anatomy of a studio logo

[eastsidetone]

After a few years of recording bands,and believing I found my niche in life I decided to open a studio. I did just about anything you could do before thinking of a name or logo.

I guess I just figured that a name and sweet logo would come naturally after getting equipment and finding a location. Sadly that was not the case. Every name I thought of was unavailable except for one.

I chose East Side Tone because my studio is opening on the east side of town, and just about every musician seems to be obsessed with tone. May not be coolest name, but it seems appropriate

At first I wanted to give off a hot rod vibe so I made this rough draft.

[eastsidetone]

I then thought that the logo looked a little boring so I moved the letters around a bit like this.

I also added some color and fixed the "V" a little bit.

after that I gave it some modern touches

[eastsidetone]

Then I sent the logo out to some friends to get some feedback.

It was made obvious that the logo would have been great for the garage, but not a recording studio.

so then I made this one instead.

I'm still not sure about it, but like most logos that are memorable this one is simple. It tells the person what I do, and best of all it doesn't scream Metal, country, hip-hop, or anything else really.

I would like this thread to show everyone's studio logos and how they got way, as well as good advice for the logos

[eastsidetone]

Thus sensing that red on black was hard to read at distance, and did not pop when reduced to the size of a quarter I came up with this white on red logo.

It is interesting to note that the letters are actually an off white due some weird blurring affect with pure white letters and red fill.

[popote_jr]

Just a simple question for you....

you want people to come to your studio to record their music in the best way possible, right?

We/you should do the same when it comes to graphic design. Sure, us people can achieve something ok, even good or stumble upon a great design, but, as audio engineers are well versed in the art of recording and mixing music, graphic designers will achiever greater results faster.

I had to have a logo for my company. Worked with a graphic designer who gave me 4 rough ideas, then worked on a final product.

Couldn't have done it better than he did.

My advice to all of you out there. It's better to invest a couple hundred to five hundred bucks to have a great looking logo that represents what you do well.

Here's mine. I do audio and tv prod....

[eastsidetone]

Originally Posted by popote_jr

We/you should do the same when it comes to graphic design. Sure, us people can achieve something ok, even good or stumble upon a great design, but, as audio engineers are well versed in the art of recording and mixing music, graphic designers will achiever greater results faster.

I Completely agree!

I just started talking to a local graphic designer today.

However; I would still like to explore this for people who can't afford to hire someone.

So far I have learned the following things.

• Simple is better, complex designs tend to turn into blobs when scaled down.(think icons, business cards etc.)
• Stick to a few colors, it can make it much cheaper to print stickers and business cards later.
• Try to keep you logo relevant to your business
• If you can afford it hire a LOCAL graphic designer, they need just as much support as we do, and can give a much better one on one experience then via the web.

[jimcroisdale]

Hi all,

I'm a graphic designer - I do this sort of thing every day.

Simple logos are the best as they can be transferred to all manner of mediums without losing impact. Also, logos should be designed using vector graphics software, so that the logo can be scaled to any size with no loss of quality.

I just did one the other day for our local University catering department - it'll will be all over the town in a week or so! (Made me quite proud!)

Anyway, I wouldn't charge the earth (a kind donation to my paypal account would suffice, providing you were happy with the finished work) and I am happy to work with any of the Slutz on here.

You can email me direct at work at james(at)auraprint(dot)co(dot)uk

Drop me a line, let's see what we can do!

Cheers,

Jim

[The Byre]

That's the best offer you'll get - take it!

[jimcroisdale]

I think so!

I like designing logos - I do it for fun.

They are little pieces of perfection - simple, uncluttered, beautiful, complete.

Had one taker already and we're going down an interesting route I think....

Cheers,

Jim

[jimcroisdale]

And it is true that the design industry has been blighted by the same things that cause problems for pro recordists.

Everyone is a designer now (or think they are!) and has Publisher or somesuch. What a God=awful piece of software.

The stuff I see on a regular basis makes me wince. Often it takes longer to sort out poorly submitted artwork than it would to design it again from scratch.

Fixin' it in the mix, I guess!

Jim

[The Byre]

Oh my God, yes!

When we make CDs for things like amateur dramatic societies or choirs, my heart sinks when they tell me that they are going to do their own designs!

"Mr Prendergast teaches art, so he knows all about design!"

He then submits something in MS Publisher, despite me telling him that we cannot, under any circumstances, accept that format. It is of course, fill of low-res JPGs and all in RGB and no cut or bleed and text as bitmaps etc., etc., etc! The letters PDF mean nothing to him.

Everybody thinks that they are graphic designers, corporate image experts and God's gift to photography all rolled into one!

I could then start on band videos, but then I'd be off on a rant!

[jimcroisdale]

The problem with design is that there aren't any cheap software packages available.

I use Illustrator, mostly, and It's great - and very easy to use. If only there was a reasonably priced 'lite' version available like there is with Photoshop, people might have a fighting chance.

I've tried to use Publisher, but it's beyond me!

Jim

[oldeanalogueguy]

Originally Posted by eastsidetone

Thus sensing that red on black was hard to read at distance, and did not pop when reduced to the size of a quarter I came up with this white on red logo.

It is interesting to note that the letters are actually an off white due some weird blurring affect with pure white letters and red fill.

i like this one best so far
but then i hated all the previous ones

now try with with
recording on top
studio on bottom
and that last name picture in the middle

[erikdrink]

Cool, I might contact you one day about a design?!

[oldeanalogueguy]

Originally Posted by jimcroisdale

The problem with design is that there aren't any cheap software packages available.

I use Illustrator, mostly, and It's great - and very easy to use. If only there was a reasonably priced 'lite' version available like there is with Photoshop, people might have a fighting chance.

I've tried to use Publisher, but it's beyond me!

Jim

actually there are (at least used to be) cheap logo design packages as well as dirtcheap logo designer services on the web.

[The Byre]

Originally Posted by jimcroisdale

The problem with design is that there aren't any cheap software packages available.

You can usually pick up an old copy of Corel Draw 11 or 12 (for Mac and PC on the same CD) for very, very little money. It is not very clever on PC, but works fine on a Mac and is my go-to SW for logos, despite having Adobe ME with all the bells and whistles! Font-wrangling in Corel is still the best out there and the squeeze, space and stretch tools are ideal for logos.

There are loads of SW packages that work well and cost near to nothing. Picture Publisher does many bread-and-butter tasks better than Photoshop, for example re-sizing, soft cut-n-pastes and I'd be lost without it.

Yes, you need Illustrator and InDesign for laying out newspapers and mags and product designs and ads and all that heavy lifting, but (just as with audio) there are just some quirky little packages that do simple tasks better than the prestige, big and expensive boxes with multiple DVDs full of all the stuff you will never use.

I still start most of my basic layouts for flyers and mags in Page Maker BTW. It just is so much faster - and I import into InDesign for the fancy stuff and for that all-important pre-flight check.

[jimcroisdale]

Ah, well I guess I'm spoiled at work so I've never had to look for an alternative!

Illustrator really is nice though - makes Photoshop seem a real faff.

[Greg Curtis]

Logo design for us took months. It was painful... We started off trying it on our own, with family and friends, but the stuff we though of all sucked. We ran out of ideas.

Then we hired a pro, and he submitted several options, which all were exactly what we didn't want, including a bunch that had stuff that we specifically said, in writing, not to include. Like actually using a bridge, a musical instrument, music notation. And we wanted a real logo, something that could be used on a stamp, a business card, stationary, shirts, etc. Some of his options included aging brick backgrounds that would exclude these uses.

So, a bit of give and take, and we got into the ballpark. We picked a few of the best designs, tweaked them ourselves (lengthen, twist, fading, etc..), and then sent them back to be redone. Like most things that are satisfying, it took a long time to get things exactly right, just a nudge either way and it didn't look right. Nudge, print, nudge back, print (things like proportions and scale always look different on paper than on a screen, always print).

And, viola, after 3 months it was done!

It's worth it in the end, because it is a branding device and goes on all sorts of stuff. it needs to be unique and memorable. And it needs to last a long time (not trendy).

Greg

[jimcroisdale]

Three months!! I've designed and laid out an entire magazine by myself in less than that!

But, you pays your money and you taker your pick. Ultimately, if you are happy with the finished product and what it cost you then all is well. And it is a nice logo you have, and not at all obvious.

I am currently working with one GS member on a new logo and we are getting there - a few revisions a day. Doesn't take long to make small changes, and gradually it comes together.

Exciting stuff! (If you're a geek, like me....)

Cheers,

Jim

[Greg Curtis]

Well, it wasn't the primary focus of what we were doing at the time. I was in the middle if a gigantic new studio buildout, setting up the corporation, etc Three months total, but it would be 3 days had it been the only thing I was doing.

The old juggling act.

I'm glad you like it.

[eastsidetone]

I finally got a local graphic designer who of course blew my homemade logo away!

[SDDP]

Originally Posted by eastsidetone

I finally got a local graphic designer who of course blew my homemade logo away!

WOW!!!!!!!!

The first one's where cool, then you added color and I was like ya, it did need that, people are very visually fixated on words and designs, etc. Then you went with the red box which was a bit more standing out, but not that easy to remember and identify you apart or remember. But this last one is AWESOME!

Easy to read, grabs one's attention and is easy to remember and identify you out of other designs.

[eastsidetone]

Originally Posted by SDDP

WOW!!!!!!!!

The first one's where cool, then you added color and I was like ya, it did need that, people are very visually fixated on words and designs, etc. Then you went with the red box which was a bit more standing out, but not that easy to remember and identify you apart or remember. But this last one is AWESOME!

Easy to read, grabs one's attention and is easy to remember and identify you out of other designs.

It didn't take him very long to make it, and I think he really captured what I was looking for! We might do some minor tweeks, but that's pretty much it

[therealbigd]

Sorry it's just the first thing I thought of!

[eastsidetone]

I seriously laughed out loud!

[eastsidetone]

final logo

[Deniz:Wilson]

very very nice!

[gear is cool]

i ripped off.... ummm "was inspired by" the 7-11 matchbook for my logo years ago

i like that you put a mic on yours too!

-joe


Orbit Audio Rocks!

[jonnycat]

That new logo would be sick if the mic wasn't a modern condenser and was an old sure radio mic!

[los marbles]

Originally Posted by jonnycat

That new logo would be sick if the mic wasn't a modern condenser and was an old sure radio mic!

Good call. The current mic breaks up the flow. An old chrome shure would sit nice in that logo.