There’s a saying that says “A picture is as good as the frame around it” and I would like to add, a logo is as good as the background its on. Working with clients may not always be easy especially when you do not know what to expect from them, and if you’re designing a logo, business card, letterhead, or any other design, adding some minor tweaks will change how your design stands out.

Let’s take a sample logo design…

…And:

1. Add Your Company Name and/or Website

Adding your company name or website puts more credibility into your design showing that you are a professional who is serious about what they do.

2. Add a Project Description

Adding a description of your project is not only handy for your client because it re-emphasizes the design terms and what the client is getting, but it is also helpful in the organization of your own portfolio. Imagine trying to remember who you designed a logo for a year after you’ve created it.

3. Create a Negative of your Logo

This is a quick 30 second task that is simple, yet very effective. It shows you and the client whether your design will work in a setting other than a blank white space. This is especially great for beginning designers who enjoy creating a logo full of lighting effects, lens flares, and other shadows which look good only on white or black and look terrible in other situations. A negative look of your design will reassure both you and your client that it is a worthy design.

4. Add a Border

Remember, we want the client to focus on the actual logo, not how creative your background, description, or company name is. A border is perfect and easy to add.

5. Add some variation

This is an absolute killer. Adding several variations of the same design is especially crucial for clients you do not know because the variations will help you determine what kind of taste the client has and where to proceed. This is a great time saver when it comes to communication.

6. Add some web 2.0

Sometimes the only thing we need is a subtle gradient to make your design feel at home. Very classic, very effective.

7. Leave the white space

Wait…what? Yep, sometimes it may be better to leave it the way it is and keep all the fancy tweaks out. If adding a gradient, border, name, or anything else unrelated to the logo looks distracting, its better to not include it.

Using a combination of the above things you can do to your design will eventually lead you to create your own style that represents your designing and will act sort of like your branding which is very useful if you’re participating in contests, having your design featured (ie Extreme Designs of the Week), or if you’re designing for a major company.

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