MN Interactive

Let Your Logo Take You Places

Statistics reveal that almost half of new businesses fail within their first year. Considering the amount of new businesses being launched each day, those are not pretty figures to contemplate. One of the most common reasons businesses fail is thanks to a poor investment in quality marketing materials, including those which help brand the company.

So honestly, in all this branding talk, how important can a logo be? And why should I focus my energy on having one created when my company name and product can sell itself?

Logos are an integral part of any brand building project and if you want to have your company succeed, a good and strong brand is what will get you through a weak start, heavy competition, tough economic times and even low funding. Your brand is your promise to your customer; it’s your guarantee that you will deliver what you signed on, and it’s your expression of who you are and what your company is about. Your logo is a summery of all of these, wrapped neatly into an identifiable square (or circle or triangle..)

A well designed logo will do the following for your business:

• Bring uniformity to your online and offline marketing – stick it on your website, newsletters, brochures, business cards and even stationary, stamps, coffee cups and hats.
• It will carry with it the promise of credibility, honestly, integrity, loyalty and capability.
• It will create visual impact your customer can readily identify with.
• It will place you apart from your competitors and signal you to be a well organized, professional set-up, even if in reality you are a one man show operating from your garage.

Take our client Biographica. When we met with them, our brief was to design a logo that reflects the flowing and ever changing nature of the Amazon region. And the logo does exactly this. Strong colors and swirling graphics results in an impressive logo that strongly conveys the evolving, fluid nature of the Amazonian region. A spiral tunnel formation represents evolution, while shades of green and water drops represent the Amazon. The leaf stencil effects on the edges of the icon draws attention to the landscape and plants of the surrounding rain forest.

When it comes to a company or business logo, having a clear focus is important – you have to be sure about what your identity is and have the design reflect your message. Once you’ve developed a logo, it’s tempting to use it differently, but brand dilution is just that – dilution –  and your logo needs to be the central focus of all your marketing plans.  It might also be tempting to redesign your logo after a few years. With a well executive plan, your logo should be flexible to move with your company’s growth, so a redesign – which can lead to brand confusion- is avoidable.

Which brings me to my next point, can you design a logo by yourself? You can if you are a designer. And you can also use the free templates that are available on most web creation sites. But beware of doing so. In most instances your design will be readymade and not reflective of your business’ nature, nor be of a high resolution, which would lead to problems when it comes to printing brochures, banners and even business cards. Instead, seek the expertise of a professional web design house like ourselves and let us design something suitable for you. You’ll be surprised at the time and cost it saves you to get your logo done professionally. Here’s what American historian and esteemed writer Daniel Boorstin once said about a logo, ““An image … is not simply a trademark, a design, a slogan or an easily remembered picture. It is a studiously crafted personality profile of an individual, institution, corporation, product or service.”

With the right logo, your brand and company image will stay in the client’s mind long after the sale’s been made and will attract new and potential clients to your doorstep. It’s all part of the impression you create to gain and retain clients. You don’t have to be a McDonalds, Starbucks or Coca-Cola to have a memorable brand. With the correct planning and empathetic designer you can create a strong and powerful logo for your company.