5 Signs You Need A New Logo
“Logos are the graphic extension of the internal realities of a company.”
Saul Bass, an American graphic designer famous for countless iconic logos uttered these words in the late 1970s and they still ring true today. A logo is your brand's ambassador and often makes the first and greatest impression on your customers. With this in mind, let's take a look at a few reasons your logo may be haltering business.
A SIGN OF THE TIMES
If your business has been around for some time you most likely have an established logo and just like any piece of machinery, business plan, or vehicle it requires upkeep. As technology has advanced, the breadth of places for your logo to live has exponentially grown. Whether your primary problem is pixelation (i.e.: fuzzy edges or loss of quality), or you want to utilize your logo in advertisements, signage, or apparel; a vector (a file type that allows art to scale to any size without loss of resolution) logo ensures that you always look your best.
Is your logo looking a little worse for wear? Maybe it's time for a refresh!
LEAVE IT TO THE PROS
I absolutely love smart home integrations! From morning routines to lighting displays I'm always in awe of them. But, no matter how often I've considered it, I will never do my own wiring. I always defer to a skilled tradesman, from industry nuances to safety protocols there is too large an area for error. The same goes for design. While designing a logo may seem like a low stakes task compared to wiring a new device, the risk is in the eye of the beholder.
From font licensing to trademark applications, all the way to multimedia color matching and file formatting, some projects, especially logos are best left to the professionals like me. A skilled designer can walk you through the ins-and-outs of your logo to make sure everything is picture-perfect.
COMPETITION IS HEATING UP
Take a look at your five biggest competitors and break down their business as a whole. Too often businesses underestimate the impact good design has. Using a restaurant as an example everything from menu layout, to social media presence, and branding elevates a company in the eyes of a consumer.
If you want to compete with the best you have to look your best. Where would you rather eat? The restaurant with clean, eye-catching signage and clear menu options or the hole-in-the-wall with an illegible photocopied menu and no clear hours of operation? While branding as a whole is its own conversation, your logo is the cornerstone of your brand and it dictates everything your brand does.
MORE ISN’T ALWAYS MORE
Whenever presenting a client logo options, I always provide a few examples of their new look in action. For a logo to be successful it needs to work across several digital and physical mediums all while conveying the brand's personality in a legible and recognizable format.
In the last example we talked about restaurants, so let's keep with the theme. Imagine you've just founded your new eatery and you're preparing for launch. You'll need signage, uniforms, menus, advertisements, and online listings. As you create these pieces you'll notice that your logo has to adapt to countless mediums:
Large Format Full-Color Prints
Small One-Color Promotional Print
Multi-Oriented Digital Advertisements
Pantone Matched Building Materials
Black-and-White Mailers
The list goes on...
The idea here is to make sure that your logo tells your story in the simplest format possible. Imagine an intricately lined logo with a tagline trying to scale down to a promotional product like a pen, it just doesn't work. Your logo needs to effectively break down into primary, secondary, and tertiary versions to maximize its impact across any medium.
THE SUM OF A WHOLE
As I mentioned earlier, a logo is the cornerstone of your brand. But a cornerstone alone doesn't make the whole building. Using the checklist below, see if your brand makes the cut or if it's time to create your new look.
☐ Do you have multiple file types of your logo?
(Logos aren't one size fits all, make sure your vendors have the proper file formats for every project.)
☐ Does Your brand match across all mediums? (Print, Social, & Web)
(Pull up your website on your desktop, your social media on your phone, and a printed piece. Does everything match side by side?)
☐ Do you only have one logo?
(A good logo has primary, secondary, and tertiary versions that can adapt and scale to meet different challenges.)
☐ Does your logo tell customers what you do?
(Would a first-time customer understand what your brand offers at a glance or would they be puzzled?)
☐ Does it pass the principles of the effective design test?
(A good logo should emulate ALL five of the principles below)
Simple
Memorable
Timeless
Versatile
Appropriate
Did you answer "no" to any of these questions? If so, it might be time for a new logo. Looking for someone to walk you through the process? Let’s talk about creating a one-of-a-kind logo for your brand!
