Logo and Look: Selecting the Visual Elements that Support Your Brand Vision

Developing a professional image and implementing it consistently is essential to establish an identity that others quickly recognize and remember. Your logo is an important element of that effort. Granted, your logo is just one of your many branding efforts, but it is important … just as is everything you do, say, print and display.  All these things either develop or detract from your brand “image.”

Your Logo
Much emphasis is placed on the logo as the visual identifier for a company. Many companies get caught up in trying to create the “perfect” logo — something that represents and conveys every aspect of their business strategy at first glance. They think that the right icon will become the next Nike Swoosh™. True, a good logo can help create customer recognition of your company, but it can’t explain your business. It doesn’t create the personal experience that is the foundation of brand awareness. To create the kind of awareness that enables a logo to stand on its own takes a great deal of resources.

Small businesses need an appropriate logo, one that suits their industry, company and personality. They shouldn’t try to capture every detail of their business vision, values and strategy. It’s only a piece of the entire ensemble — like a broach or cuff links.

Think Personality
Before selecting a logo image, think about what kind of brand personality you want to project: Formal? Serious? Bold? Energetic? Capable? Light hearted? High tech? It’s also about your customers. Who are you targeting? What kind of image will appeal to them? Check out your competitors. What kind of images are they using?

Then ask yourself, will your business processes support the kind of image you’ve chosen? Make sure all your employees understand what your image means to them and how they should present themselves and interact with customers. Make sure you can deliver what you promise — be it service, great products or panache.

Have Your Logo Professionally Created
Your logo will be a very visible cue of your organization. Have it professionally created by someone who understands the requirements of the many forms in which your logo will be used — print, projection, display, broadcast and even embroidery. Each deals with color in a different way. Some colors can be displayed but not printed and vice versa. Consider the different sizes that your logo must be reproduced. A busy image that looks great on a large display probably won’t look good when reduced to a tiny image on your business card. Further, how will customers emotionally respond to your visual image? Do the colors elicit the response you desire?

Think Long Term
Colors go in and out of style. Icons or characters which are “in” today may soon be VERY “out”. Brands that have endured have used more universal images: AT&T uses a globe; Coca-Cola just uses its name; Disney uses its name and its characters (Mickey Mouse, etc); and Prudential uses the rock. All of these are enduring images. They are also brands that consistently live up to their broader image in the marketplace.

Think Globally
Are you planning to sell internationally? The implications of images differ from culture to culture. Make sure your image carries the right cultural connotation in the countries where you plan to do business. For example, the rural American mailbox icon used in early e-mail systems had no meaning in most other cultures.

Think about the Whole Graphics Package
Everything that is used around the logo also contributes to the image — color schemes, fonts, graphics, flow charts and web icons. Are all of these consistent with your brand vision? Do they all support both the explicit and implicit aspects? The overall look of marketing brochures, documents and presentations contributes to the overall “brand image.” Here’s where one of today’s biggest problems lies.

The proliferation of desktop publishing software has taken brand image from the hands of trained graphic designers and placed it with many “do-it-yourselfers.” Start-up and small companies often choose this route in an effort to save money. More often than not, the result is unprofessional, unorganized and an inconsistent “look and feel,” or “cookie cutter” templates that don’t provide any uniqueness. We have all seen presentations, web sites and marketing materials that look different depending on which employee created them. They often combine a rainbow of colors, multiple fonts, overused clip art and busy backgrounds that detract from the message.

True, desktop publishing has made it easy for anyone to create their own presentations, letters and other documents, but it hasn’t given them the training in design principles, printing and presentation techniques. If you are serious about your business, get serious about your branding.

The Big Picture
When it comes to branding, remember that it is not a part-time endeavor. It is not as easy as creating a logo and a tag line. These things are important, and you need to get them right, but your company “persona” develops from everything you do. Your executives and employees are ambassadors of your brand. How they interact with customers, how they behave in the business setting and sometimes personally, even how they look, impact your company’s image.

Whether we like it or not, people make judgments about us based on personal image. Just as they’ll make a decision about another person in about 20 seconds, based on image, so, too, will you and your business be judged. A compelling message can miss the mark if the audience is distracted by the wrong kind of image.