Monday, February 26, 2007

Create a Strong Logo to be Visually Effective

A logo represents the face of a company that reflects the personality of a business. A professional logo is like an investment whose image grows as your company grows with time. A meaningful logo delivers a message about the business products it represents, so as to stay alive in the minds of the people. Logo should always be unique as it acts as the prompt identification symbol of your business or organization. The simpler your logo is, the easier it is to remember and so it leaves a stronger impression on people.

A logo that provides the personality behind your company is considered to be the most basic promotional tool that differentiates you from your competitors through the use of color, shape, style, and overall design. For a logo to be visually effective, it must exhibit certain related fundamental design characteristics like shape, presence, weight and contrast. A visually pleasing logo is inviting and creates a positive perception of your organization.

When we think of companies like Google, Microsoft or IBM, most of us tend to visualize their logos first. It is believed that 50% of people remember what they see, better than what they hear or read. The right logo, with the right characteristics, will lift your visibility and credibility. Every logo design should have a goal (a message). The message of the logo should be targeted at a particular section of the audience. A professionally designed logo shows that you are committed to both your business and to your clients.

A logo, which is a symbolic representation of your company, should be simple and easily recognized at a glance. Having a professionally designed logo can really give your business a jumpstart and helps your business get the attention. A logo designing company can create different types in logo design like Text-Based logo design, Letter-mark based logo design, Brand-mark based symbol and Icon-Based logotype. A logo designer can create a logo that catches the public eye and imagination, and sends a message about your company.

Over the years, the spectrum of logo designing has evolved. A company logo can be an invaluable marketing tool if created and used correctly. Hiring a professional design firm is well worth the money. A good logo is one of the key elements in starting a successful business. Company’s success partially depends on your ability to differentiate yourself from your competitors by designing a unique logo that sets you apart from the others. Logo designs of ITC, Sony, Accenture do not have a complex design that requires time to be understood and apprehended.
Using a slogan is a very good way of adding to the message that a logo tries to deliver. Slogans and taglines have always been around. But the current trend seems to be that they are included or closely integrated into the logo design itself. A logo is the only thing that gives potential customers an impression about the company and prompts them either to do business or avoid entering into any business alliance with you. A company logo design, therefore, speaks volumes about not only the company but also the quality of services offered.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Corporate Logo Design – 6 Keys to Success

A corporate logo design should be highly instrumental in building your corporate identity and should successfully exude the company's attitude. The viewers must have some idea about the disposition, character, or fundamental values of your company through your logo.

Following certain basic principles can ensure that your corporate logo design is professional easy to remember and creates a great impact on its viewers while successfully expressing the nature of your business.

1) Go for Professional Logo Designers

You might save a few dollars doing your own logo or getting it done from the next door boy who knows the basics of designing but if you are serious about your business you should always go for a professional logo design firm. Your corporate logo is your identity, your customers recognize you by your logo, so the more professional and sophisticated your logo is the better will be your customer's impression about your company.

Though most of the logo design companies charge exorbitant rates to create a corporate logo design but the industry is changing. These days there are companies that offer excellent professional logos for nominal charges.

2) Simplicity - Keep it Simple

An ideal corporate logo design should be simple and memorable. Corporate houses spend thousands of dollars to ensure that customers remember them at all point of time and a simple logo is the key to that. Think about the Nike logo, it's simple and memorable—once you see the Swoosh, do you ever need to think twice about the company name?

3) Colors

Colors you use for your corporate logo are a very important factor in your brand establishment. If you already have your corporate colors ask your logo designer to use those colors for the logo. If you don't, suggest the colors that you think might give your prospective clients some idea about the type of business you do. For example, a company working in the fields of forest conservation might like their logo to be in green. At the same time, you also need to consider which colors will go well with your corporate stationeries as well.


  • Minimize Colors

    This is more important from an economic and usability point of view. Corporate logos are often required to be printed for stationary and corporate literature. Using a one or two spot color logo can save a lot of cost compared to printing a full color logo.

4) Black and White Version

While emphasizing the colors we must also remember that it is important for a corporate logo to come out well in black and white. A corporate logo design is used in all corporate communications including fax and photocopied document where they will be in black and white and the logo design must be such that it holds the same impact even in black and white.

5) Logo Format

It is advisable to always use a vector format for your corporate logo design. A corporate logo may be required to be reproduced at any size for different purposes in the future. A logo design done in vector format can be expanded to any size without any loss of image quality, where as a corporate logo in raster format will loose image quality, if scaled up. Also it is easier to convert a vector logo design to bitmap than vice versa. If you get a professional logo design firm to do your
corporate logo design and brief them about this basic tips (most of the knowledgeable firms are well aware of these principles) you are sure to get a satisfactory corporate logo design that would go a long way in helping you establishing your brand.

6) Use your Logo

Once you are ready with your corporate logo start giving it maximum exposure possible. Not only on your business cards and letterheads but also on your packaging, uniforms, pens and all possible goods should contain your logo. This gives wider exposure to your logo and people gets familiar with the corporate logo much faster. With all these you are on your way to establish your brand.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

How do you Define a Good Logo Design ?

Everyone wants his company logo to be the best but how good is good? How do we define a good logo? Is it necessary to be colorful or an exquisite piece of art? Can a simple design work as a good logo? We are often in a dilemma.

Now to define a good logo design we first need to understand the purpose of having a logo. A corporate logo is one of the most essential branding elements for your company. It should be instrumental in building your corporate identity and should successfully exude the company's attitude. The viewers must have some idea about the disposition, character, or fundamental values of your company through your logo. The functionality of a logo does not end here, I have not yet mentioned the most important function of a corporate logo. Your logo should be able to build a positive, strong and long lasting impression on existing and prospective customers. The very moment a person views your logo, even a part of it, he should think of your company.

Just think of some of the all time great logos, McDonalds', IBM, Nike— the moment you see their logos, even if you see a part of it or may be in Black and White (there comes another important aspect!) are you able to think of anything else than the respective company? The answer is definitely NO! The first thing that comes to your mind is the name of the company. This shows how strong an impression their logo leaves in our mind. Isn't that, what all of us are looking for?

How do you get your logo to leave such a strong long lasting impression? The key to this question is to make it easy to remember. Companies often make the mistake of thinking that a complicated artistic design might work well for them, while the reverse is true, in most cases. The simpler your logo is, the easier it is to remember and so it leaves a stronger impression on the people.

You also need to think of all the possible mediums where you are going to use your logo. You are not going to use your logo in only one medium, you might use it on your business cards and stationery, you might use it in your website, you might also use it in the conventional media like newspaper classifieds and magazines. This is why it is most important to inform your logo designers about the possible mediums where you are going to use your logo. You should also check if your logo looks good in Black and White, because tomorrow if you need to get a document in black and white with your logo on it, it should be very easily compatible to that as well.

In the beginning of this article, I have mentioned, that your logo can successfully convey the character and nature of your business to its viewers. How do we do that? There are a host of factors that are considered before designing a logo. When you place an order for a logo design, as a client it is your responsibility to give a clear brief of your company profile, the industry you are in and the nature of logo that you are looking for, to the designers. If you are not sure about the nature of logo that suits your company, let the logo design firm decide on that.
There are many logo design companies who are experienced and they will be much better equipped to suggest you the correct type of logos. Any good logo design firm would conduct a market research about the different types of logos used in your industry by your competitors and their impact on the people. Based on that they will deliver you a set of logos from which you can choose any one and then they will customize that to your perfection.

If you have any corporate colors, as we have red for McDonalds', it will be wise to suggest the designers to use that color in your logo-any good designer would anyhow do that.

One last word, as with any other industry, it is definitely beneficial to buy professional service than to go for any amateur designs just to save a few dollars. You might be the best in your industry but they know their job better than you, so if you want to get a good result, try to depend on your
logo design company. I do understand that there are certain logo design companies that charge exorbitant rate to create a logo design but the industry is changing. These days there are companies that offer excellent logos for nominal charges . So before you decide to place your order for your logo design, check the portfolio of the company and then check the price tag. You can definitely find some professional logo designs at affordable rates.

Monday, February 5, 2007

Simple Yet Appealing: That’s The Recipe For A Perfect Logo!

How do you want your logo to be? No matter what the answer is, there is only one ground where we all agree i.e. we want our logos to be popular. No matter what your logo represents, it should possess the power to make the onlookers instantly relate it to the product it is meant to represent. Logo designs thus should possess not only simplicity but also an inherent appealing power.

There is no magic formula to create such a logo. However, there are ways to make one. An ideal logo should capture the emotions of the onlookers, stimulate your vision and create an indelible impression on your mind. It's the logo that speaks and is responsible for establishing the corporate identity of your business. In other words, your logo design is very, very important for your success. A corporate logo design makes you have the first glimpse to your corporate business. It should enable the onlookers create an image of your company in their minds. This is what makes an outstanding logo. To make such a logo, it is advisable to choose an outstanding design, not to create one! This is because an already popular design establishes an instant rapport with the onlookers. In case you adapt a completely new design for your logo, it will take a long time to establish itself in the market. On the other hand, a familiar logo design can become an instant hit with just a few modifications. You can put your company's name or initials or change some colors. But make sure not to make it gaudy, which would result in a loss of its simplicity.

This is not all! Few more ingredients go into the making of a perfect logo design. First and foremost, a corporate logo design should represent the vision of your company. It should have the power to immediately arouse the vision of your company when viewed by the onlookers. For example, the PEPSI logo possesses the ability to make a person feel thirsty! Such is the power of a perfect logo! It makes you crave for the products they are known for. So if you can really get hold of one such logo, half your way to success is guaranteed. With the competition growing day by day in the corporate sector, you need to gear up yourself with all possible aids.

Since your corporate identity resides in your logo, you need to pick up your logo designers judiciously. In other words, seek the help of professional logo designers and make them aware of your company's vision. That's all you need to do because professional logo designers have enough expertise to judge your company's requirements and design logos accordingly. It's obvious that logo designs for a sports company will differ greatly from that of fast food chain. Colors, font, size and style play an important role to bring out that outstanding logo! All these speak volumes about the quality of your company as well as the services offered! No doubt, why our earlier greats had once said "First impression is the last impression!" So make sure not to overlook this essential fact in the way of establishing your corporate identity. Your
company logo design, “cooked perfectly”, will turn out to be an irresistible recipe for your customers.

Strategies To Redefine Your Corporate Image!

The image of a company is one of the most important assets a company bears. A company logo not only represents the company on various platforms but also embodies the quality and essence of what it does. It visualizes the future, provoking a pride in the present. Primarily, a logo is a symbol that identifies a business throughout the world.

The logo of a company should be considered the corporate equivalent of a unique signature belonging to one individual. It establishes an initial, prominent corporate presence on every communication piece. It is very important to implement a logo according to the perfect set of guidelines in order to give it a unique look and convey the message through it. The aspect of recognition is one of the key factors to the creation of a successful logo. A good logo must be instantly recognized by others. It therefore provides an identifiable image, portraying the quality and professionalism of your business on the whole.

A carefully managed and well-implemented brand identity program carries the company's image in front of the world. Accurate implementation of certain brand identity elements help in building the equity of a brand and strengthen and unify the message in the particular market sector that the business aims to target. Brand identity is the most valuable asset an organization or company possesses. To create greater visual impact and ensure audience recognition, a proper set of guidelines is extremely essential. Consistent and accurate use of color, typography, sizing, proper positioning and spacing is essential to provide a strong and distinctive look to a company logo. Small variations in the use of a logo can undermine the impact of a brand identity.

A good corporate logo design company determines the best design approach for their clients' needs, whether they wish to create new branding strategies or revitalize existing ones. A good logo design company refines the logo through an iterative process of idea presentment and client feedback until it gets that right look and feel. The logo is then integrated into an organizational branding strategy.

The Web has created new business models that include new ways to approach business information. Businesses can now market and sell products over the Internet with lower variable costs and can provide valuable new services to customers and partners that previously would be cost-prohibitive. A company logo usually gets a prominent place on the corporate website of a business. A proper staging area on the corporate website ensures visibility and integrity of a company’s logo. Along with prefect color and font adjustments, the logo can create a visual impact on the web user.

All corporate logos should be original and distinctive. You will never want to accidentally design a logo similar to that of another company because you don’t want your business to be confused by others. A logo design for a company with large operational base should be ideally registered with the Patent and Trademark Office to certify that one has a bona fide intention of using the image for commercial purposes. A good corporate logo design should thus be able to distinctly define the mission statement and the business goals of your company.