do artists need a logo?








I have been doing a bit of thinking lately about keeping to a certain style, and having a 'brand' as an artist. You see, if we talk strickly internet for a moment, I have found that there tends to be two groups of artists/illustrators/creators/crafters.

There are those who clearly have a strict idea, vision and as a result a brand.
And then there are those who sort of float along creating at will, and changing with the seasons.

I have seen both of these groups be extremely successful. I have days where I look at the branders and think "gosh I need a plan, I need a vision, I need a 'logo' that doesn't change every week". I usually have a bit of a play, change my banners around, print new business cards, make new icons. I will feel happy for about a week, and then see something better and will want to change it all over again.

Other days, I think "Nup, I am an artist, I don't need a logo. Just write down your name, stick up some recent work and you are good to go." Maybe this would work best for me. Maybe I need to get my self some sort of text based logo that can then play and work with my current illustrations.







Because I don't really sell a 'product' I think it makes things a little trickier. You may or may not have also noticed I am phasing out the "art4friends" name. Well, I think I am, but sometimes I think I want it back. 'renee anne' is my name, yet lots of artists do go by a "brand name" I suppose.

Sorry I am rambling now.






What do you think?
Should I think about making a specific logo?
Should I keep art4friends as a name?
Help me lovelies.



[banners used in order
of appearance; Able and Game;

8 Comments:

  1. Ashley Fauguel said...
    Such a good blog post :) i think thats something every artist/illustrator would like to know, just had a wander through your blog and its lovely so are your illustrations
    renee anne said...
    oh thank you Ashley, that is so lovely of you.

    Yeah, who has the answer!! gah!! haha

    But thank you for your kind compliments :)

    Renee x
    alexkeller said...
    i don't know, as i've been going back and forth with the same issue. i did recently 'brand' myself with a 'logo.' but now i'm wondering if i need a website (which is registered with my shop name rather than my name) or do i do what you did with your blog template with the tabs (how did you do that btw?)
    i'm an art school dropout, so can i call myself an artist? so many questions....
    Bec said...
    I think designers need a logo, and artists need a signature. A logo doesn't hurt to have if you're an artist, but alot of artists don't have them. Big artists, too, like Mark Ryden or James Jean - they just have their name written in a nice, neutral font.

    Looking at the logo examples you've listed, a good portion of those are designers (going by the "design is art that people use" rule of thumb)

    It's a personal choice. I have a logo, which I made for my website. I like it, but I don't feel like I have to use it from now til forever. Even if you decide to go the logo route, you can change it as your work changes :)
    renee anne said...
    ahh bec you are fantastic.

    that is such a great answer.

    you are so so right about the neutral signature. That is sort of what I am working on now, but I keep getting carried away with "decorating" it.
    bec@madeit said...
    Hi Renee,

    Branding is alway a good thing. But I agree with the other Bec. A signature in a nice font would do for an artist.

    Check out htp://www.new.myfonts.com you can search common tags of descriptive words and preview how your text will appear in the font.

    Great resourse if you are looking for something a little different. Some of the fonts only cost US$20-$30 which is not a bad price if you want a unique font that was supplied with your computer.

    Have fun
    Bec
    renee anne said...
    Hi Bec,

    Oh thanks for that! Fantastic, really helpful.

    And thanks for stopping by :)

    Renee x
    Renée Anne Bouffard-McManus said...
    Hello again... :)

    I've been wondering the same thing...especially when I come across a wonderful artist like yourself with the same name. I checked in on your blog when I googled my own name again... Couldn't resist posting when I noticed that your post seemed to be so close to what was going through my own head...funny... I think finding you a while back has made me think a little more about the whole branding and signature thing. I'm not sure what I'm doing... Renée Anne is a great name.

    Renée

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