EBizInsider

Your logo is a crucial aspect of your company�s brand identity. Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business. But what exactly does �branding� mean? Can it help a small business?

Branding is your competitive edge and your promise to your customer. It represents what your company offers that others can�t. What makes you unique? Are you the cutting edge maverick in your industry or the experienced, dependable one? Is your product the high-cost, high-quality option, or the low-cost, high-value option? The biggest branding mistake companies make is trying to be all things to all audiences. Who you are should be based on who your target customers want and need you to be.

Your website, packaging and promotional materials�all of which should integrate your logo�communicate your brand. Businesses too often change or alter their identity. This includes the logo, the logo colors, marketing materials and website, as well as other important parts of a company�s mission statement. This can be confusing to existing customers. It is ironic but true: when you become tired of your logo, tagline, and branding efforts, is when they begin to sink in with your customers. Branding, first and foremost, is about consistency.

Your Logo
The foundation of your brand is your logo. A good logo presents your company�s values visually. Discuss your company�s values, goals and information about your target audience to help your logo designer. Once the designer has a good idea of the image you hope to portray, he or she will use fonts, color, placement, size, graphics, and design motifs to convey this to your customers.
You Need a Professional Logo to:
� Establish trust and commitment. Many e-commerce businesses are run from private homes. A professionally designed logo can portray a reputable
image and instill trust in your customers. It shows that you are serious about your business. You may not have been in business �since 1908,� but if you have invested in your identity, you are more likely to appear reliable in the eyes of new customers. It is another step toward building that all-important �trust.�
� Stand out from your competition
� Attract more customers. Customers look for a well-defined company and �look and feel� may be important to them.
� Be more memorable. 40% of people remember what they see more than what they read or hear. Associating consistent graphics, text, style and colors with your company will help your customers to remember you.
� Explain your business. If your company name is difficult to pronounce, hard to remember or doesn�t relate to your products/services, you�ll need compelling graphics or a tagline. If your business is nontraditional or in a hard-to-explain industry, a logo can better clarify exactly what you do.
� Comply with expectations � frankly, in most industries a logo is standard.

What Makes a Good Logo?
All logos should use vector art. Vector graphics are geometrical shapes based on mathematical equations. This allows the shapes and text in the logo to be enlarged or reduced without compromising clarity and symmetry. Therefore, you can use the same logo on a business card and a billboard without sacrificing detail or quality. A common file extension for vector art is .EPS. Ask for your completed logo in this format.

Color is important to brand recognition, but should not be an integral component to the logo design. Logos should utilize as few colors as possible to establish the identity of the company. Depending on color to distinguish your brand is very risky. What if the logo is faxed or photocopied? Will your logo maintain your company�s image accurately? Many designers will show you the logo concept in black and white before they add color. This is a good idea. Be satisfied with the other important elements of the design before adding color.

This is also the reason your logo should not contain any gradients as a major feature. If your heart is set on creating a logo using gradients, I suggest making a �web� version of your logo and another version of the logo without using the gradients for your print materials. Your logo should convey the same message with or without gradients or color.

A good logo should be able to maintain its integrity when printed in any size. Also, consider the various fabrics or materials where your logo may be printed in the future (e.g. clothing, pens, coffee mugs, hats, etc). Will the shape of the product distort your logo?

A tagline added to a logo can create a memorable phrase summing up the tone of a brand or product, or to make your company more memorable. If your name needs explaining, a tagline is a good way to tell people exactly who you are, what you do, and why they should care (e.g. the company Skygeek has a tagline of: Our parts fly, but our prices are grounded).

The most important aspect of logo design is making it unique and memorable. It doesn�t have to be complex or flashy to attract your customers� attention. In fact, many of the best designed logos are memorable because they�re simple (e.g. McDonald�s, Nike, FedEx).

Guidelines
In addition to the elements outlined above, there are several guidelines for logo design which are simply common sense. For example, a logo should not feature the face of a person that is still alive. Additionally, a logo should never include imagery that could be classified as culturally sensitive. This could range from national flags to religious icons. Finally, a quality logo design will never rely on photography, clipart or other forms of complex imagery.

Types of Logos
1. Text-Based Logos
Visually, text logos are very simple, clean logos that aren�t cluttered with heavy visuals and graphics. These logos are favored by many Fortune 500 corporations. The apparent simplicity of text-based can be misleading as these logos can be enormously difficult to design.

Text-based logos include the company name (and/or URL) in uniquely styled type font that accurately represents the company while still appealing to the target audience who will be buying their product or service.

A main reason to consider using a text based logo is for legibility and ease of recognition, even when the size of the logo is reduced (e.g. for printing your business cards).

2. Iconic Logos
Iconic logos feature simplified graphics (symbols) that reflect an aspect of the company. The symbol can be used by itself, with text, or the text can be integrated into the icon.

An icon is never a photograph or a life-like representation of an object. Instead, it is simple and clever and connects us to the company�s name, its products or services. Other iconic logos often include geometric shapes, simple patterns, or initials representing the company or the company name. It may also create an entirely new symbolic meaning (e.g. we did not originally associate the Nike �swoosh� with the company, but now we do).
In order for an icon to be a truly effective logo, it should be easily recognizable and memorable, while remaining clear when reproduced in small sizes.

3. Illustrated Logos
Illustrated logos are much more elaborate and detailed than iconic logos and should inspire awe in the intended audience. Illustrated logos should provide accurate representation of some aspect of the company or product portrayed. This can be the name, the business concept or a character/mascot. Illustrated logos can often brand the company by use of the illustrations alone.

A strong, unique, professional logo defines your brand identity. It can inspire trust and commitment in your customers and differentiate you from your competition. Your logo should represent the values of your company and the image you portray to the general public.

Name (required)

E-Mail (required)

(Will not be published)

Website

Comments

Security Code

Enter the code above into this box. There's no letters, only numbers. We just want to make sure you're human.