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« | From Logo Designer To Brand Storyteller! »

Most often than not, businesses owners perceive their company logo design as an item on the check list to get done when starting out on their new venture or launching a new company. Usually considerable care, time and effort are invested in coming up with the perfect business name, which is great! The right name is the foundation stone of a great brand. If you are on this path of starting a new business, then this article would definitely make you pause and think.

Next, they need to get a logo to go with the name. If the business owner has some experience with computers or graphics software or sometimes, even MS Word, they may be tempted to hash out a design themselves. In some cases, a friend, relative or friend of a friend may have some experience with graphic design, and the business owner may simply give them the opportunity to come up with something “awesome”. In yet other cases, the business owner may be tempted to visit a crowdsourcing website and let 100s of “designers” bid for their business by submitting a lof of logo design concepts. All these stem from the desire to spend as little as possible on the logo design.

All these options may sounds great on the face of it. There may be an odd chance that the business owner may end up with a logo design that would not only look great but also work well with the target market and broadcast the right message. But the changes are less than 5%. Now, as a business owner would you hedge your bets on a 5% chance? Would you go ahead with your branding and marketing on the 5% chance that they would work well in communicating your message to your prospective clients and help converting them to paid clients?

Of course, not! Nothing in business should be left to chance – especially a chance that low!

Your company logo design is 3rd most critical element of your business success. Having a great business idea/service/product is the first. Being in the right place and targeting the right people is the second. I can imagine marketing people probably shaking their heads and thinking that they would not agree with this and that they could easily market a business with even a shoddy or amateur logo and branding. If you a marketer then perhaps you will be able to do that. For all others, you need all the help you can to put on the path to success in your business.

Here is an example of a “before and after” logo design that we created from scratch for a client. On the left you see the old logo and on the right is the logo that we created. Which logo do you think creates the right kind of impact? Which logo do you think enhances our client’s image? Which logo do think enables my client to increases his rates and charge more and thereby increasing his profits for the same work?

kennys-logo-before-after

Your company logo is like the way you dress to a business meeting. Is is like the way you present yourself. It is like the firm handshake and direct eye contact. It creates the first impression on your customer’s mind. And you need to ensure that impression is the right one. The logo determines how your customers perceive your service or your product. Of course, if you had invented sliced bread or iPhone, you could probably be successful with out even having a brand. But then even the iPhone needed careful branding and coordinated marketing and a slick presentation by Steve Jobs to make it a success.

Would you trust some thing this important to the success of your business to an amateur? Would you trust your company image to a bunch of part time designers on the other side of the world? Can you afford to gamble with the message and perception that your company logo exudes? I don’t think so. Here are some potential issues with this approach:

  1. You may end up with an opportunity cost – business lost due to a bad image and identity
  2. Your whole marketing would be based on an identity that lacks vision or message and hence making it more difficult to connect with your customers
  3. Additional cost to redesign your identity once you realize your cheap and amateur logo is not delivering
  4. Lost time – working with an image that drags your business down
  5. Additional effort expended trying to compensate for a bad identity with other design aspects

Do I say this because I am selling professional logo design and branding services? Absolutely! But I am in this business and have been since 1998 because I believe in the importance of the humble logo in a company’s success.

I have spent years practicing my craft and honing my skills because I believe that a logo is a critical aspect of any company and that it should be created well – with research and thought – making sure that it works well with the target audience, delivering the right kind of message and impact that would have an influence on the company’s bottom line.

Mash Bonigala

Mash B. is the Founder & Creative Director of Logo Design Works. Since 1998, Mash has helped thousands of businesses express their brand messages through creative and award winning logo designs.