Your logo is your company’s face, and no one wants an ugly face!
Company logos are more important than you probably give them credit for. Not only are they simple visual shorthand for your brand, but also a literal portrayal of what your company represents. A good logo doesn’t only say what your company does; it communicates recognition, trust, and loyalty. This makes designing and choosing a logo a process never to be taken lightly.This wisdom almost seems too simple to bear repeating, but a cursory glance across the market shows that logo design is often deeply overlooked as an important part of doing business. In other words, there are a lot of ugly faces out there.
This is partially an extension of a business culture that often values the bottom line to the detriment of all the elements that help grow it. Why spend the money and effort on something that doesn’t directly translate into dollar signs?
First of all, designing a memorable and meaningful logo is not cheap. At a glance, the cost may seem prohibitive for what appears to be a simple graphic image. It may seem inordinately expensive. It may even seem superfluous, an area where cutting costs would be harmless. However, what companies often overlook is the thoughtful work that goes into logo design. Beyond that, they are likely selling short the long-term impact of what a great design can do for business.
When designing a logo, research is square one. We research the industry, the competition, the history, and every other relevant aspect possible. This gives us a grounding to move on to step two, where we sketch out of hundreds of ideas. Literally… hundreds. Once we produce a critical mass of concepts, the best ones are singled out and transferred into a digital format, where more in-depth design work is done.
At this point we’re looking at 10 to 15 logos, which are internally revised, tweaked, and evolved until five to seven professionally completed logos are ready for presentation. Most likely, you’ll only see this step, so it’s understandable to think the finely honed designs have been produced outright, without the slog of research, concepting, trial, and error.
You might also be misled by the shorter turnaround times of discount design sites, but make no mistake: these companies are only in the game to make a quick buck. If they’re giving away logos for five bucks, do you really think they’re spending any time on it?
There’s no longevity built into that sort of process, because frankly they don’t care. They need to sell as many designs as possible with minimal effort. Therefore, you’ll often find poor designs with rough detail, bare-bones templates, and even flat out plagiarism. The accompanying risks simply aren’t worth it, especially if you run into plagiarism, which can end in penalties far more costly than a well-crafted logo. Plus, having the same logo as someone else is like showing up to prom wearing the same dress as your mortal enemy. #SoEmbarrassing
What’s some stuff you should consider when crafting a logo (your face)? First and foremost is color and simplicity, elements that go hand-in-hand more often than not. Think of virtually any classic corporate logo. It’s likely a single color in a clean, simple shape. Adding more colors and effects will only dilute the impact, making the logo immediately fade from memory. A bold, minimalist aesthetic communicates an idea in a way that no lengthy speech could hope to achieve.
In the modern world, a logo must be designed for display in a multitude of media and contexts. A clean, simple design can translate across magazine pages, billboards, and any number of electronic devices without modification.
This directly feeds into the final core element, longevity. When your logo is clear, concise, and easily translated, it will likely also pass the test of time. While it might be exciting to work trendy typefaces into a design, they’ll become outdated and in need to be redone, which can cost you even more in the end. Sticking with timeless simplicity pays off dividends well into the future. A glance at the relatively unchanged logos from Disney, Apple, or Coca Cola shows the fundamental power behind the careful balance of the core elements of solid design and how great life can be when you’re one of the pretty people.
At the end of the day, it is tough to quantify the effect of having a great logo. You can’t measure its direct ROI, and there’s no metric to measure whether or not it “worked.” But when you have a great logo and a great brand you can feel it, your employees feel it, and your audience feels it. That kind of confidence leads to gains that you can measure.
There are no shortcuts when it comes to having a deep understanding of the concepts behind quality logo design. When you see the results, it’s clear that the craftsmanship and dedication behind a fundamentally solid logo are worth every penny. In the long run, great logo design pays for itself in incalculable ways.
How good looking is your company?
