Jessica Trinidad ’16
In the ever-changing technological era in which portfolios and resumes have extended their presence into the digital world, personal branding has become an even larger part of the job application process than ever before. Since there are now so many different mediums in which an individual can extend their professional presence, it is necessary to consider developing a personal brand or logo that can be associated with your material. According to Google, a logo can be defined as “a symbol or other design adopted by an organization to identify its products, uniform, vehicles, etc.” (Google). These logos are an incredibly important aspect of self-marketing, for it allows the applicant’s audience to associate their material with an image/typeface, increasing recognition of the applicants materials.
Where Do I Begin?
Look for inspiration. Everywhere we look, we are surrounding by logos as a part of the marketing plan for both small and large companies. Magazines, Newspapers, and Clothing tags are all marked with trademarks and logos that represent companies intending to extend their presence and recognition. Take Starbucks for example. By placing their logo on cups, the company is extending its presence into all of the locations their consumers bring their drink to. This includes work locations, bus/train stations, airports, etc.; nearly every location can be accessed through their customers, creating a sort of grassroots marketing technique. By recognizing designers that your feel are effective in developing a successful brand, it is possible to being comprising an inspiration board or file, in which you can store designs that you feel work well, and therefore can act as positive influences when designing your logo.
What Should I Consider When Designing my Logo?
Once you have found logos that inspire you, identify the elements in those logos that are appealing and effective. Do they utilize a unique design? Is it their use of color and contrast that make the image visually appealing? These are questions you should be asking yourself regarding both other designs and the design you will be creating for your own personal brand. It is also necessary to consider what you are hoping to showcase to potential employers. What do you expect your personal logo to represent or stand for? Do you want to showcase you abilities in design? Or perhaps writing? These are questions that must be answered in developing an effective logo. When designing, it is important to think outside the box. Developing a unique logo will make your brand both more recognizable and memorable. It is important to consider alignment, contrast, and color, as well as typography, when in the design process. Consider the perception of certain colors, as well. These elements can be utilized to develop both a visually appealing and recognizable logo that can be used as identifiers for potential employers.
How Do I Actually Create My Logo?
Consider using design mediums such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or InDesign. These applications are all equipped with an incredibly large amount of features that can be incorporated and utilized to develop the perfect logo. Adobe Illustrator, contrary to Photoshop, uses vector-based images, meaning that the images created in this application can be printed to any size without losing any image quality. This is important to consider if you are looking to print your designers in a large scale, in which the design will be printed in the quality it was created in. For those individuals who are not familiar with these applications, there are other (free!) applications such as LogoYes.com or LogoMaker.com that can be useful aids in developing a personal brand.
Have you created a personal logo? Feel free to share yours or any other tips you found to be helpful in the designing process in the comment section below!
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