Starting a New Business: What Your Logo Says About You
Your logo is the flag of your business. It represents your very identity within that particular niche. The colors, print, and images all say something to each potential customer. It is widely known that more than 75% of all communication is non-verbal. Therefore your logo can say more about your business then any employee or customer ever could. Here are some tips to designing a logo that sends the message you wish to convey to potential customers:
Color
Every business owner has a rough understanding of color psychology and what emotions it invokes in the observer. Red invokes love and passion, orange invokes excitement, blue invokes sadness, etc. With a business logo the colors you use can tell someone not only what sort of mood you want to set but what hours you’re open and what sort of service you can expect.
- Hours of Operation- Ever notice how there are not many bars open from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. with an all orange or yellow logo? Places that use a mostly lighter color in their logo tend to be open during the day with only partial night hours. Places like McDonald’s and Burger King use a heavy amount of yellow, red, and orange to really stand out and come off as place that appeals to everyone in more general hours. If you’re trying to run an organization that does most of it’s business during the day stick to the brighter, more general colors.
- Service- The colors say a lot about the promoted vibe of the place, in most cases what sort of approach those who serve you will take. A business owner who wants to promote themselves as doing more intellectual and professional will probably want to go with heavy green in their logo so that they set the mood for potential customers. Brighter and more diverse coloring means lots of personality in a happy, outgoing approach. Darker colors like green and blue indicate a more calm and relaxed approach. Colors can always be mixed to send the right sort of message, take a look at what each color means and decide what mesh best suits your business.
Print
Arguably the most important part of a logo, the type of print you use can be more important than the text. Unless your choice of text is inappropriately bold or exceptionally clever there is a good chance there is a similar establishment with a similar logo. The key in making your “Brand Name” look more appealing than the next “Brand Name” is portraying an attractive personality to your desired customer base through your print.
- Sharp for Serious, Rounded for Fun-When choosing what type of print you want to include on your logo, think about the nature of your business. As a business owner you’d want to use something that shows you are inviting but professional. A law firm would want a more straight print to show that they are dead serious about doing what needs to be done. Consider rounded letters on top but straight on the bottom. They say you’re approachable and fun but serious when it comes down to the bottom line.
- Print and Facial Expressions-Think of a style of print you’ve seen that just smiles at you. Most types of print have distinguishable personality and you want to use this as naturally as you can to promote your services. Now you don’t want to go using fancy cursive that few can read, that can be like seeing someone smiling towards you and not having a clue why. Use a print that is clear, adaptable, and advertises your services in the tone you would if you talked to the potential customer. Remember the print is easier to put on advertising items like custom pens, bracelets, business cards, and other smaller marketing items so make sure it is clear enough to make out in smaller font.
Images
Many people market their business just fine without an image in their logo. If you do, it is important that it not only be relevant to you and the business but easy for the potential customer to understand as well.
- Where You Want to Take the Customer
Travel agents commonly put beautiful sites in their logos, gyms usually put fit looking people in there’s. Where do you want to take a customer? Use an image that portrays what you will help them accomplish when your work is done. A powerful, attractive image can sway a person’s mind as quick as anything in the print. (Look at Lowrider Models).
- An Image that Represents You
Bruce Lee was not a logo designer or small business marketer as far as anyone knows, but he was an artist. He once said “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it.” Designers want to show customers they can adapt to anything. Images like light shining water forming patterns or letters, and clouds are great images for designers. If you feel a particular image, such as an animal or event portrays you in your desired light, use it. The idea is to evoke confidence in the customer in seeking out your services.
Alice Jenkins is a recreational designer and marketing writer who enjoys helping smaller businesses find effective ways to get their name out. She writes for penXpress, a leading supplier of business pens to help spread your brand.
