In the DJ world it’s all about the name. If club owners, booking agents and the public recognize your name, then a successful career is not far away. Getting your name out there will require years of hard work, dedication and a dash of luck- but it all can go to waste if your name is not memorable. So how does one DJ set himself apart from the crowd and make his name memorable?

mem·o·ra·ble           Listen to the pronunciation of memorable
Function: adjective
Etymology:
Middle English,  from memorare to remind,
:
worth remembering : notable <a memorable occasion>

So according to that definition, you need to remind people of your name and make it worth remembering. One tried and true method used by DJs and corporations alike is to make yourself a great logo. While a logo may go against everything your artistic personality stands for, the fact is that a logo WILL help people remember your DJ name and take it more seriously. Our friends over at Mixed in Key created a handy tutorial on DJ logos and here is a portion of that article:

“Musicians and DJs benefit from having a strong brand.  It gets you booked more often.  Fans will remember your name.  You don’t need major label support: you can design your own identity.

The most important thing to realize is that most DJs don’t have a logo.  If you have a symbol or custom font associated with your name, you’re already ahead of the competition.

Here is how you can design your logo:

1)  Your goal is to come up with 5-10 different variations of your DJ name and some symbols that inspire you.  Take a pencil and sketch some ideas on paper.  Think about the music you play.  If it’s friendly and vocal, use smooth and elegant fonts.  If it’s minimal and techy, use sharper edges and corners.

2)  Ideally, your logo should fill this rectangle:

Perfect size for a logo

A horizontal logo is easier to read than a vertical logo.

3)  Take the ideas you sketched, and ask your close friends to pick their favorite design.  Take the winning sketch, and draw a bigger version of it.  Add extra details.  For example, Kaskade’s logo has vines and leaves:

Kaskade Logo
He plays organic, soulful House Music, and these symbols make sense for him.  I like adding small details because they make the logo more interesting.

4) Don’t overthink it – you can always change your design later on.  At this point, ask a graphic designer to create your logo in Adobe Illustrator and JPEG formats.”

continue reading this article on mixed in key.com


Here are some additional principles for creating a good DJ logo:

  • Avoid distracting elements.
  • Avoid taglines if possible.
  • Avoid dull colors.
  • Do not use more than three colors.
  • Realize that you may not create a perfect logo.
  • The logo should look good in black and white
  • Make sure that the logo is recognizable when resized.

Here’s some additional reading on the topic:

http://www.jerm.com/blog-1301-Creating_a_Great_Logo.htm

http://archive.designnewz.com/designnewz-2-20030729GreatLogosandWhy.html


  • http://ezramechaber.com Ezra

    Well played sir, I'm glad to see someone else is thinking about branding and promotion. Of course, it'll mostly be connections that get the gigs, but I'd love to see some posts about other promotion/branding/getting-gigs ideas, I think they'd make a great series.

  • Nate Black

    I definitely know a couple of cats out there who would definitely benefit from treatin themselves like a brand…

  • TK

    I already have got a great logo, because a close friend of mine who is graphic designer helped me out. It's really a cool thing to be able to keep that consistency about yourself through a logo.

  • Myrddin

    Hey Ean,

    This is nice, all these tips and tutorials but when are you getting back to the `tech` in djtechtools.

    I mean the last 5 articles have been purely tips for beginning dj´s and such. I´d like a return to some controller based news. An update on the vci/300 or another controller perhaps.

    Anyway, I am thanking you for the effort you´re putting in to this!

    Wesley

  • Anonymous

    Also see this:

    How Not to Design a Logo
    http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/01/how-not-t…

  • Ean Golden

    /[/quote]

    [quote comment="16250"]Hey Ean,

    This is nice, all these tips and tutorials but when are you getting back to the `tech` in djtechtools.

    I mean the last 5 articles have been purely tips for beginning dj´s and such. I´d like a return to some controller based news.

    [/quote]

    fair enough- so you would like to get some more advanced controller tutorials then?

  • http://www.g-focus.at gfocus

    Nice Article, also the linked one. I'm a graphic designer turned VJ and I'm working on evolving to a DJ/AV act soon. Getting a nice logo done is not my greatest concern atm. Building up DJ skills is.

  • http://www.myspace.com/robinhirte robinspace

    Hi Guys,

    so i'm feeling free to present my logo:

    www. myspace. com/robinhirte – at the top of this page there is my logo

    feel free to comment it

    and feel free to contact me if you like one of the tracks (tech-house) in my player – i will send you the link for free – especially promotion for djtechtools-readers.

    Perhaps we will get in contact and have a remix- or booking-exchange

    thats my way to make a promotion

    what do you think ?

  • Anonymous

    [quote]

    fair enough- so you would like to get some more advanced controller tutorials then?[/quote]

    Most definately! The techy side is more interesting to me.

  • Smyth

    Dj's – You play the music.

    Hire a graphic designer to do your branding if your serious.

    "Hey man I just made my gig poster. I'm sending it to you now. Just make sure you have comic sans installed.(sending gig.doc)"

    *Shudder*

  • http://www.g-focus.at gfocus

    [quote comment="16264"]Hi Guys,

    so i'm feeling free to present my logo:

    www. myspace. com/robinhirte – at the top of this page there is my logo

    [/quote]

    Please abandon the "mybannermaker.com" version of your logo for a plain version. The sparkles really don't add anything.

  • http://www.myspace.com/robinhirte robinspace

    [quote comment=""][quote comment="16264"]Hi Guys,

    so i'm feeling free to present my logo:

    www. myspace. com/robinhirte – at the top of this page there is my logo

    [/quote]

    Please abandon the "mybannermaker.com" version of your logo for a plain version. The sparkles really don't add anything.[/quote]

    try here:

    http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseact…

  • http://www.ome-les.com tekki

    [quote comment="16255"]/[/quote]

    [quote comment="16250"]Hey Ean,

    This is nice, all these tips and tutorials but when are you getting back to the `tech` in djtechtools.

    I mean the last 5 articles have been purely tips for beginning dj´s and such. I´d like a return to some controller based news.

    [/quote]

    fair enough- so you would like to get some more advanced controller tutorials then?[/quote]

    Forget that E!

    Loving these little in between articles! It is a subtle and nice change every now and than.

    Also, if people forget about these aspects in DJing, they tend to forget their own identity.

    You can only guess what their sets sound like. ;)

  • Dj Flesh

    hi i would like to know on how can i get people to know me as a Dj and what kind of music i play. becouse im struggling to get people to know me and really know tha that im the best

  • rahul

    how to play a song in public

  • Daniel Mendes

    Ean, thanks for these tips, great stuff. I see an articled linked on the “You May Also Like…” entitled “DJ Extras: Three top tips for winning the crowd with more than just your music” at the URL http://www.djtechtools.com/2010/10/26/dj-extras-three-top-tips-for-winning-the-crowd-with-more-than-just-your-music/ but I get a 404 error.. Is this yet to be published?

  • REHDERAUSTIN

    yea i want to buy a mixer how much would it be

  • http://plate.pp.ua/66351 Dress for Success: Marketing Yourself as a DJ » Dj tech reviews » plate.pp.ua

    [...] actually wrote an older full article on chosing a DJ name and DJ logo back in [...]

  • http://www.djtechtools.com/2011/10/27/dress-for-success%c2%a0marketing-yourself-as-a-dj/ DJ TechTools  |  Dress for Success: Marketing Yourself as a DJ

    [...] actually wrote an older full article on chosing a DJ name and DJ logo back in [...]

  • DJ Wayvzz

    That’s a bold statement. Sir. How do you know you ARE the best? i guess self-confidence is key to success, but the best? now your stretching it, but don’t get me wrong. I bet your great, but NO ONE and i mean NO ONE can call themselves the best.

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