Small Business Tips For Designing Your First Logo

March 8, 2014

Let’s play a game of Memory. Could you describe the logo of the following brands: McDonald’s, Nike and Apple? Of course you could. We all know the golden arches, the Nike swoosh and the silver apple with the one missing bite. These brands all have a memorable logo. We don’t need to see the name of the brand to know who they are.

A logo is the face of your brand. It is the one element that will symbolize your brand more than anything else. You’ll put it on your signs, business cards, letterhead and invoices. You’ll put your logo everywhere so it’s important to get it right the first time. In order to create and select the perfect logo design, you’ll want to follow these steps:

1. Select a budget
Prices can range anywhere from $300 to hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are many factors in determining the price including the project requirements, the size of your business, the media where it will be used and the experience of the designer.

2. Find a designer and request a quote
See “Small Business Tips for Choosing a Resource to Create Your Corporate Identity”
There are hundreds of designers in the state of Wisconsin. Make this process a little easier on yourself by asking other small business owners or searching for reviews and testimonials online. Once you have selected a few, contact them and engage them in a discussion and general discovery session, so the designer can learn more about your business and get a better feel for the project scope and your company’s persona. If you have an idea in mind let them know and also let them know if you’re looking for a complex illustrative solution (they take more time). Ask them for a quote for three initial designs and for three rounds of refinement for design of choice.

3. Select your designer
After talking with the designers, choose the designer that best fits your needs; this involves more than just price.

• They should have a proven track record for producing good logo designs.
• They should have a good understanding of how businesses operate and ideally ones that are
typical in your market.
• They should be willing to take the time to learn about your company and its products and
services, and check out your competition’s brand.
• They should be a good fit for the size of your company and budget.
• They should show a genuine interest in your company by asking questions and making
suggestions.
• They should have a clear understanding of the basic of sales and marketing, and what branding
is all about.

Another factor that may get overlooked, but is so important, is compatibility. Did you feel the designer listened to your needs and was easy to work with?

4. Talk with your designer about your project
Before meeting with your designer, you’ll want to ask yourself the following questions:

• What don’t you like about your current logo? (If you have one.)
• What kind of feelings do you want your logo to encourage?
• What kind of qualities do you want your logo to display?
• Would you like a tagline included in your design?
• Do you like the idea of a symbolic logo, a typographical logo or a mixture of the two?
Your designer will then likely ask questions to learn more about you and your small business such as:
• Who is your target audience?
• Who are you competing with?
• How are you different from your competitors?

5. Select a logo concept
After a given amount of time, your designer will come back to you with a couple of different design mock-ups. Pay special attention to the one that catches your attention. Ask yourself:

• Does it properly represent my business?
• Is it distinctive, simple and clean?
• Is it functional for all my mediums?
• Does it speak my message?

Be sure not to rush this selection process, take some to consider all of the choices.

6. Give good feedback
Each designer knows that he or she will not get the concept exactly right the first time so don’t be afraid of hurting any feelings. Explain what you do or don’t like about the designs. Try and communicate your needs as effectively as possible. Be specific.
With good feedback, your designer should be able to create your ideal business logo.
Creating a logo for your business is not a simple task, but is so important for your company image. Your logo can showcase your small business qualities and communicate your message. When you create the perfect logo the first time, it will last as long as your business.