Who Should Read This...

• Anyone creating a business identity
• Anyone changing their existing business identity

Logos
Once your name is established it is important to also visually identify your business or service with some type of logo. A symbol, like pictures, can speak a thousand words. A logo is nothing more than a symbol, which can capture a whole idea in a few brushstrokes. The "swoosh" symbol of Nike® is one of the most famous. Developing a logo to put on your products or associate with your services gives a sign to customers that whenever they see that symbol they know what they are going to get. The McDonald's golden arches that you see on the highway are very effective in doing this.

There are two basic types of logos, one that includes the company name, and one that does not. International Business Machines logo is just the letters "IBM" written in blue horizontal lines to form each letter. In a case like Texaco, the red star with the letter "T" in the center is the company logo. It takes many years of company advertising and product association for people to know that when they see the red star with the letter "T," that means Texaco. For this reason, we recommend for businesses starting out, to use a symbol with the company's name somewhere with the symbol as a logo. Technically speaking, Texaco's logo is a red star with "T" and the words Texaco written on a black background, but their products are so well recognized that the star is often split from the company name. Try not to do this when you are starting your business.

Logos should be at most, no more than three colors and we feel that most companies can get away with two, or even one. You have to remember that a logo is meant to be displayed on products or business stationary. The more colors you have, the more expensive it is to reproduce. People can also remember a logo better if it has just one or two colors. Always make a b/w version of your logo to see how it appears when faxed or reproduced on a copy machine. If designing your logo, stay away from techniques that are hard to reproduce for printers, like logos that have many criss-crossing lines, three-dimensional objects, and mulitcolors that produce a nice effect only when viewed on a high-resolution medium. The infamous acronym of K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) applies here. Remember, you are not designing a family crest, or montage of everything that your company does. Stick to basic shapes and line strokes as well. You will definitely need an electronic copy of your logo. It is nice to have so that you can send it in email correspondence or if you take it to a printer to have business cards made up. Remember to put your logo on everything. Any company gifts that you give to customers should always have the company logo on it. This is not only good advertising, but it gives you a certain amount of legal protection in terms of what the law may consider a bribe.

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