New Business Owners Tips

Most likey if you are purchasing a logo design, you are in the process of setting up a new business. Coming to our service is a step in the right direction for getting a professional logo design for your new business. As a new business owner, you are always looking out for the most affordable and effective way to get your business started.

There are many things to think about. You will need to get legal documents created to manage your business. You will need to set up communications, printing services, telephone services, merchant’s accounts and more. We have a few services that we have used in the past and we would like to share them with you.

Merchant’s Accounts

Times have changed from when you needed to have a full blown merchant’s account to receive credit card payments. You can now receive credit cards online easily with many new services. We have used paypal for over 4 years, and have been completely satisfied with the quality of service that we have received. With paypal we did not have any large up front costs to setting up our account. Their rates are comparable to other services. We have had a good track record with their customer service. They don’t have many of the other strict requirements that many merchant account companies have. You can start your paypal account the same day you start your business!

If you are interested in using other services for credit card payment, there is also Google Checkout. Although Google Checkout is much newer than Paypal it is also widely considered a good choice. Receiving money online is very easy. Do not let other services trap you into huge contracts for providing a merchants account.

Printing Services

Anyone who has owned a company knows that printing costs can be a pain. Printing materials in house only saves you money if you are printing low quantities and don’t need high quality. There are services that now allow you to do your printing online. We use a company called VistaPrint for a lot of our printing. They quite possibly have the best prices for printing services on the internet.

From time to time we will add links to services that we consider essential to new business development.

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So you’ve decided to start a new business! Wondering about what to name your company? What kind of logo to use for your company? Wondering what kind of logo to go with?

These are just a few of the questions that new business owners have to think about. The truth is that a good logo can make a huge difference for your company. It can brand your company with an image that is easy to recognize. However, do not overestimate the power of a good logo. The company that stands behind the logo is just important.

When you choose your company name – try to think about a logo or brand concept to go with the name. You may want to associate your company name with a mascot, an animal, an object or another item of similar sort. Try to conceive of what kind of logo would go with your company name. These ideas are critical when you begin the search for your logo. It will help you whittle down your options and narrow your search. Try to pick short names that are relevant to your company. If you are in insurance, maybe you will want to include the word insurance in your company name. If you are a restaurant – perhaps you will want food related words to make the nature of your business obvious.

When you are picking out a logo – try to go with a more corporate design. What is a corporate logo? Well by definition a corporate logo is: “ A logotype, commonly known as a logo, is the graphic element of a trademark or brand, which is set in a special typeface/font, or arranged in a particular, but legible, way. The shape, color, typeface, etc. should be distinctly different from others in a similar market.” wikipedia

Corporate logos have a lower amount of colors. This will actually save you a lot of money in the future in printing costs. People remember simple logos. You will find that the less complex a logo design is, the easier it is to memorize the company name and remember the emblem. While it’s tempting to create a work of art that represents all the different angles of your business – often focusing on the one critical aspect of your company is the best option. If you are a construction company – you might want to focus on what your company builds. If it’s homes – you might want to incorporate a home into your logo. If you work on high-end automobiles – you might want to incorporate the silhouette of part of a car. Avoid adding too much detail. For example – if your company worked on high-end cars – you would not want to put the logo of a Mercedes Benz on your company logo. Firstly because that would be using another trademark! Secondly because it would assume that your company will only work on Mercedes Benz.

In the logo world – often less is more. Let the name of your company stand out – and let the image of the logo reinforce your company name. Also – don’t always go with the more expensive logo design option. On the other hand – don’t rush for the cheapest option either. Instead take the time to look through custom logo designers, unique pre-designed logo makers and search for a logo that portrays exactly what you want. Never rush through this process. Make sure that whatever you buy – it is exactly what you want.

What’s the big deal about color in a logo ?

So you finally have a logo design concept and you are ready to find a designer! There are many things to consider with the choice of color for a logo design.

How Much Color ?

First let’s start with the amount of color you want in your design. You will want to consider less color in your design if you are going to be doing mass printing. If your printing budget is irrelevant then you can go crazy with a more detailed design. The most basic of designs will have only two colors – black and white. You can progress from here to a design with hundreds or possibly thousands of colors. Just keep in mind that the more color you have – the more you will spend in the long run. Be sure that you mention your color restrictions when speaking to your logo designer.

What colors to use ?

The first thing you should do is come up with a color scheme for your logo. The colors should contrast or compliment each other. Remember to pick colors that look appealing to the eye. Also, talk with friends and ask their opinion. Do not rely only on your own sense of taste. You may think that green, brown and purple are good colors, but many other people may not agree with you.

Different colors have different meanings also . Here’s a breakdown of the impression many colors give :

Red : vitality , love, force, assertion, anger, desire,

Blue : peace, tranquility ,honesty

Green : progress, success, ecology, nature, environmentalism, wealth, Irish

Yellow : discipline, science, technology, wisdom , confidence

Purple : royalty, money, decadence or opulence

Pink : joy , love , sensitivity, softness

Brown : stability and masculinity

Grey : stability, responsibility, safety

Gold : wealth, power

What is RGB ? CMYK ? Pantone anyway ?

Now that you’ve picked your colors – you might want to know what these color systems are all about

RGB : This acronym st ands for the colors Red-Green-Blue. In web design and graphic design the colors are defined in terms of a combination of these three colors. You will often see 3 numbers next to RGB color term : 0-50-100 . The numbers refer to the amount of Red, Green, and Blue is used in a color respectively. Most often Online media is done in RGB color systems. Occasionally print media is done in RGB also.

CMYK : This stands for Cyan, Magenta Yellow and Black . With CMYK all colors are described as a mixture of these four base colors . CMYK is the standard color model used in professional printing for full-color documents . Because such printing uses inks of these four basic colors, it is often called four-color printing.

Pantone: This is another color system used by professional printers. You can find more information about this color system at: www.pantone.com

Hopefully this article will help you in choosing colors for your design and also for understanding what your graphic designer is talking about when they mention some of these color systems. You should be armed well enough to understand the color jargon your professional printer, webmaster and graphic designer will inevitably use.

The Small Business Owner’s Guide to Buying a Logo Online

What’s in a logo price ?

So what’s the deal with all these cheap logos. Everywhere you look on the net, you will see logos that vary in all sorts of price ranges. There are pre-designed logos that go for as cheap as $9.00 . Wondering why some are $500.00 and some are under $10.00 ? This article aims to help you understand the different types of logos out there and some of the pitfalls that may befall small business owners.

Most of us have the attitude that you get what you pay for. Unfortunately in the hairy world of logo development this is not true. Professional logo designers price their designs based on a combination of their own estimate of their self worth and going market rates. It’s up to you to decide how much you will actually pay for your logo design.

Our advice is to start with a price range that you are willing to pay. Once you have an ideal price range for company, then you can begin to look for logos and companies that fit into your budget. The following chart is a guide you may want to use in judging how much you should pay for a logo design.

$5 - $10 – This should cover template, and clip art web logos. You will be hard pressed to find a professional designer who will make a custom logo for you at this price.

$20 - $50 – Some discount logo places will design a custom logo for this price. However you are not likely to find a company who will make a 100 % unique design for this price. The colors, text, and shape combinations will be unique. Don’t worry about clip art being used as long as you can change any color of any element of the design. Beware of designers who can’t change color schemes of a logo – that’s a sure-fire sign of a template being used. Also, for this price you deserve a logo that has not been resold.

$75 - $100 – This is the average price of a unique custom logo. For this price you still probably won’t get a hand drawn logo, but you will definitely be getting something on a higher level. You should expect multiple revisions and a customer satisfaction guarantee of some sort.

$200 - $500 – Now this is the high end of logo design. For this price your graphic designer should cater to your every logo need. Expect to get exactly what you ask for. You should be able to get custom artwork drawn for this price. Your logo should have every aspect of it be unique. At this price range you may even request to have custom fonts developed for your company.

What about a Web Logo ?
A web logo is a logo design developed specifically for web use. This means that it will probably be very colorful, only come in regular image formats such as jpeg, gif, png etc. These logos are not suitable for printing purposes. They are perfect fr use if you just have a web based project that requires a logo design. Don’t get a web logo if you are looking for a logo to use for your company outside of web –based mediums.

Pre-designed Logo
This logo type is also called pre-made, or predesigned and occasionally template – although it does not mean template logo. These are designs that have been created already. You will see what the logo looks like already and all that’s left to do is insert your company name and / or slogan into the design. This is the most convenient option for small business owners. Pre-designed logos offer you the most ease when searching for a design. This way you find one you like and already know what the end product should look like.

Template Logo
Beware the template logo! They are logos designed off of pre-designed templates. Unless a design company explicitly states otherwise, assume that these are resold to multiple customers. This means that someone out there might have your logo as well. If you are not too worried or are not considering trade marking your design, you can consider this format. Template logos can look just as good as other formats, but make sure you understand what you are purchasing.

Custom Logo
This type of logo is the unique design. It might include a designer hand drawing something for you. Or it might include just whatever concept you have for your logo design. These are the most expensive of all formats, but if you want to use your logo for life, for trade marking, printing, etc then you will want to go this route.

File Formats
Have you been feeling overwhelmed by all the file formats available for logos. Want to know what’s the format that you need? Curious about what formats your web developer will need? Before we list the formats – let’s explain the difference between vector and non-vector formats. Vector images are 100 % scalable. Images look ok when scaled downwards but scaling upwards to make them bigger is another story! If you are getting a logo design – always go for the option that includes a vector-based file format. There’s no use to a logo that’s so small you can’t print it on your stationary or put it on a sign. Non vector-based formats cannot be scaled upwards. This means that the size you get is the best it gets!

Not sure what formats your professional printers will request ? Here’s a rundown of the most common file formats and their uses.

•  *.JPEG – This is a non-vector based format used for web use and occasionally printing

•  *.PNG - This is a non-vector based format used for web use and occasionally printing

•  *.GIF - This is a non-vector based format used for web use and occasionally printing

•  *.WMF – Windows Meta File This is a vector-based format

•  *.PSD – Photoshop Document – This is a layered file format that may or may not be vector-based. You will have to ask your developer if the PSD file is vector . Printers often request this file format.

•  *. AI – Adobe Illustrator – This is a vector based format . Printers often request this file format.

•  *.EPS – Encapsulated Post Script – This is a vector based format . Printers often request this file format.

•  *.BMP – Bitmap - This is a non-vector based format

•  *.PDF – Adobe Acrobat Format – This can be vector based or not. Printers sometimes request this file format.

•  *. TIFF – This is a non vector-based format. Printers sometimes request this file format.

Resolution
What is resolution? Resolution is important! If you only need your logo for the web, you can accept a logo at a resolution of 72 dpi (dots per inch). Should you need a logo for professional use do not accept anything at a resolution lower than 300 dpi. The higher the resolution the better your design will look. Always clarify this with the developer.

Resizing
Just remember that vector based images can be resized. Unless you have graphic design software of your own, never resize a non-vector-based format upwards on your own. Your design will appear pixilated. Just remember this basic rule – smaller always looks good, bigger gets blurry!

We understand that there’s a lot of information in this – but hopefully you will be better armed to start the search for a logo for your small business.

** This article was written for Adobe Photoshop 7 on a windows PC.

Navigate on your computer to your photoshop program preset directory. Our settings indicate that it should look something like this :
c:\program files\adobe\photoshop 7.0\presets\

You will see a series of folders named brushes, contours, gradients, styles, color palettes, etc. If you fail to navigate to that folder - try doing a search for *.asl . That should show you files within one of your preset folders. You will then need only navigate one folder up to find your preset folder.

All of the files on our site are zipped - so you may need to get an extraction program. You can use winzip, winrar, or winace. You may click on any of those names to go directly to their respective download pages.

Once you have extracted your files. If you have extracted layer styles ( *.asl files) - you will want to copy them over to the preset folder called styles. If you have extracted brush files ( *.abr files) you will want to copy them over to the preset folder called brushes. If you have extracted custom shapes (*.csh files) you will want to copy them over to the custom shape files.

The changes you have made will only take effect once you have restarted adobe photoshop.

Use of Layer Styles :
In order to use styles you must activate the style menu. You can do so from the task bar at the top of Adobe Photoshop

Activate the style menu

When you activate the drop down menu as shown on the left make sure that you select the menu option called styles. Once you have activated it you will see the following palette appear

Style menu appears

Do not be alarmed if you see your style palette docked with the swatches or color palettes. This is normal.

In order to load the styles that you have just installed click on the little arrow on the top right of the style palette

Load sytles

Once you click on that arrow you will see the all of the styles that you have available. You can just highlight any of our styles

Style listing

Once you have selected your styles - they will become available in your palette. From there applying styles will require just one click! Choose the layer with the element you want to apply the style to. Suitable elements are text, shapes, brush strokes, etc. Once click on the style of your choice and you will have the special effect!

Use of Contours
Our primary use for contours is for special effects within the Blending Options menu. In a nutshell - we use it in the section of Photoshop where we make our cool styles! To access the contour menu go to blending options from the layer palette

Loading Contours

Once you load that menu - Click once the contour option under bevel to activate the contour console

Contour Menu

Now click on the arrow to open the “loaded” contour menu.

Contour drop down

The contours that you see in the little boxes are the ones that have been loaded already. You can click on any of them to use them or you can load new ones.

Now click on the little arrow and a drop down menu will appear. Any of the new contours you installed will appear in the menu .You can just highlight one of the contours you see to load the contour. They will then be available for use in the small boxes you see.

Contour new selection

Use of Gradients
Before you can use the gradients that you have installed you must activate the gradient menu. If you canot find it - go to your launcher. The gradient menu is underneath the paint bucket. Clicking and holding down the mouse button for 2 seconds will open up the option to choose the gradient tool.

Load gradient menu

As soon as you make the selection the gradient options will appear at the top left hand side of the screen.

Gradients opened

Click on the little arrow on the right to open the listing of gradients. Once you have opened the listing highlight the gradient set you would like to use. Click on it once and it will appear in the gradient box for your use.

Gradient final selection

Use of Custom Shapes
In order to access your custom shapes you will need to access the custom shape menu. Go to your launcher, click and press the shape tool. Select the custom shape tool.

Custom shape menu open

Now that you have activated the custom shape tool Click on the black arrow to open the custom shape listing. Then highlight the shape set you would like to use and click once. Now that shape will be available to you.

Select Shape

Once you have a logo design you will probably be looking for a printing company. Unfortunately there are as many printing companies as there are logo companies. You will want to take some time to do some research about any printing company that you go with. The pointers listed in this article will help you hone in on some critical points when selecting a printing company. Here are some things you will want to look out for when choosing a printing company to go with:

Quantity
How many prints will you need? There’s a difference between needing 100 copies of something and 100 000 copies of something. Make sure that the printer you go with is prepared to handle your order in a timely fashion. Find out if your printing will be done in-house or outsourced. This might affect your costs.

Color complications
Do you know if your printer can print every color you need? Are they limited to RGB, CMYK, Pantone or another color system? Will the colors you give them appear exactly as you want them to? Make sure that they are knowledgeable about all of the color formats. Make sure that the company is comfortable accepting any color formats that you send to them.

Software options
Since you have your logo design already – you should know what format you have your files in. Any reputable graphic designer will give you the original artwork (normally a vector-based format like Adobe Illustrator ) , an EPS file ( which most printers will accept ) , and some raster images as well ( jpeg , png, gif, tiff, etc ). No matter what format you have – the printer should be able to open your original artwork. If they can’t open your files – they can’t make any modifications that might be needed to make sure your design comes out looking perfect.

Variety
How much variety of services do they offer? Can they cater to your needs? Are you constrained by poor selection? Can they print stationary on different papers? Are you limited to the same size of paper for everything? Can you get cards or uniquely shaped items? You will have to determine your own needs as far as what you want to print onto. Make sure the printer you are dealing with has dealt with orders as unique as yours before. Don’t let yourself be the guinea pig of a company trying something new.

Online or Not ?
This is entirely up to you. Online printing can be convenient because you simply go online, place your order and receive your printed materials. Make sure your online company is reputable. Make sure they have been in business for a long time. Make sure that they have an organized order tracking system. You should be able to purchase initial samples before confirming your final order. One major advantage of going online is that you can afford to shop around for the best deal.

Cost
As always – never run for the absolute cheapest price. In life you get what you pay for. This doesn’t mean that going for the most expensive option is the best option either. Make sure that if you are paying more – there is a justification for it. Paper quality, print quality, customer service, speed of delivery, level of advanced technology used and service features should be the justifying factor for the cost of your printing.

When tackling the world of logos and images you will inevitably come across the words vector and bitmap. The barebones difference is that vector images are made up of lines and curves and bitmap images are made up of tiny spots of color called pixels.
You could think of vector as mathematical representation of lines and curves and bitmap a collection of millions of tiny dots of color to create an entire picture. The critical difference between the two is that vector images can be sized up to any size. You can get a 2 inch image and blow it up to be hundreds of feet wide if you wanted. Since a vector image contains information about he lines and the curves – there are no limitations to how much larger it can be made. Bitmaps are just dots – so the same rule does not apply to them. Since enlarging them means creating new pixels (dots) the enlarging inevitably leads to blurring of the image. So what’s the bottom line for you? If you intend to use a design as a company logo – you absolutely must get a vector format of the design.
There are many vector formats. There is Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Fireworks, EPS, SVG, and Windows Meta File. BMP, gif, jpeg, and Tiff are just a few of the bitmap formats.

So where will you need a bitmap format if vector format is so great? For starters – you will need bitmap formats for web use. You won’t want to put up an EPS file or an AI file on a web page because browsers are designed to read jpeg, gif and png. The bottom line is that if you want to use your design for print – get a vector format. If you want to use a design for the web – get a bitmap format.

Unfortunately far too often, small businesses have very relaxed rules about internet usage. Larger companies have more access to IT staff who can advise them as to what measures to take to prevent PCs from being compromised. Good practices are critical to protecting your company’s computers.

Did you know that a PC with no protection (firewall or virus scan) on a broadband connection will probably be compromised within a matter of minutes? Did you know that there are some browsers which are more secure than others? Parasitic programs are simply circulating around the internet waiting for a chance to enter an unprotected PC.

Browser Protection: Mozilla Vs Internet Explorer
While Internet Explorer is arguably the easiest browser to use – your best bet is Mozilla or Opera. Mozilla is the more convenient of the two. These browsers are least susceptible to most of the viruses, spy ware, and malware that reside on many sites. It is common knowledge that Mozilla’s Firefox is simply the safer browser for anyone to use. Unfortunately Internet Explorer is the more popular browser and almost every website is optimized for Internet Explorer. However “ with total market saturation come opportunists: criminal hackers who use Microsoft vulnerabilities to take control of your operating system, steal your identity, or spread spam.” Zdnet
Make sure that you set the appropriate settings for the security on the browser. Ensure that you keep Automatic Updates (if you are a Windows User) up and running. Make sure that you install a firewall as well. Anti-Virus software will also help you with protecting your PC against viruses. All of these will help you secure your browsing experience.

Benefits to using Mozilla
Here are a few key features about Mozilla :
Automatic Pop-Up blocking built into the browser
It is totally free open source
You can prevent scripts from doing annoying things directly in the settings of the browser
Block images from certain sites and from third-party sites – This protects you from images that may contain malicious things.

Healthy Browsing Practices
While many of these suggestions seem common nature you would be amazed to see how many people don’t practice them:

• Don’t open suspicious emails

• Never open a suspicious attachment

• If a prompt pops up on a page and it asks you to agree to something you don’t understand – close the page!

• Use Mozilla or Opera when you are surfing through possibly unsafe zones

• Be wary of freebie sites – many of them house viruses. Use a more secure browser when searching through those areas.

• Pay attention when pop-ups appear. They can be a sign of infection

• Beware of Lava Soft’s Ad-aware. This program has been exposed to be spy ware!

• Turn your PC off when you aren’t using it

• Never leave your Main Drive on your pc on as a share

Bottom line – make sure that your employees know about safe browsing practices. Also make sure that you keep your computers up to date, your virus scans up to date and that you use a secure browser.