Opinions on my concept DJ logos
Opinions on my concept DJ logos Posted on: 08.07.2012 by Lessie Becoats Hey guys what do you believe of these logo concepts I had madeDJ Fressure pc8.jpgDJ Fressure 1 pc8.jpgdj fressure pc1.jpgDJ Fressure PC2.jpgDJ Fressure-pc5-1.jpgDJ Fressure-pc5-2.jpg UPDATED LOGO 7/17 download.php.jpg | |
| Anja Ellenberger 09.07.2012 | looks like your in the right direction, but i personally hate being labeled as "DJ Whatever" seems very unoriginal |
| Vernon Positano 09.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by tokenasianguy
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| Darlene Strohbeck 09.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by dj matt blaze
Secondly, I took a shot in the dark and put my insight out there in the hopes that it would help someone, if not him, then maybe someone else. And it appears that my insight was valid as he's taken interest in how a DJ would create a "brand". This thread isn't just for him, but for any of the number of lurkers that are also reading it. You know the concept of lurkers don't you? You seem to be stuck on the idea that HE started this thread for HIS reasons while you're too obtuse to realize that sometimes the most important help is the kind that you don't ask for. He might not have asked about brand strategy, but that doesn't mean he isn't interested to know. How else are you supposed to learn something unless someone shares concepts with you that you're not familiar with? That's how learning works "bro". By having someone teach you something that you never knew. Plain and simple, there's a right and wrong way to do things. I could argue that you're misleading him and quite frankly that pisses me off (when people are mislead) because it does more disservice than anything else and leads people down the wrong path. It sounds like you're making some sort of implication that he needn't worry about "due process" or "best practices" either because of the scale of his business or because it simply doesn't matter to you. "Due process" always matters no matter how big/small your company/operation is. There's a clear cut right and wrong here, it's not open to subjectivity, and you already agreed that the principals I've communicated are relevant, so I'm not sure what the hell you're trying to argue here if not to say that he doesn't have to concern himself with it for some reason or another. If the whole objective of this "logo" was to increase the appearance of "professionalism", then a real "professional" would implement some marketing and branding fundamentals while a "hack" would just throw a bunch of shit together in a pathetic attempt to "appear" professional...Meanwhile any marketing professional could pick it apart and not only point out the many things wrong with it, but back up the theory with web usability reports and data showing why people are less likely to spend time on a site, or not likely to take it to the next level (contact). Your site is a perfect example of a case study of "what not to do". Not trying to be rude just being honest. Sometimes I just have to call a spade a spade. Just because design and usability fundamentals don't matter to you, don't assume that nobody else cares. Seriously, what ARE you trying to accomplish here? I'm trying to offer up valuable information that I was ecstatic to learn on my own, so I figured I would share, so others could benefit, and for some reason this offends you? Stop trying to antagonize this and STFU. It's getting annoying. I don't plan on stopping because offering help when I'm in a position to do so is something I believe strongly in. Not to mention I don't have anything better to do right now, and I AM actually this petty...But most of all, I believe offering help is one of the greatest contributions I can make no matter how big or small the effort, and for some reason this offends you, which is just infuriating. If it bothers you so much, stop reading the thread.
Originally Posted by dj matt blaze
Aligning your logo with your brand is the "ideal" scenario...But there's a lot of theories as to why "Apple" uses the "Apple", one theory pertains to Sir Issac Newton (know how Google works Einstein?), another theory pertains to "Adam and Eve". While "aligning" all your marketing channels with your brand is the ideal scenario, it's not always possible. I also said that more importantly than sticking to any best practices it's important to implement theory and objectivity, but I guess you missed that. So what if Steve jobs worked in an apple orchard and the "Apple" name has nothing to do with electronics?! Who really cares? That doesn't mean trying to align your logo with your brand is wrong. The term "best practices" (which I've used to death) would imply that there's always exceptions. You're just looking for anything to hang onto, to make me look wrong, although I'm confused as to why you care so much. Seriously dude you can just STFU now...It's unfortunate you got offended by me trying to share some wisdom...But what are you going to do for an encore? Offer to create his website? I hate to keep bringing that up, but you really don't have any credibility in commenting on how to create a tasteful and effective marketing initiative, so seriously, just STFU BRO. |
| Roseanna Signorini 09.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by tokenasianguy
You said I am being arguementative? C'mon bro, you're knitpicking about the semantics if Joe plumber has a logo? I have magnents on my fridge for my plumber with a certain font and colors, I have a magnet for a dog groomer with a logo and different fonts and colors. Every company has some kind of logo that represents the company and some just have it cause they thought it looked kool and for no other reason. Your first post said that the logo should align with your brand. Lets pluck someone out of 1975 put them in the Delorean and bring them to 2012. Now show them a picture of a silver apple with a chunk taken out of it and ask them what company does it represent. A farm? An orchard? Motts? Again don't get me wrong, I am not arguing your points about having a business model, business strategy, setting goals, implementing them, running the business. It wasn't about that. It was about...do ya like my logo ideas.... |
| Darlene Strohbeck 09.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by Fressure
You just write down some keywords, or descriptive paragraphs of how you would define either your work, yourself as a DJ, what you want to accomplish as a DJ, or any combination of these. I would start by making bulletpoints with #1 being the most important. You can use words like "Dark" or "Sophisticated", or you could use an entire paragraph to describe what you're trying to communicate if you can't sum it up in one word. You said you like Electro, so if your style is dark, and dirty, then you'll definitely want to align your marketing collateral with that somehow, maybe by using a lot of blacks and grays in your colour scheme. If "sophisticated" is the #1 defining factor of your brand, then maybe you would want to use more whites, than blacks. I've read web usage reports that say the colour white creates the illusion of "wealth", and sophistication, which brings me to another point; that It's important to try and communicate "your brand" through all your marketing channels, but it's also important to read reports and data on web usability statistics, which is where a lot of the "best" practices" come from. I operate a mobile DJ business, so with "money" being the ultimate goal, I defined my brand identity by looking at the competition, believeing about what I wanted to achieve, and figuring out how to communicate my differentiating factors as a business operator. For me personally, I decided that "distinguished taste" had to be the most important factor, because I do mobile DJ'ing and there's so many mobile DJ's out there that are hacks. I also figured that more importantly than communicating to potential clients, I need for them to know that "distinguished taste" is the most important quality in any DJ. I decided I could communicate "distinguished taste" by creating "tasteful" and "clean" marketing materials and I achieved that by basing my entire "brand" on a damask wallpaper pattern that I have in my apartment because it's sort of "vintage chic" so not only is it classic, but current and trendy. So my entire site and my business cards have the same colour scheme and concept. Some people might say that the "damask" pattern is played out these days, but that's not the point. The point is to focus on the "process" of making decisions that follow some sort of theory rather than making decisions because they seem necessary. I know a lot of this can be confusing at first, because when I first learned about the fundamentals of brand strategy I found it confusing. I didn't understand some of the vernacular, or what the term "brand" referred to. Just remember that your "brand" isn't just about logos and letterheads. Your brand is your entire public image. It's your differentiating factors, the kind of music you play, how you carry yourself etc. It's basically anything about you or your DJ business that could have a role in influencing someone about whether or not they would use your services as a DJ. If you want to be "socially conscious" that could be part of your brand. You could promote that the T-shirts you make will only contain "organic cotton" or be "sweetshop free", but don't forget you have to look at it objectively. You should concentrate on being focused and relevant. Being "organic" might be relevant to the actual sales of your t-shirts, but has nothing to do with your skills or your ability as a DJ. If you're looking to be a "performing" DJ who plays electro sets, then maybe you can define your brand by 1. Communicating your style, and 2. Communicating what you do better than other DJ's in your area, etc, etc. If you ever have any questions feel free to ask. Even if you're brainstorming and stuck on something feel free to ask. It always helps to get a second pair of eyes on something, and two heads are better than one. I believe strongly in karma and I'm happy to volunteer help if I'm in a position to contribute. I have experience in corporate marketing, not to mention I've done some extensive reading on web marketing, SEO etc. I've burned away countless hours reading data and web usability reports and I've jotted down all the key points of everything I've read, into a word document, which I'd be more than happy to share with you. |
| Lessie Becoats 08.07.2012 | I do plan to have a website soon (waiting for Onesheet to relaunch). And I like having black and white as my colors. I like the whole dark concept, it makes me believe of a dark room with people going crazy, I love the environment. I love to rage and make people rage and go crazy. That's the type of music that I play, I want my dance floor jamming out and exhausted at the end of the evening
. I play electro house as my main genre. I want you to feel the rattle through your bones from the bass and a tingle down your spine when you hear a good drop. But how exactly does a DJ brand himself like you are trying to say. |
| Darlene Strohbeck 08.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by dj matt blaze
I only challenged the OP to believe about why he wants it or what he expects to achieve because far too often people spend their time and/or money doing things just because they believe they should, and this is a perfect example. Wanting to look more professional is a legitimate reason, but some would say that a website is more important, or at the very least, multiple channels eg: website, cards, t-shirts, and hats executed at the same time would be the most ideal plan. Business cards and no site would only seem quasi-professional to me. To me it's just a small step forward. Business cards can direct people to a website, but having a facebook page and no website would be deemed by many (including myself) as not professional because he/she hasn't paid for a site, or devoted the time/effort to creating one for free. I don't even know if the OP has a site or not but it's just an example...Regardless, I'm not trying to dissuade him from getting a logo, just trying to offer some insight into "best practices". Because I found this information to be extremely valuable when I first learned about it and I thought someone else could find it valuable.
He just wants a logo to represent himself. He isn't trying to get global branding, he isn't going to sit in a room with pie charts and graphs analyzing the demographic research telling you if males 18-39 find that blue logos get more business. Its just a simple logo, he isn't looking to start a global entity.
All companies and people from plumbers to giant corporations have a some kind of logo that represents them even if to only put on a business card. It looks a little more professional to hand someone your card with a nice logo than just your name and number. Even to put on shirts and hats too, gives some more credibilty as well that you are putting the time, effort, and money into yourself and your DJ business.
In the aforementioned reference to "plumbers" neither of us can prove that success or lack thereof is due to the use or lack of specific initiatives. But what I could probably prove to you with a report or some data (if I dedicated the time to find it) is that one of the key reasons small businesses have such a high failure rate is because of their lack of business savvy...Which includes understanding and following "best practices".
Originally Posted by Fressure
You're probably right that it won't matter since it sounds like you're just interested in doing it as a hobby...Regardless, this is business fundamentals 101 here guys. Don't try to argue that it's not valid because neither of you are really interested, because there might be someone out there that is. |
| Darren Teboe 08.07.2012 | Confucius say don't get butthurt over constructive criticism when creating a thread asking for feedback. |
| Noriko Lebowitz 08.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by dj matt blaze
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| Lessie Becoats 08.07.2012 | Matt understands why Im doing this |
| Roseanna Signorini 08.07.2012 |
That being said, I don't believe a logo is too useful for a DJ or DJ service because a DJ doesn't get booked on a logo alone.
He just wants a logo to represent himself. He isn't trying to get global branding, he isn't going to sit in a room with pie charts and graphs analyzing the demographic research telling you if males 18-39 find that blue logos get more business. Its just a simple logo, he isn't looking to start a global entity. All companies and people from plumbers to giant corporations have a some kind of logo that represents them even if to only put on a business card. It looks a little more professional to hand someone your card with a nice logo than just your name and number. Even to put on shirts and hats too, gives some more credibilty as well that you are putting the time, effort, and money into yourself and your DJ business. |
| Lessie Becoats 08.07.2012 | In doing this for fun because I enjoy it and like doing it. My area where I live has nowhere to do club gigs due to it being rural. Id have to travel an hour and half to be close to anything. But i do occassional things with a friend. The logo would be on stuff that only id wear. Im not trying to sell anything. And I always will believe let the music do the talking. |
| Darlene Strohbeck 08.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by Fressure
Everyone has a personal "brand" but some people don't realize it. If your objective is to get gigs, then every promoter is going to ask the very same thing every employer asks "what can you do for me?" If your response is "I play kickass Electro and rock the hard jam!" then you technically already have a "brand". Job-hunters always create a personal brand by making note of their core skills and competencies and making sure they communicate that every time they have a job interview. And it should also be communicated in your marketing collateral (business card). Otherwise you have a disjointed approach and one thing is not like the other. If you're doing this part time and just in it for shits and giggles then you'll probably believe I've gone off the deep end, but if you want to increase your success no matter what you do, (which I'm assuming is the objective of the business card) then goal-setting and analysis are equally important. Even people who want to get into shape or save money, achieve better results with goal-setting and analysis as it's one of the key markers of success and one key traits of successful people. Even people who put pictures on their fridge of things they'd like to own or places they'd like to go are more likely to obtain those things than people that don't. People who write down their goals are more likely to reach them as it creates a sense of accountability. It might seem ridiculous or overboard if all you want is to "get more gigs" but at the same time you don't know whether you've reached your objective or whether the business card has worked for you unless you compare it to the amount of gigs you had last year, which is where the analysis comes in. Otherwise you're spending money on cards and t-shirts but could be getting the same amount of gigs as always and not realizing it's a waste of money because you don't do any analysis. I'm just trying to help you make smart decisions dude...Because there's a lot of this stuff that I wish I did sooner, or wish I had someone with the knowledge to help me. Now that I know what I know, I just try to communicate it as much as possible whenever someone asks about spending money on promotional items, in the hopes that someone will find the info as useful as I've found it. |
| Lessie Becoats 08.07.2012 | You guys are believeing way too in depth about this. I just want something cool looking to put on shirts, hats, that id be wearing myself, and a business card |
| Darlene Strohbeck 08.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by The Mighty FV
DJ Tiesto is probably the most globally recognized DJ who has a logo (the bird thing), but even without the word "Tiesto" a large majority of the world population wouldn't know what it is...Not like the aforementioned Nike Swoosh, Golden Arches, or Apple at least. |
| Darlene Strohbeck 08.07.2012 | Just curious, why do you want or need a logo? IMO far too often people and companies spend their time and/or money on initiatives before really understanding the key points, like what results you expect to achieve, and whether or not this initiative is actually going to achieve them for you. Logos are key for achieving "brand recognition" and come in handy for many household products that you buy often like toothpaste, or laundry detergent. With those products it's possible you'll notice the logo before anything else and could possibly scoop it up on logo/brand recognition alone. Apple and Starbucks are perfect examples because their logos don't even contain words. You can see their logos anywhere in the world and you automatically know who they are and what they do. Their logos transcend beyond language barriers and have GLOBAL recognition. That being said, I don't believe a logo is too useful for a DJ or DJ service because a DJ doesn't get booked on a logo alone. Richie Hawtin is world renowned but it wasn't a logo that achieved that. If you're a mobile DJ, then your largest clientele (wedding clients) will only book you once and it won't have much to do with a logo. Even if you get repeat Corporate clients for Christmas parties it won't have much to do with the logo. If you still want to design a logo, before you design a logo you have to define your "brand". Your logo has to align with your brand. In fact, all your marketing/publicity efforts (including sales pitches) should align with your brand. If you're a "touring" or "performing" DJ like the aforementioned Richie Hawtin, then it own't matter, but if you operate a mobile DJ service, you should have a brand strategy because it should be part of your sales pitch and it's the way you differentiate yourself from the competition. The easiest way to define a brand is to make some bullet points that you believe are the most important points, or key differentiating factors of your company. For me it's 1. Distinguished taste. 2. Value. 3. Experience. It's difficult to integrate "value" and "experience" in a logo, but simple to make sure that the logo is something most people would describe as "tasteful". It's important to align everything (including the logo) with your brand because it creates synergy and makes your company look organized. It also helps to define your sales pitch. You just refer to your brand. Sorry that was a bit long-winded but I was hoping to share some useful info. If none of that matters and you didn't spend any time or money because you designed it yourself and you still want to go ahead with it, then go for it. Personally I subscribe to the ideal that 5 minutes spent on something that won't achieve results is 5 minutes too many. |
| Lessie Becoats 08.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by The Mighty FV
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| Roseanna Signorini 08.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by The Mighty FV
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| Roseanna Signorini 08.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by Fressure
As for your DJ logo. This is what will represent you, I agree with keeping it simple, drop the tag line, drop any of the cliche DJ siloutte graphics. When I had my logos made I specifically said I wanted something kinda sleek and no dj graphics and they came out pretty good. 7D0B323_MattBlaze.jpg7D0B323_MattBlaze.jpg |
| Joesph Kasian 08.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by sobi
A logo has to be clear at ANY size, see; Apple, Nike, Mc.Donalds etc |
| Ulysses Vittetoe 08.07.2012 | Stick with something simple, try just doing a cool looking font without going overboard on the typeface and effects. |
| Kathe Teetsel 08.07.2012 | I support the idea of Dj logo to be minimalistic as possible! here is mine http://goo.gl/FRhBC (lion head, cause my zodiac sign is lion) and http://goo.gl/bve6H for my DnB moniker (the head is there cause i have a simillar looking mask for it ;-)), play with the font, to produce some nice, clean results ;-) |
| Freida Leash 08.07.2012 | The last ones might be ok for what you play, I believe it is all too busy, and would be better served elegantly blocked with shapes that represent the record with a circle, than an actual record. Freshness with a spin, needs to be dropped or worked into something doesn't make me believe of fabric softener. I believe if you move away from images and focus on the text over all you will come up with something better. |
| Lessie Becoats 08.07.2012 | Everyone seems to like number 4 it seems like. Should i just keep that make the letters with no gradient |
| Wallace Lawmaster 08.07.2012 | #4 without freshness saying
Originally Posted by Patch
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| Tobi Rabuse 08.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by Patch
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| Darren Teboe 08.07.2012 | 3 & 4 are the only ones identifiable at that small of a size, and therefore, the only ones you should consider. Before you tell me they can be clicked on to see a larger size, I realize that. My point is that one of the keystones of a good logo, is that it is legible at the smallest size. The preview sizes up top pretty accurately represent the size they would be on a flyer. |
| Brunilda Kora 08.07.2012 | Don't put it on the back of a shirt - it sounds like an advert for washing powder. |
| Jonathan Chiuchiolo 08.07.2012 | get a cool font from www.dafont.com use inkscape, photoshop or gimp, and remember that when it comes to logo's keep it as minimal as possible and try to avoid too many colors and shading, monotone is usually best. |
| Eloy Kiepke 08.07.2012 |
Originally Posted by Fressure
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| Noriko Lebowitz 08.07.2012 | I would head back to the drawing board, and try to come up with something a bit more abstract, and a lot less cheesy lol. (NO Freshness with a spin or clipart looking images) |
| Lessie Becoats 08.07.2012 | I play House, Top40, and Hip Hop |
| Lawana Spratlen 08.07.2012 | depends what you play, the "freshness with a spin' is awful and the images look cheesy |
| Lessie Becoats 08.07.2012 | Do you guys believe I should drop the DJ? Or keep it? |
| Noriko Lebowitz 08.07.2012 | To be honest, I believe they all look a little bit too cliched. especially the ones with a DJ in them.. |
| Lessie Becoats 08.07.2012 | Yeah I was debating on it, it doesn't seem quite right. Its something I would put on the back of a shirt |
| Brunilda Kora 08.07.2012 | Quite like No. 6 - but the "freshness with a spin" tag line HAS to go, mate... |
| Tobi Rabuse 08.07.2012 | Second one is the best... But drop the "Freshness with a spin". It's a little cheesy. |
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