Build your Dj Career
In the dj world its 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 its all going to be lost 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
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 true and tried 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:
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:
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 will not create a perfect logo.
- The logo should look good in black and white
- Make sure that the logo is recognizable when resized.
and 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
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:42 pm Quote
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.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:19 pm Quote
I definitely know a couple of cats out there who would definitely benefit from treatin themselves like a brand…
January 24th, 2009 at 5:52 am Quote
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.
January 24th, 2009 at 10:26 am Quote
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
January 24th, 2009 at 3:28 pm Quote
Also see this:
How Not to Design a Logo
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/01/how-not-to-design-a-logo/
January 25th, 2009 at 4:11 am Quote
/
fair enough- so you would like to get some more advanced controller tutorials then?
January 26th, 2009 at 6:27 am Quote
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.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:27 am Quote
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 ?
January 26th, 2009 at 11:47 am Quote
Most definately! The techy side is more interesting to me.
January 26th, 2009 at 3:07 pm Quote
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*
January 27th, 2009 at 6:58 am Quote
Please abandon the “mybannermaker.com” version of your logo for a plain version. The sparkles really don’t add anything.
January 27th, 2009 at 8:15 am Quote
try here:
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=258027955&albumID=938548&imageID=13781435
January 27th, 2009 at 7:29 pm Quote
fair enough- so you would like to get some more advanced controller tutorials then?
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. ;)