What does your logo say about you?
A logo that speaks volumes
When it comes to brands, I think them as people—with their own unique appearances, personalities, strengths and values. As complex and beautiful as a person is—so is your brand.
Your logo is like the twinkle in someone’s eye, an eye-catching outfit or great haircut. It’s the entry point into your visual brand identity. And it should reflect what they find out as they get to know more about your brand, so ultimately they think: You are everything I hoped you’d be and then some!
is my logo really that important?
More times than not, I see that people underestimate the power of their logo. In reality, your logo is viewed as one of the most valued strategic business tools.
Your logo wears the hat of building brand awareness, increasing recognition, communicating your points of distinction, and/or creating a competitive advantage.
It’s the beginning of a very important story that speaks volumes about your brand.
We may not always realize this consciously, but subconsciously, a smart-and-strategic logo builds trust and engagement with ideal clients right from the start.
Is your logo a true representation for your brand?
You’ll know whether your logo hits the mark (or not) by answering these questions:
- Was your logo design influenced by your personality traits? Think about Target, whose brand could be described as stylish, fun, accessible and affordable.
Or Stitch Fix, who is known for being fashionable, streamlined, convenient and personalized.
As you can see, these logos are visual representations that align with their brand’s personality characteristics. Logos give you a hint so you can get to know the brand deeper, and then realize it all makes sense. A logo can be seen as the hand that grabs yours and guides you on a brand journey. - Does it resonate with your target audience? Is your logo traditional, which may resonate with baby boomers, or is it trendy and geared towards millennials. Who is your audience? A logo will only work when it takes into consideration what is attractive to your audience, their needs, and how they want to feel.
- Is your point of distinction defined!? So, you’re a real estate agent who sells houses to a certain type of clientele. What sets you apart from every other real estate agent who does the same thing? Your point (or points) of distinction…and those must be evident in your logo! By asking all of these questions, and translating the answers into design, my real estate client went from this red logo to the antique gold one below.
We wanted to give Heather’s clients something they could see themselves in. If the old logo was flip flops and shorts, the new logo is an Armani suit.
Sounds kinda complex, right? Well, it is, but it’s totally worth it. See…when your custom logo is a symbolic representation of your brand, it will be used (along with the other parts of your visual brand identity) to create a consistent emotive and intellectual connections with people you want to work with. Because of these clear and consistent communications, it will be easy for those who align with your brand to want to work with you!
Your logo must start from strategy
What’s the point otherwise? Would you build a dream house on a faulty foundation? Of course not!
I’ve dedicated my career to asking strategic questions that uncover the right direction, and then using colors, shapes and fonts to make the desired connections.
When you work with me, these only are a few of the things I define and translate for you.
P.S. Embarrassed about your old, crummy logo? It’s okay. A lot of people start with a less-than-great logo. There’s no shame in that. It was part of what got you to where you are now—clear on your business and ready to up-level your design! Let’s talk.
Even bigger and established companies also likely to change their logo. I see recently a big giant like Microsoft changed its logo, although they have built a very successful brand with their old logo. What could be the reason to change their logo after successful establishment of the company for over 25 years? What strategy they have in mind while changing their logo? I just wonder about it.
Mahesh, thank you for your comment. And you’re right, brands in all sizes evolve. I’ve written about this in a blog post: Get Your Brand Un-frozen with Strategy.