On logos, perfection and commitment
On logos, perfection and commitment

By on in Branding

On logos, perfection and commitment

Is there anything more terrifying in marketing than creating a new logo? (Naming a company or product is up there, but I would argue that the whole “choosing colors” aspect of logos makes it even harder.)

Why is it so hard?

  • Campaigns and brand executions may come and go, but logos stay. You know you’re committing to something long term, and commitment can be scary.
  • Logos aren’t like math problems. There isn’t one right answer. So you have to know when you’re done iterating, even though there is an infinite number of options you haven’t explored.
  • Someone is always on hand to tell you what they don’t like—the color, the typeface, whatever.

 


You can revise forever, but are those tiny tweaks going to make an impact on how people respond to your company or brand?

 

How can you make some of those challenges easier?

 

Make it about strategy, not preference

Start with a clear, detailed brief. Who is your audience? What makes your offering different? What personality do you want to convey? What are others in the category doing, and how can you carve out your own space? If everyone else’s logo is blue, choosing orange is a strategic decision, even if your mother-in-law likes blue better. If no one knows your name, you may want a simple word mark, rather than a graphic symbol like the Target bullseye or Nike swoosh.

Like anything in marketing, your logo should be about connecting with your audience. This new-in-2022 and almost immediately retired logo by the Australian government, for example, would have benefitted from considering the perspective of its intended audience.

Australian government’s ‘Women’s Network’ roasted on social media

Australian government’s ‘Women’s Network’ almost immediately retired logo

 

Pay someone you trust

Good logos generally aren’t cheap. They don’t just happen in an hour. Spending 15 or 20 hours before delivering a first round isn’t a lot of time for something enduring to communicate your brand to your customers.

You can go to a crowdsourced logo or contest site, but in place of expertise, you’ll get someone who is doing as little as possible to maximize the return on their time. You may get a logo that can’t be printed in two colors or scaled up or down, is a direct pickup of someone else’s intellectual property, or looks amateurish. And, of course, it’s asking people to work for free.

 

Review a smaller set of options

From flavors of jam to Tinder profiles, the paradox of choice tells us that more options can be paralyzing. (That’s also why we try to give prospects one call to action on a web page.) Trust your designer to show you what works.

Remind yourself that in 1977 Apple only saw one logo design for the shape that’s still in use today. If more people had been in the room with Steve Jobs when it was presented, would that logo ever have gone forward?

Australian government’s ‘Women’s Network’ roasted on social media

Apple Computer logo in 1977

 

Ask why

Before you suggest a change, ask the designer why they chose what they did. Many will have really thoughtful reasons for the precise colors, line weights, and other elements they’ve selected. It could be about printing or how a logo appears online, or how the letters bump together.

Sometimes it’s just aesthetic preference (still valuable, when it’s something they’ve spent a career honing), but they will have considered many things that aren’t even on a lay person’s radar.

 

Know when it’s time to stop

You can revise forever, but are those tiny tweaks going to make an impact on how people respond to your company or brand? Are you making it better, worse or just different (and more expensive)? This is where fear of commitment gets a lot of people in trouble. You’re not going for perfection here. You’re going for strategically smart and aesthetically appealing. It’s okay to ask the designer, “Are we there yet?”

 

Smart logos aren’t just pretty. They’re strategic and smart and should say something about your business. For help bringing your brand to life, talk to FATFREE. We’ll help make it effective, efficient and virtually angst-free.