Aug/101
What is Branding and Brand Consistency?
What is Branding?
Branding is a often discussed by individuals in the marketing, advertising and design industries, but it is something that is rarely thought about by many small business owners. This is quite unfortunate since branding, if done properly, is one of the most important things a company can do to reach their target market, build recognition and develop customer relationships. Mistakenly, many businesses look no further than a logo when thinking about branding. The issue with this is that a logo cannot and does not exist on its own. Rather, it is a core piece of the puzzle that also includes a wide range of other factors, including colors, patterns, typefaces, imagery, packaging, taglines, wording and more, all of which combine to create your company’s image. The same attention devoted to your logo must be given to these other elements as well if a truly effective brand is to be achieved.
To demonstrate the power of branding, let’s change some popular and effective brands a bit and see if you can still recognize them.
Jul/102
5 Ways to Use Color to Enhance a Design
In my last post, I began discussing the basics of selecting the right colors to fit your business/organization/group/competitive riverdance troupe. As promised, I’m now going to delve a bit deeper into how color can really be used to enhance a design (logo, website, print materials, etc.), with some real world examples. If used intelligently, color can be so much more than just a decorative element. It can:
Jul/100
How Do I Look?
Note: this post was inspired by a post by Gareth from Down With Design, the original can be read here
Custom VS. Pre-Packaged Designs
Your logo is the first impression customers have of you. Maybe they see it on your website, or on a business card or mailer they received. Wouldn’t you want to be represented by something that says “you”?
Jun/100
Color 101
Branding is one of the single most important factors in determining how your company is perceived by potential customers. Not a big surprise to most. It will define your business’s appearance, its personality, its demographic and even its values. Perhaps more than any other factor, the colors you adopt are central to creating this first impression. And still it seems that color is not always given the attention it warrants by some business owners.
It’s easy to overlook. After all, what’s so complicated about color? Does it really matter if your marketing materials are green instead of blue? Yes. In fact, even the specific shade of blue you choose can make a big difference. We attach all kinds of emotional and symbolic meanings to colors, sometimes consciously but most often without even thinking about it. Needless to say, it’s important to be aware of these overtones and use them to enhance your message.
Aug/090
Logo Design
What Makes a Good Logo?
A new business owner has a lot to consider. With all the frenzy of starting a business, thinking extensively about a logo isn’t always a high priority. People know they need a logo, but they don’t fully understand what a logo is or what it does, and how to make it as effective as possible.
The best logos are deceptively simple. They’re clean, can be understood quickly and make an impact visually. They also need to be versatile, so they can be used in variety of marketing media. But how can all of that be accomplished? It’s easiest to make that point by explaining what a logo shouldn’t do.
Don’t Try to Say Too Much
The most common mistake made when thinking of a logo is trying to make it illustrate every aspect of a company, or show every product or service a company offers. A contractor may think s/he needs a hammer, tool belt AND ruler in the logo to communicate contractor; a lawyer might try to include a gavel and scales.
In these examples, those logos would just be too much. A logo doesn’t have to tell a story; rather, it should be used to build a brand. It’s a symbol to use to tie all your marketing materials together, and eventually a logo becomes synonymous with your business. Think about McDonald’s. Those Golden Arches don’t include a hamburger and fries, but we still know the business they represent and what that business offers us.
Your logo will usually only have a brief second to do its job, as someone passes your sign, glances at your postcard in their mail, or browses the Internet. The more detail someone has to process when looking at your logo, the longer it will take to read and stick in their memory.
Don’t Be So Literal
The contractor and lawyer logo examples illustrate another thing to avoid in logo design: being too literal. There’s no rule that a successful logo uses industry-specific imagery. Logos are almost always accompanied by other pictures or text, which explain what you do and why you’re good at it. Also, hammers, gavels and the like are so often used that, by incorporating them into your logo, you blend in with your competitors rather than stand apart.
A logo’s job is to provide a distinctive image that makes a company immediately identifiable. To stand apart, it helps to think more outside the box. The Nike “swoosh” is recognized throughout the world, and communicates athleticism and sports without using literal imagery like a basketball. The symbol’s sweeping curves, diagonal orientation and sharp edges communicate energy, strength, excitement, and edginess. It establishes a look and personality for the company—the ultimate goal of a logo.
Don’t Go Overboard
Remember, it’s best to aim for a logo design that is simple. Going overboard (too much imagery; too many different colors; etc.) ultimately hurts a logo. Too many elements in a logo make it look cluttered or disorganized. Also, with a large number of different visual elements competing for attention, it becomes much harder for people to quickly process and understand your logo.
Going overboard with colors is an especially risky thing to do. Colors can clash, weakening a logo’s readability. Colors communicate different moods, too, and affect how your business is perceived. A spa owner’s favorite color may be bright yellow, but a bright yellow logo may not appeal to the audience that spa is trying to attract. Instead, a subdued palette using blues or greens would be better, as they are more soothing, and suggest a calm, relaxing environment—perfect for a spa.
Simplicity is the key. Make smart choices about the images included, and use no more than two fonts and no more than two to three colors. In addition to visual simplicity, there’s economic practicality. The more complicated a logo is, the more expensive it becomes when reproducing it on brochures, using it in embroidery and so forth.
-Matt Leahy
Mar/080
Are All Website Designers the Same?
With today’s growing technology and the number of new website designers coming out of school, it seems there are website designers on every corner, pushing their designs to everyone from individuals who want a personal profile page, to large Fortune 500 companies whose websites run in the $100,000 range and up. It’s one thing to “dabble” in website design and come up with a website that merely “exists” out there on the internet. The question you need to ask yourself in this… Why do you want a website? If it is simply to have one to say you have one… then you can be like thousands of amateur designers out there that find the cheapest hosting and a “build your own website for free” package. The excitement of finally publishing a site for next to nothing is soon tainted by the realization that your site LOOKS like someone’s mother designed it. I have several clients of mine that can testify to that fact.
What initially started as excitement… soon became pure embarrassment… to the point that they removed the web address from their advertising. But please note this.. Design is NOT EVERYTHING! I have seen some beautiful websites built by some very talented graphic designers. These websites usually open up with rich colors, flash animation, music, ALL the bells and whistles. They make you say WOW…… but… how did you find them? If you found them on the first page of a search engine, Congratulations… you have found a REAL Website Designer who KNOWS what he/she is doing. But this is a rare occurrence. Often times the nicest looking websites can’t be found anywhere on the search engines. The client usually paid a hefty price for a nice looking site.. but where did it get them? Not much further than they were before. Building a beautiful website that nobody can find unless you tell them where to go is like paying thousands of dollars for a Beautiful Billboard, and then sticking it in the middle of a field on a farm in the country. What good is it for your business if nobody sees it without you telling them where to look. Let’s look at the main goals of owning a website:
1. Company Validation: A company that has a well designed website looks credible. People are more likely to use a company that has established a web presence.
2. Information: You can say more about you and your Products/Services through a website than you could EVER say in an advertisement or sales pitch. And it conveys this info in a non threatening way! People can read about your services on their time schedule.
3. Introduction: Thousands of people everyday go to search engines like Google, MSN and YAHOO every day to search for products and services… and they are immediately introduced to companies that have the products and services they are looking for through the company websites. Who wouldn’t want to be introduced to people LOOKING for products/services that they provide!
4. Make Money: E commerce has revolutionized the world economy. Look how many companies are now able to market and actually sell their products online, limiting the need for a sales staff and accounting department. Everything but the shipping is automated… (and they may be soon too).
5. Save Money: A website can drastically limit the number of phone calls your company receives by simply answering the client’s questions through a website. Think of the money that would be saved each day if your company were to reduce your incoming customer questions simply by 50%.
Key Web Concepts does not claim to be the BEST website design company out there… but we can promise you that we are better than most, and can build a website that will “WORK for your business!”.. and can do it for a lot less then you might think! Please feel free to check out my website and some of my client’s sites and contact me for a FREE consultation at your convenience!
Jim