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Make Your Logo Work For You! Five Key Ingredients to an Effective Business Logo
Written by: Nancy OwyangArticle Overview: Your logo is your #1 sales representative. Is your logo working for you—or against you? Learn about five key ingredients to an effective business logo, and assess your logo to determine if it is communicating the best message for your business.
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Make Your Logo Work For You! Five Key Ingredients to an Effective Business Logo
First impressions have the ability to quickly make or break a deal. If you dress in “Sunday best” for a first meeting with an important business client, doesn’t it make sense for your logo to always put your best foot forward? A professional logo is the most visible way for current or prospective customers to recognize you, know what you do, and how well you do it. Here are five key concepts to incorporate into a quality, successful logo that reaches your ideal client.
1. Is your business having a visual identity crisis?
Your business should have a clearly defined identity with one logo and style that appears on your business cards, stationery, brochures, newsletters—indeed, all your marketing materials. Consistency sends the message that your business is stable, dependable and credible. Your logo needs to visibly represent a business that is professional, successful, and at the top of its field.
2. Is your logo unique to your business?
Just as your business is special and unique, your business’s “picture” needs to say “unique” as well. When we work with our clients to create a logo identity we spend a great deal of time getting to know our client’s business’s past, present and future so that the professionally designed logo will ensure a meaningful identity mark that is memorable and captures the essence of their business. Be sure that the true essence and unique personality of your business is captured in your logo.
3. Is your logo breaking the bank?
Printing business cards, stationery and other promotional materials can be a major expense. Using color, as beautiful as it is, can be challenging price-wise; the more colors in the design, the more it can cost to produce. Color can be used effectively even in small amounts. How many colors are in your logo?
4. Is your logo too complicated?
A simple mark is easier to remember than one that is extremely intricate—two good examples are Target® and Nike®. Your logo must be “scalable” and look just as good in a small image on an ink pen as it does on a 10-foot tall billboard. Make sure that your logo also works in black-and-white to allow for maximum flexibility in printing choices.
5. Does your logo have a photographic image in it?
Stay away from photographic images in your identity mark. “Non-vector art” is difficult to reproduce and re-size, and will often appear fuzzy. And always make sure your logo retains its integrity and legibility when photocopied or faxed; test it on the nearest black-and-white copy machine.
Is your logo working for you—or against you? Take an eye-2-eye look at your logo; is it a worn out t-shirt or your Sunday best? Your logo is a key part of your business identity, communicating an image of your business. Is it the best one? Use these tips to ensure that your logo puts your business’s best foot forward—and moving towards success!
The Importance of a Logo Design for a Company
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Trademark a Name and Logo: Together or Separate?
Why you should Select a Good Logo Designer
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About the Author: Nancy Owyang RSS for Nancy's articles - Visit Nancy's website  Click here to visit Nancy's website   The Sum of the Whole Part 2 Make Your Logo Work For You Five Key Ingredients to an Effective Business Logo The Sum of the Whole Part I The Sum of the Whole Part 3 7 Deadly Sins Dont Kill Your Business with These Marketing Material Mistakes |
Related Forum Posts
Re: Inspiration for Logos
- [quote:n4xowjxl]When you want a client to think of your Logo may this not be an example of what he thinks. Let its all be positive and with hope of something better coming.[/quote:n4xowjxl]
Huh?
Can you you say this a different way? I'm confused and curious... cause I like messing around with logos...
Inspiration for Logos
- When a Buddhist looks at a Tibetan flag one of the first thing that pops in their mind is admiration respect. After assimilating that they keep thinking and repression might come next. Living as part of a communist nation may bring lots of feelings. Chastity, prayer, humility all these virtues are all mixed.
When you want a client to think of your Logo may this not be an example of what he thinks. Let its all be positive and with hope of something better coming.
Re: Inspiration for Logos
- [quote="RussellWebb":3c1ri7h5][quote:3c1ri7h5]When you want a client to think of your Logo. May this not be an example of what he thinks. Let its all be positive and with hope of something better coming.[/quote:3c1ri7h5]
Huh?
Can you you say this a different way? I'm confused and curious... cause I like messing around with logos...[/quote:3c1ri7h5]
I am simply stating: let your product stand out as a star. Don't let it become as complex, Infernal and a blur image as the state of this extraordinary country. In simple terms, let you not be bound or chained to anything that might affect your project. It’s a very round concept it’s more like a metaphor.
How do you value a firm
- Hello,
I've been trying to raise $50,000 for my online business but every time I approach an investor, they ask me how much is my business currently worth. One person was willing to give me $20,000 but for 33% equity. He says "I value your website for $40,000", I have no idea how he came across that number.
My website was developed by a business partner for free but he says he would have charged no less than $15,000 if it was some other client. We are currently generating about 7000 unique visitors after being online for 10 months and we're grossing about $1200 every month. There has to be some value for our developed portfolio and a community of about 500 members and over $5000 we have already spent on link-building for SEO.
The name of our business is "Logo Arena" you can search it on google. Please give me some estimate of what it could be truly worth so I can start negotiating equity.
Thank You all for your time
Top 19 Copywriting books
- 1. Ogilvy on Advertising. David Ogilvy. Wiley.
2. Positioning: The Battle for your Mind. Al Ries and Jack Trout. Warner.
3. The New Positioning. Jack Trout. McGraw-Hill.
4. Tested Advertising Methods. John Caples. Prentice-Hall.
5. How to Make your Advertising Make Money. John Caples. Prentice-Hall.
6. Guerrilla Advertising. Jay Conrad Levinson. Houghton Mifflin.
7. Direct Mail Copy that Sells. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall.
8. Sales Letters that Sizzle. Herschell Gordon Lewis. NTC Business Books.
9. Herschell Gordon Lewis on the Art of Writing Copy. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall.
10. Romancing the Brand. David Martin. American Management Association.
11. The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with William Bernbach, Leo Burnett, George Gribbin, David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves. NTC Business Books.
12. Confessions of an Advertising Man. David Ogilvy. NTC Business Books.
13. My Life in Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books.
14. Scientific Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books.
15. How to Become an Advertising Man. James Webb Young. NTC Business Books.
16. The Lasker Story as He Told It. NTC Business Books.
17. Advertising Concept and Copy. George Felton. Prentice Hall.
18. The Copy WorkShop Workbook. Bruce Bendinger. The Copy Workshop.
19. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads. Luke Sullivan. Wiley.
This should keep you busy for at least a year.
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