logo design

A logo is arguably one of the most important parts of your branding strategy. Think about it — when you see the golden arches, what’s the first thing you think of? McDonald’s. You may even get a bit hungry. That’s because the McDonald’s logo is doing its job. It’s reminding you of the brand and the products you get from it, and potentially triggering an emotional response. Granted, we can’t all sell hamburgers, but your business’s logo should elicit the same reaction from people.

Choosing to completely redesign your logo is a big step. Customers have likely grown accustomed to your current look and, as it has been proven time and again, most people don’t like change. You risk losing customers, sparking some outrage and, even worse, losing a large portion of revenue from people who either hate the new look or just don’t recognize it anymore and can’t find your company.

Creating a logo is more than just throwing together an image with a fun font and bright colors. Truly successful companies, such as Starbucks and Target, know the key to logo design actually lies in the psychology behind it. Each choice, from shape to color to font, delivers a specific message to customers.

Branding: it’s not just for high-profile businesses. The definition of branding is “the marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products.” As a small business, you can have great products, services and employees but still struggle. The problem could be that your brand isn’t buttoned up. Here are a few dos and don’ts for mastering the art of branding.

Typography is more than the font options in the drop-down menu of a Word document or the Adobe Creative Suite. There is far more complexity to each font that it is important to know before you make selections for your small business or your customers. Typefaces have personality and can evoke emotion and even inspire potential customers.

In pop culture, we are surrounded by logos that are so incredible, they have become recognizable across multiple generations, such as the golden arches, a silhouette of an apple or the black swoosh. Even these descriptors alone automatically trigger in most minds the brands they represent.

You may have asked this question when considering your own company’s branding. Certainly, several major corporations have invested a great deal of time and energy in selecting typefaces.

Promotional products are more than just after-the-sale reminder advertising. Likewise, they are more than another version of business cards with names and phone numbers imprinted on pens or magnets.