Hmmm another logo gets created where I am truly stumped and can’t figure out what kind of business/industry this is? If your logo doesn’t describe at the very least what you do or what your industry is…the prospects of getting clients are kinds of hard. Take a look at logo guru David Airey and his article on “What makes a good logo design.”

In the meantime….can anyone figure out the logo above and tell me what kind of business or industry it is?

While perusing the web today, I came across an interesting article written by Nick Rice over at Small Business Branding. The article has 9 Branding Tips for Small Business and some are excellent points. I do have to totally disagree with Tip #1 that states “The design of your logo really doesn’t matter”. What are your thoughts on this? I would love to hear all your comments….

See how we can help you! Follow the design process for one of our clients that was looking to redo their marketing materials. We redesigned their logo and brochures and gave them a more appealing, streamlined look to help them market their services.

We were approached to do a redesign the corporate identity for a non profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children and families through mental health counseling and substance abuse prevention and treatment.

The old logo was very simple and ineffective at conveying a message of outreach, warmth and renewal. We met with the client to identify the clients’ goals, found out the message they wanted to convey, defined and gained knowledge of their services and we were given a tour of their office so we can see where some of the counseling happens. The tour was great because each room was geared towards a specific age group. This counseling center mainly dealt with troubled children and teenagers. Some rooms had lots of toys and bright colors, meant to evoke a happy place and some rooms were purple or blue meant to evoke feeling a safety and calmness.

Our logo concepts – as always begin as sketches or doodles – we started with a few ideas for an icon. The client really wanted to keep an image of a tyke and a teen, so that was the initial task to develop and redesign the logo.

After some pencil sketches, the computer process begins, taking the initial doodles and better defining the icons and adding letter styles and color to them. Picking the right font is extremely important as it gives weight to the entire logo.

The client was swaying towards using blue and green in the logo concept, to set a tone of calmness, hope, renewal – so the initial ideas were presented to get a feel as to which style and approach felt they would like to pursue.

Concept A. The little icons were actually the letter “t” converted to show images of a tyke and teen. The styling was kept clean, and open to give a more corporate feel. Concept B was more ideaology, symbolizing new growth and renewal, a tree made up of 1 teen (the trunk) and many little tykes (tree leaves). The final concept C sprung from the tree leave image from B, combining different sizes, and gave a brought together a corporate and freestyle feeling which the client wanted to pursue.

Upon further reiterations, a final logo was chosen and to our delight not to far off from one of the original concepts. We moved on to their brochures, which explained each service they offered. Below you can see before and after images. The aim was to come up with an image and a message that will lodge in people’s minds.

Remember your company’s identity should be as consistent as possible. The corporate identity is the pieces, aspects, ideas, methods and techniques a company uses to differentiate itself from the rest. When a brand is associated with a color, a combination of colors, shapes, pictures, phrases, music, etc. a corporate identity is built. It’s well known that a company or business that has a consistent corporate identity is taken much more seriously and are much more successful than those that don’t use own style guidelines.

If you are thinking about refreshing your corporate identity or budget for your marketing items, please contact us now! We are here to help you!

Experts urge small business owners to “brand” their businesses with a logo and a set of consistent marketing materials. However, they rarely explain the reasons behind this advice, here are 10 reasons

why…

1. To look “bigger” and “established.” Home-printed business cards or cards printed with Microsoft clipart scream “small-time vendor” to your potential clients — and that is how they will want to compensate you.
2. To attract more clients. Some clients look for a well-defined company, and “look and feel” may be one of their criteria for making a purchasing decision.
3. To brand yourself. If you are a consultant, you need a logo in order to build an image and a brand that is greater than your individual identity.
4. To give clients a sense of stability. You may not have been in business “since 1908,” but if you have invested in your identity, you are more likely to remain firm and relevant in the eyes of your customers. It goes a long way toward building that all-important “trust.”
5. To convey that you are reputable. A logo and professionally-printed materials show that you are committed to both your business and to your clients.
6. To explain your company name. If your company name contains a little-known word or an acronym, the logo can give visual clues to its meaning.
7. To be more memorable. Forty percent of people better remember what they see than what they hear or read. So to have graphics associated with your business, and to keep those graphics consistent, makes you more likely to be at the forefront of potential clients’ minds when they need your goods or services.
8. To stand out in your field. A well-designed logo and an identity system can put you far above the competition, especially when paired with a strong marketing program.
9. To differentiate you from your competitor. A well-designed logo can have many subtle meanings and can begin to tell the story of how you do business, including the special practices that make you stand apart from the competition.
10. To show your commitment. Do it for the sense of personal pride that it will add to your practice.

These are just a few good reasons that will help boost your business and your confidence, so consider developing a company logo and marketing materials as soon as possible. If a marketing budget is sparse consider building piece by piece.