Logo design - Why so many get it wrong
Announcement posted by Logoland Australia 12 Aug 2014
Your logo is not your brand, your brand is every aspect of your visual marketing.
To be able to win the trust of consumers your logo cannot be created just by anyone and it cannot be a free logo design or be a template logo. Professionally designed branding can be the difference between a company's success or failure. As a designer I see many business owners making the same mistake, time and time again and there is only so much you can do to educate them on what you find is right for them from a professional's point of view. But many don't care to listen or find that a logo should look like they want it to, even if sometimes the look of the logo has nothing to do with what they do.
Many business owners think that all they need is a logo and some business owners think that it is okay to create their own logo. This where most designers will see that the business owner is making a huge mistake and this will not benefit them in any way, in fact this ensures that the business has no chance or very little chance in making it. It is extremely important to make an emotional connection with your audience, convey a message, simply and effectively. You don't need to explain everything you do in your logo but you can use a general and meaningful way to say what you need to.
A brand should be unique, as a business it is important that you are distinctive and that your customers become familiar with your brand. Your logo should not resemble or be the same as another logo. We get so many people asking us to copy another logo, our answer is immediately no! and we explain about copyrights and how important it is to be different and so on.
Once you have your logo ready it is important to have the same design company create all your visual communication so that your message is continuous, effective and so that your logo is complimented in such a way that your whole branding will be admired, trusted and remembered. There is no use in paying a design company to create a professional logo for you and then design your stationery using publisher or MS Word, not that they are not good applications but these applications are not intended to be used for high resolution graphics creation such as business cards, letterheads and other communication materials. You need an application that will create your stationery as a high resolution vector and that it will have the capabilities for saving print-ready files that you can send to your printer's and get it professionally printed. This will ensure that your trustworthiness is maintained and that you do not build a bad reputation for your company, because reputation is not only about great customer service it is also about how your business presents itself.
Always take corporate companies as an example, companies like Apple, Coca-Cola, Samsung and others, especially larger companies in your industry. They always follow guidelines when they are dealing with their brand. They have a professional and distinguishable brand, a brand that is widely recognised and admired.
Before choosing a designer, ask yourself if the designer will be there in future in case you need your files supplied again. Many business owners choose freelance designers that work at Crowd Sourcing websites, but before choosing these types of design services or any design services the business owner should consider the following:
1. If you lose your files three or five years from now, will you find the designer and will they be able to supply you with the files again?
A brand should be unique, as a business it is important that you are distinctive and that your customers become familiar with your brand. Your logo should not resemble or be the same as another logo. We get so many people asking us to copy another logo, our answer is immediately no! and we explain about copyrights and how important it is to be different and so on.
Once you have your logo ready it is important to have the same design company create all your visual communication so that your message is continuous, effective and so that your logo is complimented in such a way that your whole branding will be admired, trusted and remembered. There is no use in paying a design company to create a professional logo for you and then design your stationery using publisher or MS Word, not that they are not good applications but these applications are not intended to be used for high resolution graphics creation such as business cards, letterheads and other communication materials. You need an application that will create your stationery as a high resolution vector and that it will have the capabilities for saving print-ready files that you can send to your printer's and get it professionally printed. This will ensure that your trustworthiness is maintained and that you do not build a bad reputation for your company, because reputation is not only about great customer service it is also about how your business presents itself.
Always take corporate companies as an example, companies like Apple, Coca-Cola, Samsung and others, especially larger companies in your industry. They always follow guidelines when they are dealing with their brand. They have a professional and distinguishable brand, a brand that is widely recognised and admired.
Before choosing a designer, ask yourself if the designer will be there in future in case you need your files supplied again. Many business owners choose freelance designers that work at Crowd Sourcing websites, but before choosing these types of design services or any design services the business owner should consider the following:
1. If you lose your files three or five years from now, will you find the designer and will they be able to supply you with the files again?
2. Will the designer care if the fonts they use a licensed or available for commercial use?
3. Is the logo going to be unique or will the designer copy another logo?
4. Will they choose fonts that you can later use on your website easily?
5. Will the designer visualise how the logo will work on future designs like a website, vehicle, stationery and other important marketing materials?
There are so many factors to consider when looking for a designer for your brand, not just price. Ensure that above all you don't make your decision only based on the cost. The logo and branding does not need to be cheap or expensive you just need to see the designers work, their reputation, if they are an established company and above all if they will provide everything that you need.
There is nothing worse than getting a logo, spending money on printing, adding your logo to your vehicle, only to find that it does not work and you have to start all over again. Or even worse to be threatened legally by another company for copying their logo.
A logo should be versatile and be suitable for use at any size whether small or large, it should work well when it is placed on a billboard, a website or a business card. The logo's finalising should be perfect, imagine if you have your logo designed and then when you want to use it on a coloured background, it has elements or graphics that should not be there or your printing turns out in a different shade than the shade you wanted. A logo that includes two colours is more affordable to print than a full colour logo.
Time and time again we get business owners that come to us and ask us to provide them with the high resolution files because their first designer did not provide those files, some we can do and some we need to turn down if it is not possible because at most times they are not even provided with a style guide.
What is a Style Guide?
The style guide is a very important booklet that you should get with your logo design once it is completed. This booklet contains information about the fonts used on your logo, the colours and other useful information such as usage guidelines and more.
As an example; as a professional design company at Logoland Australia we provide our clients with the option to have their complete brand designed, we use strategy when designing every aspect of the brand whether it may be the logo, the business card or website. Our clients get a professional style guide, the main source files which are AI, EPS and PDF for print and electronic use and three sets of PNG, JPEG and GIF files.
Remember if you are starting your own company it pays to invest in a high quality brand that will create value and success for your company. Any cost will really turn into an investment if you choose the right designers and if you make the right decisions in regards to your business branding.
Follow these simple rules:
1. Keep your logo simple
2. Ensure that your logo is versatile
3. Invest in identity design, flyers and website design and development
4. Ensure that your logo is suitable for your market and appropriate for your business, your products/services
5. Choose a design that will last a long time
6. Choose the right designer for your logo and complete branding
There are so many factors to consider when looking for a designer for your brand, not just price. Ensure that above all you don't make your decision only based on the cost. The logo and branding does not need to be cheap or expensive you just need to see the designers work, their reputation, if they are an established company and above all if they will provide everything that you need.
There is nothing worse than getting a logo, spending money on printing, adding your logo to your vehicle, only to find that it does not work and you have to start all over again. Or even worse to be threatened legally by another company for copying their logo.
A logo should be versatile and be suitable for use at any size whether small or large, it should work well when it is placed on a billboard, a website or a business card. The logo's finalising should be perfect, imagine if you have your logo designed and then when you want to use it on a coloured background, it has elements or graphics that should not be there or your printing turns out in a different shade than the shade you wanted. A logo that includes two colours is more affordable to print than a full colour logo.
Time and time again we get business owners that come to us and ask us to provide them with the high resolution files because their first designer did not provide those files, some we can do and some we need to turn down if it is not possible because at most times they are not even provided with a style guide.
What is a Style Guide?
The style guide is a very important booklet that you should get with your logo design once it is completed. This booklet contains information about the fonts used on your logo, the colours and other useful information such as usage guidelines and more.
As an example; as a professional design company at Logoland Australia we provide our clients with the option to have their complete brand designed, we use strategy when designing every aspect of the brand whether it may be the logo, the business card or website. Our clients get a professional style guide, the main source files which are AI, EPS and PDF for print and electronic use and three sets of PNG, JPEG and GIF files.
Remember if you are starting your own company it pays to invest in a high quality brand that will create value and success for your company. Any cost will really turn into an investment if you choose the right designers and if you make the right decisions in regards to your business branding.
Follow these simple rules:
1. Keep your logo simple
2. Ensure that your logo is versatile
3. Invest in identity design, flyers and website design and development
4. Ensure that your logo is suitable for your market and appropriate for your business, your products/services
5. Choose a design that will last a long time
6. Choose the right designer for your logo and complete branding