Do I need a logo for my voice acting business? Newer voice actors often ask, "Do I need a logo for voice acting? Is there any value in a voice acting logo? Is it necessary to have a logo for voiceover? Is there a difference between a logo for voiceover and voice acting branding?

There seems to be a lot of confusion over voice acting, branding, voice over logo design, and the distinction between a logo and brand identity for voice over. In this post, we'll answer a ton of questions about a logo and branding for voice actors.

AlRight. To logo or not to logo...

That, my friend, is the question. I hear this question all the time from newer voice actors.

There's a certain insecurity about newer voice actors, which is absolutely natural. You look at other more experienced voice actors, and they may have a great logo and really tight branding. And you think to yourself, "Holy mackerel, how am I going to compete with these folks that are much better branded, have much more experience than I do. I better get all my visual identity in place before I can even compete with these folks."

And that leads to a months-long derailment into one of three areas:

• You try and design a logo yourself. (Just don't. )

• Using an online logo design tool... (No Bueno) ... or

• Using a lowball freelancer site like Fiverr or Upwork (Again, don’t.)

Alright. Let's get back to the question at hand. Do I need a logo for my voiceover business?

The short answer, no. No one cares about your logo.

A voice actor needs a logo like an astronaut needs a basketball. It's just not essential to acquiring customers and developing your business. A logo doesn't prove anything. It doesn't prove your competency in the field. Your demos do that. It doesn't convey what the experience of working with you is like. Your social proof and testimonials do that.

It just doesn't give you any credence or credibility in any real substantial way.

I've been a voice actor for over 20 years and I've worked with some of the biggest brands in the world, and I will be honest with you, none of them hired me because of a fancy logo. They hired me because I rocked the audition or they liked my demos. That's how we demonstrate competency in this business.

To this day. I don't have a real logo. I have a type treatment and consistent branding, yes, but I don't have any snappy tag lines or double entendres or swishes or ovals or shapes or arrows. And for godsakes, please, baby Jesus, no microphones, earphones, or waveforms. Just the name of my business, Paul Schmidt, Voiceover, and where you can find me.

As we said before, you're often competing with veteran voice talent who are much more experienced and better branded than you are. So the question remains, "How do you differentiate yourself and appear as professional as possible so that you can compete on a on a relatively level branding playing field?"

Let's get down to basics

What is essential when it comes to voiceover branding?

First and foremost, good branding is about a clean, distinct, and most importantly, consistent visual presentation.

Clean means simple. And simplicity, my friends, is a discipline. You have to know what to leave out. Clean also means readable and not just for you at your tender age, my friend. I mean, for those 40 plus who may be dealing with less than ideal eyesight. 🤓

Distinct means that whatever you produce visually should look like it comes from you and only you. A Nike ad looks like a Nike ad way before you ever see the swoosh. Your branding should look like your branding.

And lastly, consistency is the glue that holds your branding together. Consistency means using the same colors and fonts in everything you do. Look, let's make it simple. Pick two fonts. Think of them as a headline font and a body copy font. Those will get you started. One of the biggest mistakes I see in DIY voice actor branding is too many colors, too many fonts, too many effects. It looks like a kid that tried to use every crayon in the box.

OK, so logos and tag lines are nice to have but they are not essential. Clean, distinct, consistent. That's what's good branding. Now let's talk about how to develop good branding.

FOUR OPTIONS for developing your branding

Number one: DIY branding - doing your branding yourself

This is a great idea if you're an experienced brand designer. If you're not, it's a lousy idea. Again, you're competing with more experienced, better-branded talent than you. So just like a DIY demo, DIY branding is going to make you look that much worse in comparison.

Number two: using online design tools

Online design tools can be a great help. Things like Google Fonts and FontJoy and WordMark can be a big help if you don't have an eye for typography. Also, sites like Paletton and Adobe Color and Coolors can help you if you don't have an eye for color. They can help you pair up two complementary colors that you can use for your palette. Those online design tools can help.

Number three: using LOWBALL freelancer sites

…like Fiverr, Upwork, 99 Designs, et cetera. Look, as a voice actor, I would never recommend you sell your services on those lowball freelancer websites. So why would I recommend that you buy services on those lowball freelancer websites? If you're going to stand up for pro rates in your own business, you don't get to go cheap and go lowball when you're looking for creative services from other creative professionals.

Number Four: using a professional design expert

I recommend using a professional design expert to help you with your branding.

You may already know someone, but don't pick your brother-in-law's daughter's girlfriend because she's cheap. Pick her because she's a pro and she'll kill it. Often, you can work with an experienced web designer and work out your colors and fonts as you're working out the rest of the branding for your website.

Once you have your fonts and colors selected, you now have the foundation for clean, distinct, consistent branding.

As you grow, you can then develop your branding into a logo and a fancy tagline if you want. But for godsakes, please don't put the cart before the horse and start with the logo.

Logos are great, but in the end, they're like reclining chairs in a movie theater.

They're nice to have when you get there. But they ain't why you picked the movie.