Your brand is your perception in the marketplace. It’s your reputation, how you treat your customers, your service partners and your community.
Your logo is a symbol of that brand that makes you recognizable, helping build authority and trust, differentiating you from your competitors.
Designers rightfully charge thousands of dollars to design a logo and a collateral system businesses that are based on your brand attributes — the values upon which your company is built.
These attributes drive the look and feel of your logo and the subsequent branded collateral items: business cards, letterhead, packaging, etc.
For a startup on a budget, logo design can be a luxury
Over the last few years we’ve seen the emergence of companies like 99designs that are based on logo design contests where designers from all over the world submit their concepts.
I’ve used 99designs a few times and have been very satisfied with the results. Identify your preferences for color, fonts, industry and style. Narrow down the responses and choose the winner. It’s very efficient and you get a surprising array of responses. Some are terrible but you’ll get at least three or four that are very good.
The latest development: machine-made logos
New applications are taking this process a step further so that you can make your own logo. Enter the same requirements discussed above —industry, fonts, color and style preferences — and these applications will present a number of logos for your review.
Four free applications based on your preferences
For these applications, you’ll be presented with these same fields to identify your preferences. Style is an important consideration — are you a minimalist or do you prefer ornate design? Some applications provide templates where you use the existing design and swap it out with your own name and tagline.
Napa internet expert Janet Peischel explains how you can increase your website traffic with ‘offpage’ SEO.
• Hatchful is a mobile app for iOS and Android that helps you build a brand from scratch — right from the palm of your hand. It’s trusted by 140,000+ business owners. Hatchful will suggest logos from hundreds of available templates.
• Canva is likely the most hands-on logo-maker on the list and it’s great for beginners. Canva’s templates are broken down by niches such as badges, art/design, fashion, sports, food and drink, etc. For those who have used Canva for other design work — posters, flyers, postcards, etc., you’ll easily ramp up to this free logo maker.
• Ucraft helps you create a professional logo in just a few clicks. Export this as a png file for free or in svg or eps formats for $7. The high-resolution, transparent-background .png file is completely free and can be used in any online space.
• Squarespace is not only a popular website platform, it also has a great free logo-maker that’s available even if you’re not creating a website. While there are fewer options, Squarespace is notable for its ease of use.
Branding may not be part of every conversation anymore, but it has never diminished in importance. Contact Being Top of Mind to talk about your business and your brand: Janet at 510-292-1843 or [email protected].
Photo: Napa Valley’s natural beauty in 96 photos
Scenic Napa Valley

Peek-a-boo hot air balloons on Linda Vista Avenue.
— Submitted by Tammy Duda
Scenic Napa Valley

Seed head in fields of Angwin.
— Submitted by Suzi Albertson
Scenic Napa Valley

Avenues in Napa; May 6, 2020
— Submitted by Tammy Duda
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A bee enjoys coneflower pollen in Yountville; June 13, 2020
— Submitted by Suzi Albertson
Scenic Napa Valley

Highway 29 St. Helena, Spring 2020
— Submitted by Melinda Nunes
Scenic Napa Valley

Kortum Canyon, Calistoga; May 28, 2020
— Submitted by Ivan Miller
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Taken by Beverly Sodhani at Sodhani Vineyards in Napa County in May, 2020.
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Mt. St. Helena
— Submitted by Ivan Miller
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Beautiful night out in the vineyards in Yountville, 2019
— Submitted by Rianna Reyes
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Yountville, Napa County, April 2020
— Submitted by Justin Duncan
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Golden Hour at Paraduxx Winery on Silverado Trail.
— Submitted by Justin Duncan
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Pope Valley in spring time, May 2020.
— Submitted by Justin Duncan Photography
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Field of lupines in Chiles Valley.
— Submitted by Suzi Albertson
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Wildflower seedhead in Snell Valley.
— Submitted by Suzi Albertson
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California poppy field in Pope Valley.
— Submitted by Suzi Albertson
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Vibrant red barn off Oak Knoll Ave
–Submitted by Hannah Harrison
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Looking up-valley toward Mt St Helena around sunset
— Submitted by Joel Pagels
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St. Helena fawn lily (Erythronium helenae).
Photo by Land Trust of Napa County.
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California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica).
Photo by Land Trust of Napa County.
Scenic Napa Valley

Wild Hyacinth (Dichelostemma capitatum).
Photo by Land Trust of Napa County.
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Yellow monkey flower (Mimulus guttatus).
Photo by Land Trust of Napa County.
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Gilia cream cups and goldfields wildflowers.
Photo by Land Trust of Napa County.
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California native flannel bush seen in Deer Park. Taken by Connie Wilson on March 22, 2020
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A Red camellia blooms on Foster Road in Napa. Taken by Eric Zimny on March 26, 2020.
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California Poppy Season. Taken by Suzi Albertson at Deer Park and Silverado Trail on March 4, 2020.
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Charles Krug in St Helena, Sept. 2017
— Submitted by Audrey Luippold
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Yountville, May 2019
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Castell di Amorosa winery, 2016
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Double rainbow in Napa
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Bee on plum blossoms in East Napa.
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Blooms at Napa Valley Care Center
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Frogs Leap
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Beautiful sunset at Napa Downtown.
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A field of Oakville mustard from Feb. 2018.
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Reader Jan sends in a photo of morning fog over Bell Wine Cellars in Yountville in April 2017.
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Mustard takes over this Oakville vineyard in Feb. 2018.
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A St. Helena vineyard scene in Fall 2017.
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Winter stream in Bothe Park in Dec. 2016.
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A bird takes a break at Silver Oak Winery in May 2012.
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Sunset over downtown Napa from above in June 2015.
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Almost sunset along the Napa River in March 2017.
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Fall season in St. Helena in Oct. 2017.
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A view of the Napa River in Feb. 2017.
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Glorious light as seen from St. Helena Hospital in this Sept. 2017 photo.
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An oak tree at sunset in Kennedy Park in Jan. 2018.
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Grapes on the vine at Trefethen Winery in 2012.
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Old Upvalley vines and mustard along Highway 29 in March 2007.
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The Third Street Bridge in Napa California.
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An early spring comes to Carneros near Buhman Road in this February 2018 photo.
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A view at the Vintners Golf Club in Yountville from 2016.
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The end of the rainbow on Henry Road in Carneros district in August 2017.
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A Lake Hennessy sunset in January 2018.
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Reader Brett was at Skyline Park when it opened on Jan. 21, following the October fires
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An aerial view of Yountville from a hot air balloon from December 2017.
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Flowering mustard from 2017 by reader Brett.
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Lake Hennessey in November 2016.
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Alston Park in December 2014.
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Mustard blooms in a vineyard in Oakville in January 2017.
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The Red Barn on Dealy Lane from February 2017.
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Fall in the Napa Valley at Duckhorn Vineyards.
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Rutherford vines in winter 2017.
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Taken from the top of the castle looking south-east into the valley in April 2016.
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A vineyard view from Silverado Trail near St. Helena from July 2017.
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Pope Valley after the wildfires.
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Clear skies over a vineyard at Oak Knoll and Orchard avenues in January 2018.
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Fall colors of Ginkgo trees lining the lane to Far Niente winery in 2017.
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A farm between Calistoga and Santa Rosa in October 2017.
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The Grape Crusher statue at sunrise on Thanksgiving Day, 2017.
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Early ground bloom among the vineyards in South Napa in January 2018.
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Looking west from Trancas Street at Silverado Trail in February 2017.
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A Saturday morning walk at the Alston Park dog park.
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Saturday morning walk in the dog park at Alston Park in October 2017.
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Autumn in Coombsville, just west of First Avenue, in November 2017.
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A water run off along Lake Hennessey last winter.
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Golden rays of sunlight peak through the sky at Lake Hennessy during a winter evening.
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Tubbs Lane in Calistoga in November 2017, following area wildfires.
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St. Helena residents are blessed with the golden color of mustard, even in their neighborhoods.
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Sunrise in the Oakville Hills in late December 2017.
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The view from the Wurtele Vineyard looking across the Valley floor in January 2018.
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A view from Lommel Road in Calistoga in October 2016.
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Fall colors in 2017 near Yountville.
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Alpha Omega Winery in January 2018.
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Wild lupine flowers from the top of Stags Leap in 2014.
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Fall colors in the Napa Valley in Noveber 2016.
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A Super Moon over Oakville in November 2016.
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A hot air balloon ride at Alston Park in 2016.
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Blankeit Estate seen in November 2015.
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Sunrise at Newton Vineyards in December 2017.
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The Birds at Kelham Vineyards from November 2013.
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Views of the Napa Valley from Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga in July 2016.
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Fall in the Napa Valley near Burgess Vineyards in November 2017.
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Fog above the David Arthur Vineyards in January 2018.
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Dormant vines at Dalla Valle Vineyards in January 2018.
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Staglin Winery from June 2016.
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A rainy day sunset in Yountville from February 2016.
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Thanksgiving clouds are seen near Selanus Winery on Nov. 24, 2017.
Contact Janet at 510-292-1843 or [email protected].
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