School is about to start and my baby, isn’t he adorable, is going into third grade! Time flies! I remember the days when he was 2 and winking at all the old ladies in the grocery store so that they would give him candy…”Sigh”…wait, he STILL does that! So in honor of my babies, don’t tell them I still call them that, I have made some First Day of School signs as freebies. Your welcome! I love the chalkboard look and it is versatile for both boys and girls. The first day is always full of mixed emotions for me. It means they are growing older and will soon be leaving home which makes me sad and it means that they are growing older and will soon be leaving home which makes absolutely ecstatic! My oldest is a senior in high school this year and I will probably cry on his first day, but I told him I would so he is prepared for the embarrassment.

Anyway, enjoy the signs! They are in PDF format to make them super easy to print.

By Bree Farley| Designer and Illustrator

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These FREE Printable First Day of School signs were handmade by June Lily. Please remember, these are for Personal Use Only. Please do not sell, or redistribute these First Day of School signs. All Freebies listed on June Lily are protected by U.S. Copyright law. By providing your email address you are agreeing to join the June Lily email list where we will send you more free stuff and great information about what’s going on in our little corner of the web. Thank You!

The majority of logos, 51% to be exact, are monochromatic, which means they have only one color. The rest of the 49% have two or more with 19% of these having three or more. I am sure that most of us can name a few of the popular logos and what colors they use. Most of the time primary colors are the go to choices for combos. They are easy to reproduce and give a good feeling to the consumer. With the digital movement we have seen that red, blue, green, and yellow are popular with internet or tech companies, such as, Google, Ebay, Microsoft, Chrome and so on.

Of course, we are not all tech companies! We are bloggers, ecommerce sites, and all other types of sites and businesses. So let’s talk color combinations. If we took some logos which you identify certain color combinations with and mixed things up a bit we can see that they give off a totally different feel and image than the ones that we know.

What if John Deere green was John Deere purple? Um…! I can’t imagine a bunch of purple tractors driving around let alone a bunch of farmers wearing purple hats. Even just adjusting the colors a little can change the concept of farmer to hunter. Do you agree?

What if Pepsi was pastel or more fashion friendly colors? It doesn’t make me want the sparkly goodness of a cold soda.

Denny’s does not look appetizing in lime green or orange. It actually makes me think of popsicles…weird.

I was debating on how to present the best combinations of colors and I think that this will be the best way. I will give you the best 2 color combinations first. These are the best colors for each main color. You always want a main and a complimentary color if you are doing just 2.

Red- Yellow, Blue, Black

Orange- Purple, Blue, black

Yellow- Red, Blue, Black

Green- Yellow, Blue, Pink

Blue- Yellow, Green, Red

Purple- Pink, Green, Orange

Black- Red, Orange, Yellow

Now these are the basic color wheel colors. If you take, for instance, orange and blue as a combination and then you substitute coral for orange and aqua for blue you get a more feminine look. This goes for any of these basic combinations. Navy and gold are the #1 combination for men and the #2 combination for women. Still a blue and a yellow. Now there is a whole lot of color theory in here with shades and hues and what not but we have tools to help us discover which shades and hues look best with the color we have chosen. There are two websites that I really like that help you pick the best colors to match your main color. www.color-hex.com and www.color.adobe.com Have fun!

If you are wanting more than 2 colors, here is the rule. Three colors are best, if you want 4, then use a shade of one of the colors, usually the main color or the neutral color. Rainbow, or primary colors, is the ONLY exception to this rule. If you have too many colors, you can get a very messy looking logo and we don’t want that.

I have one caution for you. Be careful not to pick fad colors. There are certain colors that we associate with eras in time. The 70’s were orange and brown. The 80’s were everything in neon. You get the point. If you want your logo to last for more than just a generation then pick colors that are tried and true. That doesn’t mean that you can’t use popular colors but the combination can make the difference. Get creative. Think about who you are or what your company represents. Are you a yellow and pink or a yellow and black? Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings!

Our minds are programmed to respond to color. They can affect our mood, thoughts, emotions, or even our physical well-being. So it is important that when we are designing our logos and branding our companies that we take into consideration all that color can offer.

Color increases brand recognition by up to 80 percent. When you think of McDonald’s, your think golden arches, not just arches. When you think of John Deere, you think of John Deere green. These companies have programmed us to think of the color as well as the logo and that makes it all the more powerful.

Color is subjective as well as cultural. In the U.S., white is the color of weddings and red is the color of passion. In China, white is the color of death and red is the color of weddings. So if you are looking at making your brand multinational, think of what colors you are using and if these colors will be effective in the countries you are marketing in.

Now that we have gotten the jibber jabber out of the way let’s get specific!

RED- Primary Color

Red is a high-arousal color. It evokes strong emotions such as anger, passion, love, and hate. It increases blood pressure and heart rate and encourages appetite. (Which is why food companies use red a lot.) It creates urgency and stimulates people to take risks. Dark red means willpower, leadership, yearning and vigor.

Orange- Secondary Color

Orange reflects excitement, warmth, friendliness, confidence and cheerfulness. It increases oxygen to the brain, stimulating mental activity. Dark orange means autumn and distrust. Bright oranges represent citrus and health. Red orange provokes aggression and dominance. Pale orange or apricot, peach, coral, and melon colors are your best bet in design because it symbolizes sophistication. They are also really popular right now.

Yellow- Primary Color

Yellow means optimism or cowardice. It increases cheerfulness and warmth as well as encourages communication. Yellows stimulates our mental processes, nervous system and gives us muscle energy. Be cautious though because it also causes eye fatigue and strain and makes babies cry. Poor things! Also you may want to avoid this color if you are wanting to promote safety and stability in your brand. Dull yellow signifies caution, decay, sickness and aging. Stay away from this color!!! Light yellow promotes intellect, freshness and joy. Ivory or cream gives off a sense of quiet, pleasantness, calm, elegance, purity and softness.  This is a great accent color!

Green- Secondary Color

Green constitutes health and tranquility. It represents new growth, money, nature, good luck and jealousy. It lowers blood pressure and relaxes the nervous system. Green calms and soothes the mind. It stimulates creativity and is an appetite suppressant. It alleviates depression! I need to paint my whole house green! It’s a symbol of fertility. Ok, maybe not… Green is restful and soothing and it is the color that the human eye can discern the most shades of. It means eco-friendly and it is popular in most countries. Dark green means money, ambition, prestige and promotes concentration. Lime green is an appetite depressant and symbolizes sickness, nausea and discord. Shouldn’t be a good color for design but as you can see is very popular of late. Olive means peace and blue green is the most accepted color group across gender lines.

Blue- Primary Color

Blue calms the senses, lowers blood pressure and curbs appetite. It increases productivity and stimulates a feeling of trust, security, order and cleanliness which is why it is used most often by corporations. It is the color of “constancy”, probably because it is the color of the sky and the ocean. It is also known as the “cold” color. It is the most popular color among men. Pale blue indicates delicacy, understanding and health. Aqua means freshness, confidence, strength, individualism and humor. Royal blue represents richness and superiority. Dark blue symbolizes depth, expertise, stability, credibility, knowledge, power and integrity.

Purple- Secondary Color

Purple is a low-arousal color. It is the least used color in logo design. Excessive exposure to purple can cause someone to be sullen or withdrawn. This is because it is a color for soothing and calming. It gives off a feeling of spirituality and mystery as well as arrogance. Purple is a royal color and means wealth because it was so hard and expensive to produce. It is often used in beauty brands and can promote creativity and imagination. Almost 75% of pre-adolescent children prefer purple to all other colors. It is a polarizing color – you either love it or hate it. Lavender is malleable, nostalgic and feminine. Dark purple is the royal color. Violet stimulates meditation, creativity, beauty and music. Blue purple is mystical and red purple is sensual and quirky.

Neutrals

Brown is a low-key color and needs another color with it. It symbolizes the outdoors, masculinity, generosity, comfort and reliability. Reddish brown means harvest. Copper represents money goals, professional growth and career moves. Coffee brown gives a sense of robustness and panache. Beige and tan feel neat and sophisticated.

Grays are affected by whatever colors you put with it. They can be cool and conservative or boring and sad. If you  want a professional, practical or staid kind of look, this can be accomplished with the right grays. Silver is a high tech color. It means glamorous, modern and intuitive.

Black and White

Black has two sides to it. Power, boldness and class as well as evil, grief and mourning. It can make a design edgy or elegant. It is a very useful color for art and photography designs because it helps the other colors become more vibrant.

White is perceived as a brilliant color to the eye. It denotes purity, virtue, cleanliness, peace and simplicity. Of course white space it great for a fresh and clean looking website and white lettering can help a logo design look simple and elegant.

Now that you have the 411 on color take some time to evaluate what you represent or what you want your company to represent. Choose your colors wisely my padawans! Yes, I did go there…

Next time we will go over color combinations and which ones are good and which ones are yucky!

Laters!

Bree Farley, Web Designer and Illustrator

References

http://www.colorcom.com/research/why-color-matters

Let’s start with the type that has held for many a year…

Flat

The clean lines of this type help the logo to display well on any device and in any media. This type has been effective for years and will continue to be in the years to come.

Negative Space

Designers are constantly trying to come up with clever ways to express the values and attributes of companies and people. The use of negative space has become a popular way to do so. It gives viewers a visual “scavenger hunt” to find the deeper meaning in a well-designed logo.

Letter Stacking

This type of design challenges the consumer to make sense of what they are seeing. We all love a good puzzle! This is also a creative solution to present long text. Different fonts are a good way to help the consumer decipher the logo easier. The key here is to not make it too unclear. Symbolism is used a lot these days but not everyone knows what every symbol means. So be careful!

Mono-lines

Lines of unchanging thickness and color have become popular of late. This “wire” look of these logos gives the idea of honesty with a hint of craftiness. It’s fresh and clean. Perfect for the person who wants to convey a sense of security to their consumers.

Hand Drawn

Hand written or hand drawn designs have been gaining ground in recent years. Typography gives personality to a design. It makes it more personal, more intimate. Hand drawn illustrations can give a sense of whimsy or character to a logo. Some use a “hybrid” of drawn and digital art that gives off the same kind of charm.

Dynamic/Kinetic

In basic terms, this type changes the logo frequently but some of it remains the same so that the brand can be recognized. The advantages of this are that the direction the brand is pursuing in current time is made known and the consumer can see the diversity plainly.  However, the danger lies in presenting a concept that may not “rhyme” with the company’s values or image. There is also the difficulty of coming up with new concepts on a regular basis.  Talk about pressure! Poor designers…or maybe not…job security!

Vintage/Modern Retro

This style started to show up a few years ago and has continued to become more and more popular. You get the combination of something familiar and traditional and something modern and fresh. Vintage style has really come back in many different industries so it only makes sense that it would in logo design as well.

Minimalism

You know the old saying “less is more”? Well, that can definitely be said for this style. The concept is to get straight to the point, which is the company’s brand, without any other clutter that could be distracting to the consumer.  The style is simple, usually monochromatic and flat. No bells or whistles allowed here! This makes for a striking design.

Animated

Lastly, I wanted to introduce you to a style that has started to manifest itself recently. This type of logo was only used in movies and TV until online based companies became more part of the norm. The idea is to catch the eye of the internet surfer with an animated logo. So much can be done with this I don’t know where to start. Think mini movie, or cartoon, or flip book. The list is endless on the uses of this style. Google has already made use of this in their daily logo changes and I for one love to check out what new concept they have implemented each day. Lots of possibilities here folks!

I have given you a lot to think about and a lot of different choices to consider. Think about what your company represents. What kind of image do you want your company to have? What kind of a person are you? This can be represented in a logo that is custom made for you. Help your designer come up with just the right one by being prepared ahead of time with a list of words that represent you or your company, the colors you think best fit you or company, and the style you think best fits the image you are going for. I hope this has helped you! Ta Ta for now!

Bree Farley- Web Designer, Illustrator, Etc.

Print on whatever paper you like, but I think they would be super cute on some sort of textured paper to give them a rustic look. Simply, cut in half and fold.  They fit perfectly in any A4 envelope such as these cute recycled envelopes.

Happy Friday everyone!