Improving Your Company’s Logo

Have you taken a close look at your company logo lately? Does it look like it came straight out of the 1980s, or have you kept it up-to-date? An outdated logo can make your company look stagnant and stale in the minds of prospective customers. To combat this effect, many companies redesign their logos every few years to keep them fresh.

If your company is considering a logo update, here are some tips to help:

• Choose a logo that looks good large or small. This will allow for more variety in your ads and other printed materials.
• Limit yourself to two or three colors of ink. Having too many ink colors in your company’s logo will put an unnecessary strain on your printing budget and might actually look distracting, rather than distinctive. A nice looking, one or two-color logo will give you the professional look you want at a reasonable price.
• Use standard ink colors. Custom-mixed inks cost more, and many standard ink colors offer just as unique and professional a look as their more expensive, custom-mixed cousins. I have seen some of our clients pay graphic designers large sums of money for logos that look fantastic. The problem comes in when it is time to print and the logo is six spot colors and costs a fortune to print. Sometimes a graphic designer not being familiar with printing technology can design something that is very expensive to reproduce. Using four-color technology almost any color can be created affordably.
• Avoid heavy, solid backgrounds in your logo. Heavy, solid backgrounds on a white sheet of paper can make your logo look blocky.

What message do you want your logo to communicate? A logo should help to build a brand identity and communicate a message about that brand. Some of the most effective logos ever designed are the Nike “Swish”, the Golden Arches of McDonalds and the Star Bucks “Mermaid” and all of them are very simple in design. All of these examples use one or two colors and simple designs.

The purpose of a logo is a simple platform to create a brand identity for your company. The logo does not even necessarily have to make sense with the product or company, at first. Branding is the process of putting a meaning or significance into the logo. After all, what did a “Swish” have to do with tennis shoes, or a “Golden Arch” with a hamburger or a “Mermaid” with a cup of coffee? At first probably nothing, but after years of associating a good product, service and consistent message with the logo – a lot.

The process of creating a logo starts with the symbol and design first, then you put the meaning and significance into the symbol. It is almost impossible to do it in reverse, by starting with the meaning and significance and then designing a logo to match the meaning. I am sure someone has done it along the line but I cannot think of any examples of companies whom are still in business.

For more, great logo ideas call us or stop by and see us. Because Wilson Printing has professional graphic designers who also know printing technology, we can design a logo that is simple, effective and will not cost you a fortune to print. We can help you develop a distinctive logo at an affordable price and professionally print it for you for a reasonable price. If you already have a logo in mind, we can show you how to use it more effectively on your printing.

Mark Hale
CEO