Nail your logo the first time!

Logo design is always a hot topic when you’re a start-up or if you have decided to a rebrand or carry out a brand refresh. However, all logos are not created equal. Developing a logo requires creativity, research and thought. It’s not something that should just be thrown together, neither should you just tell a designer to just design something. Why? Because you might just get what you pay for! What you really need is a logo that represents and differentiates your business or brand and mostly importantly, appeals to your customer.

Whether you’re auditing your current logo or you’re getting a new logo, here are a few considerations to bear in mind. I have outlined these considerations in a different manner, in that, as opposed to simply advising you of what you should do, I urge you to ponder on a few questions.

Consider the purpose of the logo: What is the purpose of the logo? Most importantly, what do you want people to feel when they see it? Does your logo accurately hint (visually) of who you are and/or what you do? Is it original and memorable? Would it stand out from a crowd of other logos in your industry?

Technical & Design elements- Colours mean something in business. What colours should you use and how many colours? Will your design be scalable to read just as clear on a billboard as when printed on a business card or flyer? Are the fonts complimentary? Is your logo available in a variety of file formats? Do you have a high-resolution file of your final logo?

Usage and Consistency – Where will your logo be placed – business cards, signage, merchandise? Are you using your logo consistently across all tangible and virtual business/marketing collateral and online presence? Have you thought about expanding on your logo to create a suite of additional branded images/options and extended elements as needed?
For example, an animated version of your logo, or creating a video intro and outro using your logo ? Have you created a style guide as yet? Are you keeping your logo (and other branding elements) in a safe and locatable spot, so you can easily make it available to designers and others when needed? The latter question is very important; too often I have seen entrepreneurs searching in vain for their logo and in the end not being able to have their brand represented at a function simply because they don’t have a copy of it.

Candice Sealey is the Founder & Principal Consultant at Ignite! a Full-service Marketing & PR Consultancy that helps businesses/brands to stand out and communicate the right message to the right people at the right time through Strategy, Marketing, Media services and Design solutions.
She is also a freelance content writer, advertising copywriter, voice over talent, media personality. Follow us on FB & IG @igniteresults Phone:784-432-2223. Email: igniteresults@gmail.com