A company begins with a product/service which they can offer to others. A product/service begins with a name which tells potential customers what it is all about. A name begins with building up a personality for the product as its brand. A brand begins with a logo; the icon that would determine how far a product/service can go. Yet, in these times and days, people often overlook the importance of a logo as the representative of their brand.

Clients pay very little to buy logos off virtual shelves, logo creation websites, graphic design students, and even vendor machines! While they are merely looking for an icon or any icon for the matter to represent their brand (just because everyone else has one), there are some Clients who simply can’t get their minds of a logo. They just want everything they want to communicate to customers displayed in a logo. Here’s where your designing skills come into play, designers!

Put on your professional suit (I don’t mean blazers and warm-pressed shirts, your jeans and smart casual shirt could do too) and start telling your clients how important a logo is to their brand. It’s not just an icon or stamp; a logo is the physical representative of a brand. It’s the face of a brand that should never be neglected because a logo can make or break the branding of a product.

For example, the wellknown brand: Apple. Its logo is well-thought and thoroughly designed to bring out the personality of its brand. This has resulted in the public (people who don’t use Apple products) to recognise the logo and its brand. If the Management of Apple had not focus on logo development, they would probably have ended up with cliparts that resemble apples. (I’ve met Clients who rather choose a clipart off Microsoft Word than pay me to design a decent one).

Here are some reasons why you should pay extra attention to your logo design:

Your logo is the face of your brand. As your picture is the face of your virtual identity. People can only know that much about you without a face to go with it. With a face, they can associate and know you better. The same goes with a brand. Your logo is the face of your brand. It is the bridge that connects you and your customers.

Your logo is your brand’s physical identity. Small and iconic as it may be, a logo speaks of who you are as a business unit and what you do. It’s the first impression that customers get when they look at it. So imagine a clipart as a logo: Will you trust such a company?

People remember you through your logo. It’s more likely for a person to remember a visual compared to a company name because our mind tend to make better association with what we see, instead of what we hear. Look at a swish and what do you think of? Nike. You probably wouldn’t remember Nike so well without its iconic logo swish. That’s the power of logo design.

Your logo sticks to you for life. Unless you decide to rebrand your entire product/service (which requires money) or confuse your customers with different logos every year, the logo you have would probably be the only logo you will use for your brand. A good logo can grow and expand and still be recognised as one brand. So make sure you start with a good logo from the very start so that you can grow your brand; and not change your brand overnight.

How important is a logo? As important as your physical self to your friends. Customers judge you by your logo. It’s the first impression that counts. A badly designed logo reflects poorly on you, thus making it hard to attract customers. So don’t take logo design for granted. A good logo is essential to the growth of your brand and company.

Check out the interview with Rob Janoff, designer of the Apple logo, and discover how the successful Apple logo came about. Or find out how to create a good logo in my next entry. Stay tuned!

Originally written by Gina Yap Lai Yoong © 2009

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