To coincide with Business Environment becoming BE Offices and launching a new logo…….A logo represents your company to the outside world – getting it right can have a big impact on your firm’s success
While we’re not expecting small business owners to go out and design their own logos, knowing what you want when you’re briefing a designer can make the difference between getting the perfect logo and having to make do with something you’re only kind of happy with.
Here’s what you need to think about when considering a new logo…
Adaptability
Your logo might look nice on your company letters or at the top of your website, but how will it look on print marketing materials and mobile phones?
A logo should be adaptable to all situations. This also means that while you should opt for your company’s colours, you should have a logo that can be adapted into different colours if, for example, you want to show your support for a charity by having your logo printed onto their promotional materials.
Simplicity
Keep it clear. As mentioned above, your logo will hopefully be seen in a variety of places, so clarity is important. People should be able to instantly recognise it from a distance.
Use strong lines, impactful colours and clear text. Keep the ideas down to one or two – don’t try and fit in half a dozen images otherwise it’ll end up looking like a family crest. Above all, try and make it original.
Reflect the brand
While it might be hard to get across all your brand values in one image, your logo should represent the core values of your company.
Don’t go for bold lines and funky graphics if you’re an organic farmer, while logos that take inspiration from nature would be out of place for a website designer.
Go with a name
You’re not Apple – you can’t get away with simply having an image and expecting everyone to know who you are. While this might be the case further down the line, at the moment consider including your name in some form within the logo.
Once people have had time to connect the name and image, you can experiment with variations that feature just the logo without the name.
Clashes
Do your research – good logo design is hard to come by and if you think you’ve got a decent idea it might be because you’ve seen it somewhere else.
Even a simple Google image search might be enough to spot a similar logo. It’s also worth checking that the logo doesn’t represent something else, as was the case with the new AirBnB logo.
Have fun
Finally, have some fun. People will remember a fun logo. Try including some visual puns, double entendre or hidden messages.
FedEx, for example, subtly includes an arrow within its logo, while Amazon’s smile reaches from A to Z.
