Logos: Consistency, Consistency, Consistency

For those that have a basic understanding of marketing and advertisng...What impact would a billboard have if it changed on a daily basis? The answer is minimal! Billboards increase in effectiveness the more that a viewer passes by that advertisement. The first few days a board is up, a viewer may not realize it, but the more they are exposed to it the more effective a board becomes.

That same principle applies to logos. What if every time you see a logo it is different? The mind (consciousness or unconsciousness) will not put it together that it is the same company. If that is the case, you are defeating your own efforts! I know of a business that from the parking lot, you can see 5 logos....it is displayed 3 completely ways.

Often times this is a result of “good intentions”. Some folks view a logo like my wife views our living room furniture – It has to change on a weekly basis. Some folks think that they are doing the company a favor by “spicing” up the logo. But as well as their intentions are, they are doing great damage to the company’s corporate Identity.

When you go through the effort of having a logo designed, make sure that it is used consistently EVERY TIME!

Logos: Do You Think You’ll Get a Second Chance?

It is no earth shattering revelation to say that we live in a fast paced world, but it may be a truth that we often times overlook and take for granted. With the advent of internet shopping and hundreds of channels on our TVs, folks are gathering and discarding information at a faster rate than ever before. For that reason, if we have the split-second opportunity to make an impression on someone...MAKE IT COUNT!

Sometimes I run across logos and all I can think is “What were they thinking?” Your Corporate Identity may be the only “face” that a prospect sees when they are exposed to your organization. Therefore make sure you portray the image that you want to convey.

Poor logos and Corporate Identities give the perception that your company is cheap, inexperienced, doesn’t care about quality, and thinks it is going out of business soon, etc. Is that really the impression that you want a prospective customer to leave with?

An effective logo however, can make a small organization look larger than it is, make a new organization look established and give the impression of quality, consistency, competency, etc.

Don’t think that a prospective customer will give you a second chance or overlook your company’s sloppy appearance to dig into your underlying quality. They will take one quick glance and move on to the thousands of your competitors. When you get an opportunity for that “first impression”...IMPRESS THEM!

Protect the Integrity of Your Logo

Imagine you own a car dealership and someone takes a car out on a test drive and wrecks that merchandise, causing massive damage to it. What is your response? Do you simply say “Oh that is OK, accidents happen”? Of course not! A new car is too valuable to ignore ruining it! So why would you overlook the “wrecking” of your logo and act as if it is OK? Your logo is no less valuable and therefore you need to protect that logo at ALL COSTS!

I don’t know how many times I have looked in a newspaper or telephone book or other such advertising venue to find logos that have been “wrecked” by the manner the publication inserted it. So often, these publications have rigid templates that must be followed which cause the layout technicians to skew or otherwise distort logos to fit the logos to their publication’s templates.

There are many ways that others can have a negative impact on your valuable asset; from vendors to even your own employees. Assume that NO ONE will care for the integrity of your logo like you will. If you give your logo to ANYONE, make sure that they use it in a manner that is consistent with the way that it was designed. Don’t be afraid to give the vendor rules on how that logo is to be used. Protect your logo at ALL COSTS.

The Cabin Creek Logo - Keep it Simple

Some folks really go to the extreme to get a “cheap” logo. The owner of Cabin Creek Baits let me know, that when he first started his business, “cheap” was one of his highest priorities in obtaining a logo. So much so, that he “borrowed” his original logo from a company that went out of business. And from the looks of it, he paid way too much!

The original Cabin Creek logo made one of the classic philosophical mistakes: More Detail Is Better. Maybe for a painting that is true, but for a logo, simplistic is always better. The original logo showed a cabin with details showing each log, with trees in the background and even a bird flying over head. While I agree wholeheartedly with the essence he was trying to portray, I believe that the revised logo accomplishes it in a much more powerful way.

If you want your logo to be effective...Less Is more!

Putting It All Together - A Corporate Identity That WORKS!

In our first installment of this blog, we discussed that we need not only to be concerned about our logo, but also the overall Corporate Identity of our company. So how do we do that?

1. You must have the RIGHT logo. We have discussed in great detail what it takes to have an effective logo: Bold, Simplistic, Creative/Unique Approach, Universal in Application. Effective in Black & White and Has Meaning. But that is only a good start. You can have the best logo in the world and use it poorly and ultimately have a Corporate Identity that works against you.

2. Your logo needs to be used in a CONSISTENT manner. One of the biggest mistakes a company can make is to have multiple logos; all in use at the same time. This will only confuse the public and give the impression that they are different entities.

3. Protect the INTEGRITY of your logo at all costs. I have heard too many times printers say “just give us a business card and we will scan it and get your logo from that”. NO, NO , NO! ALWAYS give an original to be reproduced. A copy of a logo will always look inferior. It is like buying a brand new suit and wearing it to bed before an important meeting the next day....it may be new, it may be expensive, but it will always look SLOPPY!

4. Stick to a COLOR THEME. Color is a powerful element in your overall Corporate Identity. The colors of your logo should be the foundation to this color theme. You may want to also select a couple of accent colors (no more than 2) and then use them as consistently as you do your logo. From the interior of your location to the uniforms that employees might wear, use only the colors of your selected color theme.

Gator Rock Bits - Bold is Better

The Owners of Gator Rock Bits came to me looking for a logo for their new company.  The brothers had been in business for a second generation doing electrical utility construction and repair work.  Their new company was the result of inventing a new truck mounted drill bit that drilled through rock.  While drilling holes for new and utility poles, the discovery of a rock bed meant the loss of productivity and profits.  A whole new crew had to be called in to deal with that obstacle and so they could loose days of progress.  The new drill bit allowed the original crew to stay on the job, change a bit, and in a matter of hours, not days, they were back to their original assignment. They soon realized that there was a market for their invention.

Their vision for the logo made sense to them, but it would not have served them well.  They wanted a detailed illustration of an alligator with a rock in its mouth, chomping down on it and breaking it into pieces.  While I agreed with the essence of the concept, the execution would have limited them on how they could use it and it would have cost them a lot of money trying to reproduce it.  I explained to them the pitfalls of their wishes and designed them a logo that they loved and they they eventually agreed would.  Their new logo is Bold, powerful and contains the original essence  of strength.

Elements of an Effective Logo - Part 2

In our last article, we began examining the elements of a powerful logo.  A strong logo should be BOLD and SIMPLISTIC.  Today we will add to that formula.

3.  Creative/Unique Approach:  Obvious is not a description that one would want for a logo.  Any art form is at it’s best when it is most unique.  One thing that can capture the attention of the viewer is to demonstrate a concept in a fashion that is completely unique.    

4.  Has Meaning:  This characteristic is somewhat optional.  It is always best for a logo to convey some concept that represents the essence of the company, but it is not essential.  Many great logos have no obvious meaning.

Make sure that when you have a logo designed that it isn’t just “cool”....Make it WORK for you!

Elements of an Effective Logo - Part 1

In our last article, we examined the elements and characteristics of ineffective logo, regardless of how “appealing” it might be.  In this issue, we will evaluate two of four components of an effective logo; one that can be both aesthetically appealing and effective in every and all its uses; from a billboard to the side of a pencil to an embroidered garment.

1.  Bold (Stands Out Prominently):  Many times a logo will be surrounded by countless other elements that can distract one’s focus from that single object.  For instance, on any single page of a telephone book, there are man companies trying to capture your attention.  A great logo will be bold enough to stand out and grab the attention of the reader from all of the clutter.   

2.  Simplistic/Suggestive:  One of the most common mistakes of many logos is that people try to make it say everything that they can, in one little symbol.  A logo should not attempt to describe everything that you do.  It is intended to simply capture the ESSENCE of a company.  A great logo can be designed so that it can be represent several concepts depending on how one chooses to look at it.

Make sure that when you have a logo designed that it isn’t just “cool”....Make it WORK for you!

Logos: How Can “Good” Be Bad?

There is an old saying:  “Looks are only skin deep”...and in a manner of speaking, that rule applies to logos as well.  An “attractive” logo, which on the surface may seem appealing,  can cause its owner many headaches and excessive expenses.  The wrong logo, can even diminish a company’s image rather than help it.

So what makes a logo NOT work well?  Here are a few characteristics that will limit it from being effective in every possible application.  

1.  A Logo that Requires Colors or Gradations to be effective:  I once knew of a logo that the background was a gradation of color from purple to green.  When trying to embroider it, they had to create a harsh line in the middle with solid green on one side and purple on the other.  To lay the “two logos” side by side, it just did not look the same.  That becomes a Corporate Identity LIABILITY!  (See Example Below).

2.  Too Many Elements:  The common mistake that most business owners convey to me when they describe what they want is, they want their logo to say EVERYTHING.  For instance, if a company sells 20 items, the instinct is, to create, in great detail, all 20 products.  That is not what a logo is to do.  A logo that attempts to say it all will be disastrously complex.

3.  Thin Lines/Small Elements:  Where intricate and tedious detail can give a painting life and realism, it will kill a logo. Remember, an effective logo should fit on the side of a pencil

4.  Fad Fonts:  Each font has a personality and can create an appropriate feel to a logo.  But some fonts are too dated and will date a logo that should feel timeless.

In order for a logo to be the foundation for a strong and powerful Corporate Identity, it MUST be as effective in EVERY use.

What Makes an EFFECTIVE Logo?

To best answer this question, we have to decide what we are really wanting to accomplish.  Thus the wording of the question...Effectiveness!  Does your logo accomplish what it needs to?

In our last article, we examined the basic purpose of a logo:  To Identify your company and to distinguish it from all other companies.  But really, there is more to that story.  How ADAPTABLE is that logo?  Can it be usable in EVERY application?

For instance,  I have seen some really flashy logos that looked appealing on a billboard, as the owner spent excessive amounts of money to get it reproduced.  But how effective would that same logo be on the side of a pencil?...in a single color?  

What if you wanted to print that same complex logo in the phone book?  Do you really want to pay all of the color charges to make it look right?  What if you want to embroider it on a shirt?  All the money in the world cannot make that happen if it is too complex.  I would guess that MOST logos in use today could never be embroidered.  Either it would look completely different than other applications or it simply could not be done.

That is why a logo needs to be designed with all of those applications in mind.  A logo is NOT effective if you HAVE to change it to make it work in other applications.   Large or small – Black & White or full color – Complicated or simple application....Your logo should be just as effective...no matter how you use it!

What Is a Logo...Really?

I know what you are thinking... “It’s that little picture on my business card”.  

Okay.  Why is it there?  What is it’s purpose?  What should it accomplish?

Through my many years of experience, I have concluded that a logo should have two distinct  reasons to exist.  First, to IDENTIFY your company.  Often times in this day of technology  and  “next day deliveries”, business can be conducted without ever interacting with a live human being.  So what then is the “face” of your business?   It’s the Corporate Identity or corporate image!  Your logo becomes the mental image that the public holds as it thinks about your particular business’ products or services.

Secondly, a logo should DISTINGUISH your business from all others.  This requires that your logo be more sophisticated than just clipart.  In a sea of logos, your trademark needs to stand out from all others, especially from your competition.

If your logo is the “face” of your business...Make it a GOOD one!