The Power of the Brand
One thing that often seems to slip under the radar with the development of new and existing businesses is a solid, unique, and timeless brand. Proper branding speaks volumes about your business and is the front line in your battle against your competitors. Where would companies like Nike, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Telus be today without their world-renowned branding and marketing strategies.
Many business owners seem to be hesitant when it comes to investing the initial fees required to develop an image for their company. They often focus more on spending money on developing and promoting their product rather than the face and feel of the business. Often a new business owner will talk about their ‘friend’ who is creating something for free, or that they might even just whip something together themselves to get it done cheaply and quickly. This is not a great solution. If your business succeeds, a brand could be with you for life and the last thing you want is to turn around five years later and change the look of everything. It’s worth investing now in something that will be professional and timeless.
So what makes a solid brand?
Make an impact
The first time someone glances at your logo/brand you have to create some visual impact. Your brand alone should be able to hold a viewer’s attention and leave them wanting more. This impact must also convey a message and let the viewer know what kind of business you are. Whether it be a corporate business with a professional, conservative look or something in the entertainment industry with a more hip and fun look, the viewer should automatically understand the feel of your business.
Keep It Simple Stupid
A very popular rule that really applies to a logo. Scalability is a huge factor when designing a logo. Making sure your logo will look polished and legible on a billboard, but also maintain the same integrity when scaled down on a business card or golf ball. Try and stay away from photos, gradients and loads of colors.
Iconic
Using an icon within your brand/logo gives the viewer something to mentally attach to your business. Although text-based logos with no icon can be really simple and nice looking, tying in some sort of iconic imagery will add a lot more recognition to your brand. It can be as simple as a play on one of the letters, just something a little more than plain text.
And there you have it! This is only a few tips from the long list, but definitely more than enough to get you on the right path to that solid brand.