While the terms brand and logo are often used interchangeably, your logo is just a small part of your overall brand. Your brand is anything that represents your company and your logo is the single image that customers identify you by. If you take time to design an effective logo your customers can identify your company in minutes just by seeing the image. Some great examples of effective logo designs are McDonald’s golden arches, Nike’s Swoosh and Amazon’s smiley face.
While you cannot expect your logo to imprint your brand in just a few days, the design you choose could be sending the wrong messages to the right customers. Here are five of the worst messages your logo could be sending your customers:
1. Your logo colors send the wrong message. The colors you choose for your logo depend on your brand. If you provide professional services, you want people to view you as honest and trustworthy. You need to choose colors like blue and black that instill more confidence. If you are trying to establish an emotional connection with your customer, use primary colors that promote a strong psychological state. Make sure you understand how people react to colors and modify your logo accordingly.
2. Your font reminds your customer of a different brand. When you see the Old English font, you might think of a beer like Sam Adams or a medieval-themed restaurant. Take your time to browse through fonts or your font might send the wrong impression, or remind someone of a different brand altogether
3. Your artwork doesn’t represent your industry. When using artwork in your logo, make sure its style and content reflects your brand and your industry. You want your customers to know what line of business you are in by looking at your logo. If you are a caterer, you may want to consider incorporating some type of food or utensils into your design. Choosing flowers instead might be confusing, especially if your company name does not reflect what you do.
4. The shape of your logo is offensive or inappropriate. Customers may see your logo on a business card or a billboard. No matter what the application, take time to look at your logo from every possible angle and on every possible application before it is official. Failing to do this may lead to choosing a shape or overall design that reflects poorly on your brand or even worse, seems offensive.
5. Your logo is not unique or worse, a copycat. Due to the barrage of images and messages we get every day, what may seem like an original idea could actually be a copy. (Songwriters struggle with this all the time.) Your logo must be unique. If design is similar to another, you might be branding for another organization without ever knowing it or worse, be viewed as a copycat.
Make sure you take time to design a logo that sends the right message and completely represents your branding. Take time to review these tips and take a look at your design ideas so that you can make adjustments and avoid the mistakes that many make today. An experienced graphic designer can be your best friend in this process.
Elisabeth a freelance blogger and a regular contributor to http://www.epromos.com
