What’s in a logo?
A logo is the often the most public identifier of any brand and the embodiment of all they stand for.
Wikipedia defines a logo as:
“A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organisations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition. Logos are either purely graphic (symbols/icons) or are composed of the name of the organisation (a logotype or word mark).”
The definition is strictly correct, that’s what they are. It is the first thing most people associate your company or brand with, its the leading edge of all your communications. They should be the embodiment of your brand.
What a logo should do
Great logo’s are the conduit to the deep visceral feelings that are connected to your brand. They are not just what a consumer sees, it is not just the colours and the graphics, it is how it makes a consumer feel when they see your logo.
How do you feel when you see the Apple, Nike, or McDonald’s logo? The connections are myriad, it is not just an identifier it is a conduit and has an immense responsibility in connecting you to your consumers and stakeholders.
A badly designed logo that does not translate the brand can do immeasurable damage on a number of levels.
How do you feel when you see this?
This does work on a deep visceral level but does not translate the brand. It is a universally disliked logo that cost some £400,000.
Kraft had a universally recognised logo that was simple, bold and very effective, does this new logo translate their message? Their brand? By re-branding with this convoluted version have they tossed away those deep seated connections that consumers had with their old brand? One has to wonder.
Would you even recognise these two logos as the same company? Logos should make consumers feel something, in designing or re-designing all brand connections need to be evaluated.
What a logo should be?
- A logo should be easy to describe
- Unique
- Memorable
- Work in black and white and colour
- Look professional and polished
- Be designed for longevity
- Connect with the brand message
- Be the result of a insightful process that can be explained
How much should you pay?
This is the $64,000 question, and the answer is directly relevant to the size of the brand, the longevity of the brand, and a myriad of other questions.
To understand how logo’s are priced you need to understand that the process involves a number of important steps.
First and foremost is the brief that the client should give the designer. A good designer will ask a lot of questions about the brief, always.
Research is paramount. If the logo is for a new company,or brand, a competent graphic designer will research the market, any competitors within the market, colours and typography related to the market the positioning of your brand within that market and numerous other interactions that will affect the perception of your brand and logo.
If the brief is for a re-design of an existing logo the very first question should be, why? And the second is what? As in what are you trying to achieve. A re-brand is a very serious business and should not be undertaken lightly. In re-branding it is very important that what you perceive as your brand is the actual brand and that what you are trying to achieve has a well thought out strategy.
In general a stand alone logo for a small business will cost in the vicinity of $1500-3000 dependent on the size and use of the logo.
The cost of a logo is generally reflected by the size of the company and, or, the size of the market. The larger the stakeholder base the more research will need to be conducted and the longer time frame for delivery of a good piece of work.
Why logo design competitions don’t work
Design competitions, $300 logo’s and the other less professional paths that are available via the internet don’t work for a number of reasons.
Clip Art is the scourge of every designer, it may be a starting point, but in many instances of the less professional approach it will be the finishing point. The logo will not reflect a deep understanding of the business or the product, a brief is only a small part of the answers that bare needed to deliver a deep resonant logo.
Lack of thought is evident. Design is about solving a problem, and no problem as complex as the design of such a crucial piece of business communication can be solved in a day, or a week, and if $300 reflects the value you place on your logo, it will also reflect the value of the design put into it.
What is a good brief?
A good brief should lay it all out. It is similar to going to the doctor, you need to tell the designer everything, not what you think they need to hear. How do you answer the phone? Or how will you? What is your USP? Do you hate a colour? Why? Have you had any ideas? Do they work? Why? What is your core market? What is the demographic? What is the tone of your marketing? What is the the tone of conversation you have with your market? Are you professional? Laid back? Way to cool for school?
After you have written your brief, read it again and see if it makes sense. Then show it to someone else who knows your business, does it reflect what they think your band is/will be?
A brief is a process – not just one piece of paper and it is not 30 people making decisions, nothing great has ever been designed by a committee.
What should a good designer ask you?
They should ask everything – if they are not asking questions get up and walk away.
What you should end up with?
There are normally three results with logo’s; what you wanted, what the designer wanted, and a great logo that listens to the market information and reflects the wishes of the owner, the ideas of the designer and status of the brand.
Number 3 is what you are shooting for, at the end of the process go back and read “What they should be” and judge the logo against those parameters.
An investment: you get what you pay for
A logo is an absolute investment in the long term health of your brand. A well thought out, researched and crafted logo will stand the test of time and come to reflect and instill all your brand qualities, it is a major investment in your business and you should treat it as such.