Whether you run a music school, have a private studio, or run any other kind of music program, you'll want a good music studio logo.
But there are a lot of options out there. Should you pay a designer $1,000 to make you one? Should you go on Fiverr to pay as little as possible? Or should you make it yourself?
In this post, you'll learn what makes an effective music studio logo. And how you can do it yourself. For cheap, or even for free.
The Music Studio Logo Myth: A Logo is Not a Brand
People spend thousands of dollars on their music studio logo in the name of "good branding." But this is a mistake.
Don't get me wrong. If you want to pay a designer thousands of dollars to design a "deep" music studio logo that represents your brand, you're welcome to. But it's not a necessity.
Here's why.
A logo is not a brand.
Your brand is more than your logo and the colors you choose on your website. Your brand is everything you do. From the way your marketing works to the work you do to the way the front desk person answers the phone.
It's all-encompassing.
Your music studio logo serves as a "flag" for your business. But it doesn't determine whether or not your brand will be successful.
If you need proof, think about a product you love. Not something super-mainstream like Starbucks. But maybe you have a favorite kind of milk you like to get at the grocery store.
Do you remember what the milk's logo is?
I didn't think so.
(Or if you do remember it, congratulations on your milk-selection loyalty!).
In my case, I love inkfarm.com to get my ink products. Here's their logo:
Now, that's a pretty rough logo. It's pixelated even at the smaller size. The color isn't attractive. The next is needlessly slanted and 3D.
But I don't care. Because I love Inkfarm and its brand.
I'm not suggesting that your logo be amateurish or low-quality. This is just an example of how a company with a terrible logo can still have a huge following.
Because a logo isn't a brand. The work you do and how well you do your marketing make up your brand.
Now, let's talk about the qualities of a good music studio logo before you dive in to make your own.
The Four Qualities of an Effective Music Studio Logo
A good DIY music studio logo only needs four qualities. We're going to unpack each of these one by one.
1. Your Music Studio Logo Should Clarify What You Do
When strangers visit your website or marketing materials, they don't know you. So make it easy for them by being as clear as possible about the services you provide.
This is especially true if the name of your music studio doesn't say what you do.
For example, your music studio name might be "Musical Landscapes," but your primary service is giving piano lessons. (Side note: In this example, a change in studio name might be in order, but that's another post for another time...)
The average passerby is going to need some help to understand what you do.
In this example, you could do this with your logo by including some kind of piano imagery.
2. Your Music Studio Logo Needs to be Clear
Your choice of font is part of your branding. And there are a lot of choices out there for fonts.
The most important criteria for your font choice are that it's clear and easy to read.
You might find some calligraphy you feel really expresses "you." But if the stranger who doesn't already know you can't read your logo, they're not going to take the time to decipher it.
3. Your Music Studio Logo Needs to Work Well on Both Light and Dark Backgrounds
You're going to use your music studio logo in a variety of places. On your website. On marketing materials. Other companies may even use your music studio logo on their marketing materials.
And so, you want to make sure you have:
1. a logo that works well on both light and dark bacgrounds
or (more likely)
2. two different versions of your logo - one for light backgrounds and one for dark backgrounds.
This is one reason why I'm a fan of logos that only use black and white. Simply change the logo from black to white, and it can work on a dark background.
It's nice to have your brand color be part of the logo if possible, but then you'll run into some difficulties with different kinds of backgrounds.
For example, a dark blue brand color won't show up so well on darker backgrounds.
But hopefully, your music studio logo is showing up in places where your brand color is already present. So it shouldn't be an issue.
4. Aim for a Rectangular Size
When you put together your music studio logo, aim for a rectangular size. This logo will show up on your website and all of your marketing materials.
The rectangular size will allow your logo to adapt to these different spaces without becoming obtrusive.
A square-shaped logo, by contrast, will cause problems. It will make the header on your website too big. You'll have to shrink it down very small to include in marketing or PDF's without interfering with the other text.
You can avoid these problems with your music studio logo by aiming for a rectangular shape when you put it together.
How to Create Your Logo for Cheap or Free
Now that we've covered the ground rules for designing an effective music studio logo, we're going to cover two tools you can use to put it together. There are countless other tools and services out there, but these are the best combination of cost- and user-friendliness.
Tool #1: Logomakr
Logomakr.com has everything you need to create an effective music studio logo, including a wealth of logo-friendly images.
The catch? To download a high-quality version, it costs $19.
You can download a low-resolution free version. But, this version is unusable. And to boot, Logomakr requires that you give them credit everywhere you use the free version.
So if you go with Logomakr, definitely make the $19 investment. It's well worth it.
Check out this video tutorial to learn how it works:
Tool #2: Canva
If you're not already familiar with Canva, it's an awesome resource. Not only for designing a music studio logo, but also for designing...pretty much anything else you can think of. Even with a free account.
It doesn't come with as many graphic options as Logomakr, but still makes it easy and fun to put together your logo.
Here's a short video tutorial demonstrating how:
More Tools for Your Music Studio Marketing Journey
I hope you found this music studio logo tutorial helpful! If you enjoyed this, and want more resources from Musiciative to help you design the career you always wanted, check out these resources.
- Our free PDF, Three Features Every Music Program's Website Must Have
- Our free course, The Music Teacher's Roadmap to Financial Freedom
- Our premium course, The Clockwork Website: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Student-Recruiting Machine
