexts.

This is important because full color may not always be preferable or even an option. You need a design you can present in one color when necessary.

“Simplicity, carried to an extreme, becomes elegance.” — Jon Franklin

If your logo can fit on a traditional business card above a tagline, that means a couple of things:

First, it means your logo is also horizontal, or you have a horizontal version of your logo (more on this tomorrow). If you have a horizontal logo (as opposed to stacked), that means your logo is easy to incorporate in various design grids.

This is important because often, marketing materials designate a space for your logo in a row, not a column. Think website navigation, flyer footers, and business cards.

Second, it means your logo doesn't have frivolous information baked into the design, like the year established or a catchphrase. If it doesn't have those things, it means your logo is symbolizing, not selling; punctuating, not speaking.

This is important because logos that attempt to inform or sell will lose all sorts of adaptability and scaling. Your logo won't be legible when small, and you'll find you have less control over your marketing messages.

On one side of your business card, you should have your logo front and center, with a one sentence description of your business. With a “tall” logo, you lose the ability to increase its size without the business card feeling crowded. With a logo that already includes a tagline, you lose control over the placement and sizing of the tagline.

You also may not need a tagline with your logo in some instances. You can always add one, but its hard to remove elements permenently set in your logo.

“A logo does not sell, it identifies.” — Paul Rand

The exception proves the rule

I present this information and will continue offering future related tips in this series, as a matter of fact. Not because it's the only way to do things, but because I'm making two big assumptions.

One, your business doesn't require you to be famed logo designer Saul Bass; therefore, you have little experience with logo design. Two, you don't have a quarter million dollars in the budget for your brand identity. (If you do, please email me.)

And thats totally cool. You probably won't need logo design experience past your own project.

New freelancers sometimes get too caught up in their logo's design. They place too much or too little importance on its role, spend too much or too little money on a design that doesn't work for them, overlook filetypes they need, or one of countless other common pitfalls I've seen in my years of logo design project management.

This guide is a clear path to a successful logo project that will result in a versatile logo and get you through your first few years, at least.

Next up in the series: Write the worst brand identity anyone has ever written

Don't miss the next post of the series. Subscribe now. It's free and I don't spam:

Series Tag: #SeriesLogo

Categories: