Creatively Crafted Logos are VITAL to your Brand... Design with Care.
By Angelo Fernández-Spadaro When it comes to needing a logo or not, you've undoubtedly heard both sides of the argument. But in reality it isn't a discussion, it is vital to have a good logo if you want your business to succeed. And if you don't agree with me (and every Fortune 500 company that has logo) I'm going to convince you why a great logo is so necessary.
But first you have to know why it is a terrible idea to not put forth the effort, time and money into creating a good logo. As we all know attention spans are at an all time low so without a logo to look at there's a chance you never get a second look. So many companies and services have similar names and it's hard to differentiate one from another without a cunning logo. Additionally not having a logo makes you look very unprofessional and can create doubts amongst your potential customers. This issue is amplified because of the world we live in where you see online scams at every corner. Having a logo, especially a good one, lets users know that you are a legitimate business. You will never get any business if not having a good logo scares them away, no matter how good your product and services are.
You only get one chance to make a first impression and your logo should convey what the company is all about. Whether you know a design expert, are hiring a company or doing it yourself a good logo should sum up what kind of business you are running. An important first step is sitting down by yourself, with other employees or the bosses and just writing down the most important aspect and adjectives to describe your business. Once you narrow down the list and prioritize it you should have an idea for what feel the logo should have. This logo linked with your brand will help create an identity for your business that communicates the values, ideas and personality of your company.
The design itself is one of the harder processes made impossibly harder by the differences in everyone's opinion but don't let that scare you away. Use the aforementioned list and a few of these key points to make sure you avoid the pitfalls made by other businesses and their logos. Before you actually start drawing up logos you should see what kind of logos your competitors have. And not only that but see what globally-known logos look like, even if they're not in your field, so that you can take something away from them. Be sure to draw up a logo that separates you from your competitors by being creative but being sure to keep it simple and easily recognizable.
If you are worried about creating a logo that sums up your company or if you don't feel like you have anyone creative enough to make an image or abstract logo to fall in suit with your company don't stress. For your logo you could simply take a shape that exemplifies your company or field and use black and white to create an outline of it. An even simpler logo would be to take the name of your business using any type of font and then using a little bit of design to spice it up. Your logo should do all the talking so that eventually additional text won't be necessary for customers to recognize your logo.
Once you've got a logo you think you're happy with you have to take a step back and think about the cost, usability and sizing. These are often overlooked and can lead to both lost customers and ugly logos. It's important to remember how many different types of screens your logo is being viewed on. You have to take into account the logo being seen over phones, net books, business cards, laptops, billboards and printouts. This means you make sure the logo scales well from the tiny business card to the huge billboard.
Also, be sure that whether your logo is in color or gray tones it still conveys the same message. Color also comes into play when you start thinking about printing out hundreds of business cards or thousands of handouts with your logo on them. By simply using two or three colors you can cut back a lot of cost and still use contrast effectively. Most importantly once you get that logo you have to register it and copyright it to be sure no one can take advantage of all your investment, work and creativity.
By this point, you'll fully understand how vital logos are for business.
Go forth and design smartly!
-Angelo
E: Angelo@socialmediadelivered.com.s209167.gridserver.com