When I started my business, like many start up businesses, I was trying to bootstrap everything. I started by finding a website where I could create a free logo. I quickly learned that while many sites allow you to create a logo for free, downloading and actually using the said logo is another matter. However, it doesn’t have to cost the earth!
Whether you are creating your logo yourself or outsourcing to a professional, there are some points to consider before leaping in with both feet. You need to decide what is behind your logo and your business, what you want it to say to people who see it and what your business means to you. Getting a second opinion is definitely a good idea!
Why the name?
CAT is short for Catherine – my name. If I was going to choose a shorter version of my name, this is probably the one that I would go for. The acronym CAT also stands for Computer Assisted Translation in the translation world. As I have spent many hours learning and developing my skills on RWS Trados, I couldn’t let this little gem slip through my fingers!
Why this image?
I wanted a logo that, in some way, represented the languages that I work with. Therefore, my logo contains the colours of the French and Spanish flags either as a background or as people.
The logo is round to represent the world. The translation industry is a global industry that helps people communicate worldwide.
Anna Rusconi
“Words travel worlds. Translators do the driving.”
Why little people?
They remind me of my two sons. They are my why – the reason I wanted to launch my own freelance business. My dream was to do what I love and translate. But I also wanted to have the flexibility to work when and as much (or little) as I wanted. I needed my business to fit around our family life. That was the dream – the reality, as many freelancers know, is that this is not easy to achieve!
The little people in my logo also surround the globe and look like they are holding hands. I think they are transferring a message from one to another until it has reached everyone in the world. This is the superpower that translators have. We help communicate a message across the world so that people who could not understand the original text can read it in their own language. Translators also benefit people who may understand the original text. We all respond in a more profound way to a message written in a language that we have known from birth. This is known as our native language or our heart language.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”
One day I may change my logo. I am conscious that as a freelancer, I do not just offer translation services as the logo implies. I also proofread, revise, MTPE, transcribe and subtitle. However, all these services fall within the boundaries of the translation industry, so for now, although I might have a little play and tweak it on Canva, CAT Davis Translation remains! I would be really interested to see a graphic designer’s take on how I describe my business and what it means to me.
What does your logo mean to you? Did you create it yourself – or with the help of a talented and skilled friend or family member, or did you invest in a professional service?
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