Background Colors

Does anybody have any advice on selecting a background color? I really stink at that, and no color I select looks good at all. I Don't have a particular project to speak of, because I have been sticking to the white backgrounds.

The way I see it, the logo should look good on nearly any background color for the reason Mac said...it is usually a transparent file that is placed on a colorful backdrop of a web page or letterhead, etc. You have to envision the logo ANYWHERE...on a billboard, on a flyer, on a t-shirt, on a key chain, etc. The background may not always be the same as the one from your design. Sometimes what I do is create 2 logo templates...1 main logo and 1 secondary logo that maintains the integrity of the main one but can be used for branding purposes

Ahhh, that is very interesting to know. I never thought of that. So, the key really shouldn't be a background color. It should be to make a logo that will work on any background. Good that takes my attention off the need to create a background color.

So another quick thing I do...once I design a logo I change the background color to 10 different colors just to see what happens to the lines, the font, etc. Some things that look awesome on black background look horrible on a white background and vice versa...but just for fun I try yellow, green, purple, orange, etc. It's a tool I help to refine and really make the logo vesatile and makes me more confident in my final product to know it is not limited. Some logo designs look amazing, but they are not practicle.

Just my humble opinion

J4L

That is a good idea. Better to know if an idea isn't going to work with different backgrounds right up front. I will include that idea in my testing of my logo ideas.