The Do’s And Don’ts Of Photography Logo Design

Last updated on October 29th, 2021

Photography is a competitive business that requires you to draw the attention of potential clients and make effective marketing strategies. A well-thought-of photography logo design is a way to deliver your brand message to your target audience. Such a professionally created logo helps a lot in making a lasting impression on people and clients.

Photography is not an easy business to run. According to some surveys, only 40% of photography business survive the first year, and just 15% reach the third year.

Inability to draw the target audience’s attention and convert them into buyers is usually cited as one of the primary reasons for the failure. This is where a logo comes into the picture.

A logo is a face of any company and business. A photography startup’s logo, when designed thoughtfully, can become a company’s identity. If people recognize the logo and like it, the chances are that they will connect with the startup’s photography business. Thus a logo often becomes a tool to take a business to the masses.

However, many logo designers make the errors as they do not follow some basic principles of the design. For example, they think that multiple colors will catch the eye of viewers. But that is a big mistake. The use of many colors, in most cases, is a distraction and diverts the attention from a core message from a brand.

Similarly, many designers create logos that have odd looking shape, which confuses the audience. There are, in fact, dozens of things to avoid when creating a photography logo design.

Here Are Some Dos And Don’ts To Consider When Designing Your Photography Logo

DO’s

01. Research Your Audience

Which category of photography are you interested in? Is it wedding photography, nature photography, tour, and travel photography or anything else? Pinpoint your interest and then start researching the ideal consumer. What sort of customers is likely to buy your photography services?

When finding the answers to such questions, the aim is to know more about your target customers or clients. This helps in defining your audience. Accordingly, you can create your wedding logo, photography logo and so on. Armed with such information, you can then create a logo that targets the audience precisely.

02. Be Different

When you create a logo, make sure that it is an outstanding design and looks different from dozens of your competitors. If it is a one-of-a-kind logo, viewers will be drawn to it. They will appreciate the logo for its remarkable design.

Also, avoid following the design trends. They are temporary and fade away in a year or so. You will need the logo for decades. This means that even when your business grows and has more products or services, the logo should still be carrying your core message. Therefore, design a logo that lasts for many years.

03. Draw Sketches For Ideas

You need a unique idea to create your photography logo design. One of the proven ways to get ideas from your creative brain is to draw as many sketches as you can randomly on a piece of paper. Those drawings are unique in many ways. Then, pick one of two sketches and see which one of them is good enough to be developed into a logo.

Sketches are your creative and fun ways to draw something exciting. You can experiment with your logo ideas at this stage. But do not erase those sketches as you may like some of them later instead of the present one.

04. Keep The Design Simple

The experts lay emphasis on keeping a design simple. The simplicity of custom logos means it should be able to convey its message in the minimum possible elements of colors, typefaces, etc. There should not be any unnecessary use of complicated lines and shapes that overlap and confuse the viewer. But simplicity does not mean sacrificing the creativity. What it means is that your logo should be unique and simple.

05. Use Negative Space

One of the tricks the designers use to create unique logos is negative space. This is the space lying vacant in between the two design elements. But a creative designer uses this to create some figure that comes to your mind when you stare at the design. This surprises the viewers. This very figure often becomes a brand message as well.

An example of the excellent use of negative space is the FedEx logo of the global courier company. There is an arrow hidden in the space between the letters E and x, conveying the message of speedy delivery of posts to the consumers. A professional graphic designer understands the importance of using the space to deliver a brand message.

06. Make It Scalable

As your photography business will grow, it will be placing ads everywhere on a wide range of small to big places. But the logo should be such that when put on huge billboards, it still retains its shape and look clearly. Similarly, when put on a stamp-size surface, the fine details of the logo are visible clearly. It should be legible at small sizes.

07. Use Fonts Cleverly

Remember that each font has its own distinct character. Choose the one that can give your photography business a personality. Some fonts are bold, solid, and strong while others are soft and tender. Which of them expresses your startup’s personality? You can pick the font that gives a brand identity to your photography business.

08. Use Colors Wisely

Colors have this amazing property of evoking our emotions. Each color is associated with certain feelings, emotions, and even memories of people. Which set of colors can best represent your photography startup? It would be good that you have some knowledge of color psychology.

When incorporating some colors, create variations of the logo with different colors. Place the logo on your website, business cards, and other places and see which color combination looks excellent everywhere for brand consistency. Find out how the logo will look on top of photographs and backgrounds. For brand consistency, choose the colors that your web page design, business cards, etc. already have.

09. Get Feedback

You should get feedback from experts and your peers on your photography logo design. Sometimes other people can judge your logo better. It is advisable that you display the logo on your social media page and request the followers to give their opinion. Many of them will come out with some mistakes that you might not have noticed. If you find the advice useful, do not hesitate to implement it for improving the design.

DON’Ts

01. Avoid Using Too Many Details

You should desist from using too many elements. If there are multiple colors and fonts used in a logo, it will complicate the design. Instead, focus on a single key feature and design the logo around that. When you hire a freelance graphic designer, tell clearly that you need a simple logo that is clutter-free with only a few colors and typefaces.

02. Don’t Use Stock Images Or Clip Art

If you use stock images or any other clip art, that automatically makes your photography logo design inferior to your competitors’ logos. This is because people can quickly identify a unique design from a cliched one. It is a possibility that they have seen the art and images you borrowed from the web to include them in your logo. When you make efforts to build an identity of your startup, use of clip art will only harm the cause.

03. Avoid Using Multiple Colors

Make sure that your photography logo design has one or two colors only. If you use a rainbow of colors, it will look unprofessional and random to the viewers. Such directionless use of colors will create confusion about your business. Moreover, multiple colors may make the logo image blurry.

04. Don’t Connect Image With Text

Many designers make this mistake. They connect the text with an image in their logos. While an icon and text are the most integral elements of a logo, use them wisely. Do not put text and icon or image close to each other. Instead, keep a reasonable distance between them for a better viewing experience.

05. Don’t Use Shadows

Drop shadows are often used by the designers to create some visual effect. But avoid shading the letters as it gives a cliched look to the design. The drop shadows may also make the files heavy and create display problems. An experienced designer delivering you the professional graphic design services will never resort to such tactics as using drop shadows to grab the attention.

06. Don’t Use Too Many Words

Logos can convey a message through colors and typeface. But if you have to use some slogans, keep it short. Too many words will take up most of the small space in a logo. That will make it look too crowded and congested.

So, these are some key points to consider when you design your photography logo design. The main point here is to design a logo in your way as that will help it stand out.

If your photography startup needs a distinctive logo at an affordable price, you can rely on Designhill, a leading marketplace for small businesses and designers. You get dozens of new design ideas from as many designers from across the world and finally have a winning logo for your photography business.

Conclusion

Photography logo design should uniquely convey your brand message. To create a memorable logo, make sure that it is a clutter-free simple design. The use of colors and typefaces should stand out so that the logo becomes an appealing visual for your target customers.

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