By Joan Wackell
Maestro Strategic Marketing
The Maestro: Standing out with a well-designed logo
You have a name for your business… great. Now you need a company logo even if your business is a small one.
Your logo is an important part of your overall image. It’s a visual representation of your brand, it provides a unique identity and, if well-designed, differentiates your business from the competition. When it comes to marketing a logo functions as the starting point for all design choices in your business’ marketing materials and programs.
As the “face” of a business, your logo should:
- Be simple, memorable and timeless
- Build awareness for your company
- Be scalable for a variety of marketing materials including business cards and collateral business materials such as stationery, pocket folders, signage, trade show panels etc.
- Work well in black and white, grayscale and in color
- Work for all types of media including websites, online marketing, print etc.
Designed by Mary Richinick (http://www.mrichdesign.com/) these logos represent strong visual images for a client’s online seminar and an award-winning design for a construction company.
Common mistakes to avoid in creating your logo:
- Unprofessional design (this is not a project for a “wanna-be” designer)
- Crowd sourcing i.e., websites that offer cheap logos where designers/students compete for low cost prize
- Do it yourself using clip art, symbols and fonts
- Logos that are cutesy, too literal, inappropriate for your type of business, and that do not match your overall goals for branding
Your logo is central to your marketing strategy and if it looks amateurish so will your business. Make your business brand stand out with a professionally- designed logo.