Business Logo Research and Ideas

 

Name	About the company	Fonts/Design	What I like	What I would improve	Colours
Gold Flake Paint	Gold Flake Paint is an independent music journal/magazine founded in Glasgow in 2010. It was founded by Tom Johnson, who remains the owner and founder since it began. It focuses on smaller artists, and usually brings attention to younger or newer musicians/bands.	Uses an ‘O’ shape sort of symbol with a line, and so it is easy to recall. The squiggly white lines are subtle and so from memory, the logo is easier to remember. There is no text in the main body, and so the logo needs to be detailed in order to best represent the name.	That they use a simplistic logo which is easy to remember. It is fairly modernistic, through the use of modern aesthetics and so will be appealing to the younger generation, which is their target audience.	I would make the white lines more visible as they are supposed to represent the initials of the company, but their subtleness makes this hard to see. I may also switch the colours around to make the background black and the symbols gold.	Black and gold, which is both representative of professionalism as well as a nod towards the company’s name. Gold is an unusual colour for a company logo, but it’s pleasant to look at and so is quite memorable.
The Skinny	The Skinny are a multicultural magazine focusing on the arts, entertainment and lifestyle. However, they do look at music journalism and will post reviews, recommendations and interviews.	They use a basic design with text and minimal colours, which infers that they are most focused on presenting professionally. Thus, this allows for them to appeal to a wider and more passionate audience.	They use a simple, memorable and professional design, and so they can easily be identified and discovered. Their logo also gives a brief description of what they do, and so	Personally, I would attempt to create a logo specific to the company so that they are easily rememberable. Using the design they have now does not really stick in the mind and is too simplistic and boring.	They use very minimal colours. The colours included are black and white, with minor rainbow colours underneath to represent the broad range of topics they explore. However, their colour scheme is a bit outdated.
Loud and Quiet	Loud and Quiet are a music magazine and publisher who focus on producing monthly reviews, recommendations and interviews. They have multiple members of staff and editors, unlike the other companies mentioned in this table.	Like the prior, they use a simplistic yet memorable design to demonstrate professionalism and appeal to a wider audience (more specifically, passionate and serious music enthusiasts). Their colour scheme is basic – black with a white background.	I find the basic design appealing, as it is both professional and modern as the world as we know it today continues to become simplified in terms of aesthetics. Therefore, it would attract more artists as it is a smaller company.	To improve, they could look into adding more depth to their design, such as that of maybe developing a symbol in order to make their logo more appealing and recognisable. They can also look into using a different colour scheme as their audience develops.	The colours are simple, consisting of a black font with a plain white background. The font is bold and narrow so reflects professionalism. This is used so that it is appealing to a wider audience and more notably, professionals in the industry.
Cool Music and Things	Cool Music and Things is an independent music blog set up by Megan, who is the founder and only runner of the blog. She recommends music, writes about it and does some interviews with smaller artists.	The design is simple, soft and fairly aesthetic, inferring that the nature of the blog is aimed towards a younger audience, like Megan herself. It also best represents her approachable and friendly character.	I enjoy the simplicity and informality of the logo, as it reflects the friendly and warm-hearted manner of the blog and Megan’s personality.	I would maybe change the font to better reflect the professionalism of the blog, as it seems a little childish to appeal to a wider audience, as the music which Megan writes about will not appeal only to her target audience.	The font is a gentle blend of pastel, including blue, purple, green and yellow, which are not colours you would usually find on a professional music blog logo.

 Conclusion

Out of all the logos above, my personal favourite is that of Gold Flake Paint. This is due to the fact that the colour scheme is unique and stands out from competitors – gold is not a colour you would usually find in a music magazine logo, and so it is very memorable. As well as this, it incorporates modern design and aesthetics so will be appealing towards a younger audience, which is the most desired based off of the nature of this specific journal. Lastly, it makes good use of symbols and so is unique in its own way, but also sticks in the mind.

Developments for my business logo

The name of my company, Twelve Feet Deep, comes from a lyric from one of my favourite songs, which is similar to what Tom Johnson did with his company name, Gold Flake Paint, which is a lyric from one of his favourite songs of all time.

In terms of my logo, I think that I will stick with the idea of favouring a simplistic design in order to promote professionalism and appeal to a wider audience. Moreover, a simple design is also beneficial when it comes to print magazines and merchandise, as I believe it will look the nicest. As my business develops and the audience grows, I hope to look at this demographic and use that to alter my logo design (if needed). However, I believe taking a simplistic approach is the best path to promote and best represent my business.

In terms of colours, I think similarly to Loud and Quiet – who use the simple yet memorable approach - I will use a plain white background with black text to best represent professionalism, modernism and simplicity.

My company and branding

·         Name – jmr, 'jammer' 

·         Logo – lettering and numbers rather than an image?

·         Colours – black=balanced and professional, white=best fit for background in order to make it stand out.

·         Design – preferably simplistic, as text and writing will be my main focus, I would like to have text in my logo to best represent my company; meaning that I may also have a simple symbol – in this case, I would like something like ‘//’ as a recognisable and easily remembered symbol, as well as the fact that it would look better on magazines, journals and possibly merchandise

·         Demographics – anyone, anywhere within the younger/teenage generation (as I myself am a young individual and so will find it easier to relate to other young people). As well as this, younger people are more malleable when it comes to music taste. Therefore, I will choose a modernistic design and aesthetic to best fit my target audience.

·         Classed as an ‘explorer’. Sole trader or limited company. I will be classed as a sole trader since I will have control of my own business’s finances which will be included in my own, and so it will be solely my responsibility.