Creating a successful logo and branding your business or product Tuesday, October 14, 2014

How to create a logo for your business

Creating a logo for your business is no easy task. Done properly, and your customers will be able to associate your logo and branding with your business. It'll make sense. It will click. You want your logo to represent what your business is about, and what you are trying to sell, promote or envision. The flip side of this is, if your logo is not right - it won't have a "sticking power." What we call sticking power means, that your image, your brand - your business, sticks in the mind of the person who sees it. Think of Burger King, or a big name like Kellogg Frosted Flakes. The logo makes you think of the commercial, or Tony the Tiger - or what frosted flakes taste like when you eat them. This is what we call sticking power. You want the person - which will eventually be your customer, if not already - to remember you.

How to create "Sticking Power"

You may not realize it, but creating a logo is a part of marketing. Marketing is a part of sales - or vice verse, whichever way you see it. And, you may not realize it, but it's ALL psychology. So, how do you get someone to remember your logo - and turn it into, or "convert" your logo or marketing propaganda into sales? This is marketing & sales 101. It starts with building a logo that associates your business and product. The concept is to get that message, that concept to stick in the mind of those who see it.

Use colours and themes that match your business

If you have certain colours, certain themes that define your business - try incorporating that into your logo. For instance, McDonald's uses a constant yellow in their logo. They use it at their stores, in their promotions, marketing collateral...you get the idea. Using recurring colours and themes helps to keep the image of your company, product or service in the mind of the consumer. If your logo has something about your business... even better.

Putting design ideas to work: the Design

Once you've sat down with your partners, staff and other decision makers and evaluators, it's time to put the ideas to work - and come up with a design. Do you want your logo to be soft, or send a strong message? Hard lines and angles (90 degrees, 45 degrees) send a strong message. Big block letters send a strong message. Circles, clouds and lower case font send a more friendly and less "hard-line" attitude kind of message. It's up to you to decide what works best for your business. Earlier on in the article we also talked about the colours you should use in your logo. If you have company colours, such as green, then you should use that in your design. Keep the following in mind though - once you've decided what colours you want to use, you'll be using them over and over again on your website, your business cards and etc. Re-branding later with another logo isn't hard - but changing the colours can be. That could mean a complete overhaul.

Putting your Design to Work

Once you've come up with your design, it's time for testing. It's usually best to test your design out in a few places before you move forward with business cards, website, etc. Why, you ask? Well, your design may need some tweaking for different media outlets. For example, it may look good when it's drawn on paper. Now the next step is making it into a digital format. For this you're going to need help from a professional design studio. Luckily, Electra colour IS a professional design studio and printing shop. Hemanth has been designing logos for local businesses for years. He will help you to bring your logo into the digital world, using the latest tools and techniques that Kitchener printing studios & image design use. Contact Electra colour today for assistance with designing and implementing your own company logo.