Riot Graphics' Progress

After months of being static in where I want to go, with my work. I am now offically starting Riot Graphics as a business. 

I know what you're thinking, 'so what have you been doing this past year'. Well, to be honest, I have been trying the name out, and seeing what people think of it. And it has seen some good feedback and interest. Also, I have been at college *cough*. Seriously, I have. :P

What has started this, is that the clothing store I was in contact with, has contacted me saying that whilst they like my designs, they are not going to be able to print out the designs themselves. So, this means that I would have to pay for printing and send some prototypes, so that they can see what they look like.

To get these prototypes, I am going to have to order them from an online source. Which involves me sending them the designs, and them printing them for me. Ideally, I would love to screenprint them, but that is not going to be workable, given the amount of time that I have. Which is not very much, at all.

So, I am starting work on my business plan, and am going to start pricing up different resources which I will need. A business plan, shows what your company is, and where you expect it to be within the next year. You need to estimate turnover, and sort out taxes. It seems very complicated, and after reading over things, it seems like it is complicated. But you know what, the prospect of people paying for my work, is my motivation for this. I am so ready for this, can't bare college for another year.

Brand This.

I have thought a lot recently (wow). About how advertisements have become a huge part of our everyday lives. I mean every thing which has a logo, is there to identify and promote that product. Whether it's the electrical company branded television in your front room, or the badge on the grill of your car. It is all advertising that product to other people, to get the name stuck in your head.

I mean I can tell you now that I am typing this blog on an HP keyboard, and viewing it on a Compaq monitor. Companies have always wanted their products to be identified as their products. Now, in this simplified form, it makes sense. If you put a product out into the public domain, you want people to know you made it.

So this comes down to everything, from buses to pencils, from microchips to microwaves. A brand name is there, to provided easy identification of a product or service. What ever you use has identification of some kind branded on it. On things like televisions, the branding tends to be just off the line of vision, as although your eyes aren't focused on it, your mind still absorbs the information. This is a popular tactic with logos, apply them in places which will it noticed. This is why you have branded clothing labels and tv channels, with the small symbol in the corner.

Because these logos, are something which are not actively promoted, there is no conscious thought process involved, and your brain takes in a lot more than you think. This is why logos and branding are so important to get right. Logos are the most important parts of advertising, get it wrong, and it shows your company in a negative light. Get it right, and it could become as well known as McDonald's 'golden arches'.

So as a designer, you need to be aware of what kind of message, the company in question, would like to convey. This is as relevant as the shape and colour of the logo, effects to how a person percieves the logo. A representation of one thing, goes as far back as the 17th Century, where a Coat of Arms, was used to classify a person. This was was a way of identifying one person from another, which is why people use logos for, for identification.

The main thing, which is needed when designing a good logo, is communication with your client. This makes sure that whatever you design, conveys the desired message. Its not doing what they say, its colaberating on it.