You’ve decided you want to start your own band, but where do you go from there? What’s the first thing you should do? One of the most important decisions you’ll make when you begin your band journey is that of creating a logo. Your band name may be catchy and memorable, but what makes people want to buy your music and come to your shows are your visuals – the artwork on your album covers and posters, the videos on YouTube, and other social media sites are the first things they see.

Take the next few minutes and read why having the right logo for your band or as a recording artist can transform your music career in minutes. Some of the ideas you may have heard before, or maybe not, but after seeing everything that I have laid out for you, I do hope it helps to get your ideas flowing on some sweet designs and concepts. Keep reading!

Finding the right artist for your brand

When it comes time to start looking for someone to create your band logo, you'll want to make sure you find the right artist. There are many different types of artists out there, so it's best that you know what kind of style you're looking for. This can range from realism, abstract art, comic book style, or pop art. Regardless of what style you're after, one of these five strategies can help guide your way through this process. You could get a referral from other bands in your genre.

If you're looking to grow your fan base, or get more plays, check out our article on how to get your music heard.

Here are some free and paid tools that you can consider while thinking about creating your band logo.

Free online services

As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. Investing in an artist or designer will result in high-quality work that will be unique and stand out among the crowd. However, paying for your art may not be an option if you're on a tight budget. Luckily, there are other options for getting logo artwork created for your band without breaking the bank.

Make your own logo using free tools: While getting something done professionally is usually ideal, sometimes you don’t have that option available. Thankfully, there are free online tools for musicians out there that allow you to create your own unique artwork. They may not offer all the bells and whistles of more expensive paid sites, but they can be used as an affordable alternative. Here are some of the best free design websites for bands and artists.

Canva

With over one million users (including major companies like Disney) Canva is one of the most popular platforms for designing logos, social media graphics, presentations, posters, and much more. It's completely free! If you're just starting out or don't want to spend any money at all then this is a great choice because it has so many templates that are easy to use with simple drag-and-drop features. Most importantly, Canva offers tutorials on how to use its service which takes away the frustration of figuring things out.

Pixlr Editor

Another very popular web-based graphic editor, Pixlr offers similar features to Photoshop but doesn't cost anything. It also offers more than 1,000 different fonts and lets you upload images from your computer as well as add text boxes and effects for your photos. The site is extremely user-friendly and includes a tutorial that walks you through how to use everything properly. If you're looking for free resources, Pixlr Editor should be near the top of your list!

Logomark

Logomark is a great site that offers similar styles of customization at a low price and with no upfront costs. So, take some time to explore what each site offers, then decide which would be the best for your needs!

The Logo Company

If you're looking for something more serious, the logo company is a great option. They offer three different packages starting at $99 with each package offering different features. They also have an instant chat support service so you can get help right away. When you're ready to order, they'll send your custom design back in just 24 hours or less! The most expensive plan offers unlimited revisions and has a 2-week turnaround time.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Create what you feel and what matches your music.

Paid online services

If you want your logo or artwork to be perfect, you can hire a professional. But if you want something simple, there are plenty of paid online services that will allow you to put together something that looks great in minutes.

Logoworks

Logoworks offers over 5 million graphics and fonts for creating logos and other graphics for less than $10. Great offer and a cheap enough price to test the waters. There shouldn’t be any reason why you couldn’t find a couple of inspirational images to get your creative juices flowing.

Designhill

At Designhill you can get a design made quickly for only $299. With these types of services, it’s all about what you need and how much time you must invest. It’s pricey to start for indie artists in my opinion, however, there seems to be value in having the designs made for you so that you can spend more of your time making the music that you love. Make sure you check the web for reviews before diving in if the price tag seems hefty.

Thinking more about it, even if you find someone who does offer a free option, they might charge more per hour when working on projects outside their expertise. In the end, whether you go with free or paid options is up to you - but it's worth taking some time to research before making any decisions.

Fiverr

Fiverr is a leading freelance marketplace where thousands of designers are available 24/7 to work for you. It’s simple to get started, search for a designer and give them a summary of what concept you want, and they can do wonders in a very reasonable price range. Keep in mind that you have to read the reviews of the sellers on Fiverr as you will learn that there are some low-quality services on there.

Offline/Free tools

Here are some great free and offline tools to create your band logo. It does mean you have to do the work, but hey, it’s a nice story to tell that you created your band’s logo with your own hands. Even the worst looking painting is beautiful to someone. So even if you’re not much of an artist, nobody knows what you were thinking when you designed it and will assume that is what you were going for. Most important tip is to just get started.

Inkscape:

This program is an open-source vector editor. It has many features like Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara.

GIMP:

GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It's completely free to use, runs on all major operating systems, and can be used for tasks such as photo retouching, image composition, and image authoring.

Microsoft Paint :

This program is part of Microsoft Windows, but it is also available in other versions like PaintShop Pro X3 from Jasc Software Inc. It's one of the most popular programs for editing photos on the internet today because its simple interface makes it easy for just about anyone to use. While Microsoft Paint is a household name, I personally prefer to use paint.net as it is also free to use but has a TON more features.

With today's tools and services, there's no reason not to have a quality logo to help build your brand.

Investing in an artist/designer - pros & cons

Investing in an artist/designer is most of the time worth it. You get high-quality, customized artwork that can help take your band's visual identity to the next level. There are pros and cons of doing this, though!

Pros of hiring an artist or designer:

• High-quality, one-of-a-kind logo for your band.
• Creates a recognizable brand for your band with the knowledge from their past experiences of what works and what doesn’t.
• A logo can be used on everything from CDs to T-shirts to stage banners which they can help design for you.

Cons of hiring an artist or designer:

• It's expensive.
• Hiring an artist or designer doesn't guarantee you'll like what they produce.
• You are on their schedule which means it may take longer than you expect.
• They are only as good as the details you provide, so if you are not sure what you are looking for, it may end up being just an expensive brainstorming session.

At the end of the day

No matter what route you decide to go when creating a logo for your band or the visual identity of your artist persona, remember that it all starts with an idea. I think you’ll be more satisfied with a pad and a pen and writing out what you want before you even begin your journey. Your logo concept is vital for any of the above methods you use for designing your logo. Your job now is to write down your concepts whenever you’re inspired.

When a new logo design idea pops into your head start writing it down in your phone or on a piece of paper. Either way, come back to this page when you’ve got your concepts in hand and are ready to get it designed. Until then, get inspired and get busy understanding your band or artist identity and then put that into your logo concept until you’ve found what you’re looking for.