Is your logo doing your business justice? – Part 1
Memorable, timeless, versatile, simple and appropriate are five commonly used terms when it comes to logo design which businesses are encouraged to adopt for their logos. But is this always appropriate in every case?
Let’s consider these five terms in turn. You can then see whether they apply to your logo and whether yours is doing your business justice.
Memorable Logos
Successful logos all stand out from the crowd and can become a recognisable marketing tool in their own right – remember how everyone instantly started talking about the London Olympics logo when it was launched? It is still probably one of the most recognisable and memorable logos ever produced for a specific event. You may not have liked it but it is one you definitely remember. So make sure yours is memorable.
Timeless Logos
Logos are not something business changes on an infrequent, let alone regular basis. Logos are normally a long term investment and should be designed to be timeless, in order to achieve recognisable status. Think of your logo as being around for the life of your business. So avoid the latest fads, as they quickly go out of fashion. The one exception to this rule is if your business is centred solely around a one-off short-lived event.
Versatile Logos
Your logo will not only be displayed on your website but on your letterhead, signs, business card, flyers, reports and other promotional material. You may also need to use it during PowerPoint presentations, to a wide variety of audiences under different venue conditions. Therefore your logo has to work across many different types of media and be scalable to suit. Problems can be encountered when logos are not versatile enough to cope with these differing conditions.
Not only that, but your logo should also be versatile enough to cope as your business expands into other areas. So, make sure your logo does not pigeon hole you into a specific market. It’s no good having a logo designed around, say a marine theme if you are planning to expand your business into the aeronautical market. So your logo has to be versatile.
Simple Logos
Some will argue that the most effective logos are simple but this is not always the case. In most cases this may be true but not always. Simple is not something you could ever throw at the door of the London Olympics logo but it was very effective as a logo, whatever you thought about its design. So whether you go for a simple logo will depend on the nature of your business and therefore what is appropriate.
Appropriate Logos
As the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words and therefore your logo says a lot about your business. Those businesses in the creative industry, like Computer Graphics Training, may well decide to stand out from the crowd and showcase their services through their logo. In our case, not only do we provide creative design software training but we also provide graphic design, marketing and consultancy services to the creative industry and SMEs. Services which are reflected in our logo’s design – at least we like to think so! Ensure yours is appropriate too.