Guest post by Mike Falkow, Creative Director.
Even if your company name is just written in a regular font, very simple, no color, that’s still a logo. It’s a choice – and it represents you, as a company, in a visual way. It’s what your customers and stakeholders see as your brand. So it’s important enough to spend the required time and effort to create something that correctly reflects who you are.
Why short-change yourself when it comes to presenting your company? You certainly wouldn’t short-change your customers when it comes to your own product or service, would you? Don’t cut corners when it comes to the very first thing people see that represents you as a company.
Some design agencies charge a lot of money for the logo design process, so I understand the hesitance on some people’s part, especially if they’re on a small budget. But don’t tell me you “don’t need a logo.” Unless you already have one, you do need one. And very often the entire visual ‘look and feel’ of your web presence and marketing materials will revolve around that logo.
Design Tools
With all the new design tools now available, you can start the process yourself. First thing to do is look at logo designs or images under a keyword associated with your brand. You can’t use just any image you see that you like – there are copyright rules. Use a stock image site, like Fotolia or Shutterstock to do the search. Pick three or four you like and that you feel represent your business. You can purchase these images for a few dollars each.
Next, look at the different fonts available – there are more than 500 on Open Font Library. Pick one or two you like
Pop the image you chose into a tool like Canva or PicMonkey. You can even do it in a Powerpoint slide. Now add your business name using the font you picked. Move them around until you get the look you want. Voila! You have the start of a well-designed logo. Now you can show this to a designer and give them direction on what you’re looking for.
Would you rather see this on your website, social channels and marketing materials:
Silverman Fruit Farms
or this
This was created in ten minutes using an image from Fotolia and adding the text in a Powerpoint slide. It’s by no means perfect – it needs a lot of work. But it’s a step up from no logo at all – and it will show a designer the direction you might want to go .
That old adage, “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” is very true. So take the time to create a good logo that represents you and your company. It will most certainly be worth the added time and energy you give to it.
If you need help with your logo, or creating a consistent visual brand across your social channels, give us a call. 626 793 4911
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