You know that saying, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”? Unfortunately, people do. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. People judge others on their appearance first, and instinctively, someone’s face is the first thing you judge. You’re probably just as guilty of it as I am.

How about an analogy? If your business is a person, your logo is its face, and your brand identity is its clothing. People will judge you on it, and make their choices based upon it. Large businesses lose big if they make bad branding choices; Just look at the 2012 London Olympics, the Tropicana rebrand, or in the 90’s, “New” Coke.

Logo design is a specialised field of design. Successful logos should simultaneously communicate multiple business values, inform the consumer of the appropriate business sector, and should influence the target audience’s opinion. They should work as well in monochrome as they do in colour, and they should work as well on a business card or email footer as they do on a billboard. That’s a big ask. Get it wrong, and you can communicate all the wrong things. Get it right, get the consumer on your side, and the battle is all but won.

Don’t leave it too late

Although branding is crucial, unfortunately a lot of entrepreneurs overlook it in the rush to get their business up and running. If your business has a strong image from the outset, you’ll save a lot of hard work in the long run, and by the time you start to get known, you’ll already have a strong, consistent, and balanced identity.

Don’t Use Stock Logos or Follow current trends.

Your brand should be unique, and should express the values of your business. To create a strong, functioning visual identity takes time, a bit of thought, and a good designer who understands your business and the industry sector that it’s aiming for.

This isn’t something that can be solved by using a “stock” or “customisable” logo, or a website template. These are things that can and will be used again and again by other companies, and possibly your competition. Without their separate branding, Coke and Pepsi would taste the same, and you wouldn’t know which was which.

Likewise, often stock logos follow “design trends”, which often involve adding effects to poor design to mask its ineffectiveness. Not only will this result in a poor logo, but in three years it will look dated and cheap.

I realise I’m biased, being a graphic designer, but I guess it depends on your business principles. I’m a believer in the “buy once, buy right” philosophy. If I need to buy something, I’d rather spend a little more, and buy something that I know will last. Invest in your branding, and you’ll not only save money, it will most likely make you lots more.

Your Mother Lied to You.

Remember showing your mom that drawing of a pirate ship that you did, and how she told you that you were awesome at art? She lied.

If you actually were any good at art, by now you’d be a struggling artist, a struggling illustrator, or a graphic designer. The fact is, you’re probably much better at something else. Hopefully you’ve positioned your business around leveraging the things you are good at.

Lots of entrepreneurs think that they can cut a few corners, and save time and money by designing their own logo. “But I have Photoshop!” you say. “How hard can it be?”

Branding relies not just on logos, but maintaining visual consistency. If I receive an email from you in orange, shiny web 2.0 layout, but your business website is a clean, grayscale, minimal layout, I’ll think they are two different companies, that the email you sent is possibly a scam, and that I won’t buy what you are selling.

It’s also hard to design for yourself. You know what your business does, but others don’t. You might know your business inside out, but it’s the job of a designer to sum up your business in one little sign. That takes skill, and experience.

All this is sounding pretty negative. What should I be doing?

It’s not all doom and gloom. Your options are varied, and there are many different options available to you, depending on your budget and the size of your business. If you’ve got a good budget for brand identity, advertising and marketing, you might consider hiring a design or PR agency. If your budget is tight, a freelance designer might be a better option. You should never buy a stock logo, or run design competitions; the results are often amateur, and will rarely be a good representation of your business.

In the next instalment, “Clients guide to Designers” we’ll look at the do’s and don’ts of hiring a designer, what you should expect from them, and what you can do to ensure your brand identity is strong, healthy, and making you money.

This post was originally written for the Maxiwill blog, and can be found here: Brand Identity for Entrepreneurs

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