Vanta Black Design Studio.

Using a single letter as your logo -

Many big brands are successful at this approach, by creating a simplistic, memorable brand mark. Some examples of this are; McDonalds, Facebook, Kellogg’s and Xbox. Personally I think a single letter has more impact than several letters used to abbreviate a company name. Sometimes less is more!

In this instance I’ve used the negative space within the lowercase ‘a’ to add more depth and meaning with symbolism. Finished off with a gaussian blur to create layers and folds of the red shade of colour.

Make a logo pop with a gradient colour -

You can easily give a logo more depth and oomph with a nice gradient finish, particularly using luminous colour combinations. It’s important to use them in the right way, if not done right it can make a logo look dated and hard to read. Make sure you have a solid logo icon that works just as well without the gradient. That way it ticks the box for versatility and can be used across various mediums.

The power of black and white - ▪️▫️▪️

Black and white is a classic combination that never gets old. It symbolises power, security and trust. Perfect mix for any brand right?

But you’re probably thinking how the heck does my customer know this…colour is a powerful tool and can influence our perceptions, even the less obvious ones. For example we might be repulsed by vivid green food because it’s not a common colour seen in food. Colours can also evoke certain emotions in people. Some colours have common traits but it does differ for each person depending on age, gender and culture.

Generally we want to stimulate positive emotions but in some cases we want to try and trigger the more uncommon ones like fear. #

Here’s something different - humanising a brand.

What do I mean by this, using a human like figure, be it realist or more abstract is one of the easiest ways for your consumer to grasp what you’re about as a business. It gives the brand a personality, persona, a human face that they can more easily connect with and imagine themselves interacting with.

Some brands can achieve this without an illustration of a person, simply with just their name. For example ‘Kath’s Diner’ instantly has a face because it’s named after a person. We build up our own image of what she might look like, her personality, what she might sell etc. We can relate to that company much quicker than if it was a large corporate business.

Choosing a company name - TOP 5 TIPS

1. Memorable and catchy
Choose a name that can be relatable and conveys the personality of the business. You want it to appeal to your market.

2. Easy to spell and pronounce
Word of mouth can play a big part of getting your brand noticed and you want your customers to be able to pronounce it and spell it correctly.

3. Avoid a name that is too specific
Try to avoid using a name that limits it to a particular product or area. You may in the future want to expand your product range or area of trade.

4. Check the availability
Nothing worse than choosing your perfect name and finding it’s not available to use. Check on Companies House that the company doesn’t already exist and complies with the regulations and check on domain sites that the web address is available.

5. Feedback
Be sure to test out the name, say it aloud, share it with your friends and family. Get feedback, someone might point out an obvious mistake that you’d not noticed. Whether it’s that the pronunciation is difficult or maybe it has double meaning.

Spot of photo editing this evening for one of my customers. A full set of images to go on their website 👌🏻

Creating a full brand - This has got to be one of my favourite projects to work on.

When designing a logo it’s important to think about how it will be used across all formats, from business cards and website design to uniforms and signage. Consistency is key; using the same fonts, colour pallet, style of brand voice (formal, chatty etc.) and how you communicate your product or service. This is all part of creating your brand. This is your opportunity to tell your consumers your brand values, mission and USPs.

Sometimes it’s the little touches that make the most impact. Whether it’s showing your care on the environment and using eco friendly materials or printing your logo onto packaging. One shouts about your values and the other shows your care and professionalism.

Every single part of creating a brand is important.

Choosing a typeface for your brand - Another important aspect of a brand, a font can say a lot about you as a company. There are thousands of fonts out there and I usually would limit two fonts to a logo/brand identity. Too many can make it look inconsistent and busy.

Fonts can be modified in a multitude of ways to make your logo look unique. One tip is to be sure to check that your font has the correct licensing for commercial use.

Establish what your brand personality and audience is and then consider what fonts evoke the right emotions and ideas. For example an elegant, handwritten script font might suit a seamstress, whereas a strong, bold slab serif font might suit a construction company. Both of these portray very different images.

Clarity - Consider the placement of your font. A very fine script typeface won’t stand out on vehicle livery or signage. In some cases it is necessary to increase the line weight for these situations or to just choose a heavier font.

Colour psychology - RED

Let’s delve deeper and explore colours, it’s often one that’s not always carefully considered. Colours can have a powerful impact on us and they can provoke different emotions. It’s important you trigger the right one.

In this instance I chose red, maybe an obvious choice yes, as it’s linked to fire but it also symbolises power and danger. Red creates a need for urgency and is proven to increase our adrenaline rush and to act fast. Thus linking to the brand itself by symbolising the importance of fire safety and the power of a fire.

So I thought I better introduce myself and my new business. I’m Emily, creator of .tang . I decided it was time to create this separate company profile, Vanta Black, to showcase all graphic design and keep this strictly B2B.

Here you’ll find any work I do with businesses, be it helping start up companies with branding and websites to marketing assets and photography.

Company name meaning - Vanta Black - Vantablack is the darkest version of black ever created. It’s described as the “world’s darkest material,” or the world’s “blackest black,”.

The logo here is purposefully subtle to show the strong black tendencies that vantablack has.