Starting a business is exciting and daunting in equal measures. You’ve got an idea or a skill that you want to share with people in a way that will make you a living. So what’s first? Business plan – write it and stick to it (we can’t help you here). What’s next? Name, logo and identity – this, ladies and gentlemen is very much our ‘bag’.
Your name is one thing, it’s often something personal to you or something relevant to your business idea. Many of our clients come to us with a clear idea on the name of their new venture but are often a little stumped when it comes to visuals and graphics – that’s where we come in (queue inspirational music and our team walking into the picture slo-mo).
We understand that your business is exactly that – YOURS! So we ask the right questions to get to know you and your business and come up with logos that represent what you stand for professionally and personally – after all your logo is one of the most important identifiers for your business.
In the week that Instagram refreshed its logo and people lost their minds, we will look at why your logo is so important in building your brand and therefore your business of course we appreciate and understand (more than most) that your Brand is more than just a logo.
Your logo needs to stand out! In today’s ‘million miles per hour’ culture, your business might only get a couple of seconds exposure to any one person, so you’ve got to make an impact. It only takes a fraction of a second for a potential client to decide if they like the way you look. If your logo is memorable and engaging, you’ve got them on the ‘hook’. If your logo is boring and blends into the rest of the noise – that potential client is gone.
For us this is logo design 101. How can we make some look at this logo for long enough to investigate further? Once your impactful and engaging logo is done, it’s then up to you to deliver on your brand’s promise.
We consider many things when designing your logo such as your industry, style, target audience, geography, product or service and create bespoke designs based on your personality. Take our logo for instance, simple letters in a contemporary font. We use robots as supplementary devices to help communicate our work ethic (at this point I should reiterate that our workforce DOES NOT employ robots). We built this logo so that it would stand the test of time – another important consideration. We should point out that our current logo is the 3rd iteration of our brand over the course or ten years.
Logos do have a shelf life. As our society, culture and technology evolves, so must our logos (and brand values). Even the very biggest companies have evolved in ways that you probably didn’t even recognise take Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola as examples below.
Both brands have tweaked their logos based on trends. A refresh every couple of years has kept both competing brands at the head of the cola drinks market – I bet you didn’t realise there had been that many iterations of the same logo. In fact, looking at the timelines, we’re probably due another refresh in the next couple of years – so if anyone from Coca-Cola or Pepsi is reading this, drop us a line!!
We pride ourselves on developing logos that really stand out for your new business or even refreshing existing logos, because sometimes (as Instagram has found out) if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!! Take a look at some of the logos we have designed for our clients.
by Jon