Building a brand image is undoubtedly a crucial part of the marketing mix. Alas! Finding and using the right corporate logo is often misconstrued and even executed weakly or inaccurately. Seeing your own marketing strategies over and over again may be boring for you, but your clients don’t see them nearly as often as you do. In fact, the more you repeat your message and your company logo, the more effective it becomes in the market.

Always remember that a corporate logo should communicate four key elements of a business to its potential customers:

• what is the business about
• who are the targeted clients
• what image you want to build in industry
• what are the objectives of the business.

Today I wish to share some of the “Do’s” and “Don’ts” that you should consider when you design your corporate or business logo.

1 ) Research your competitor:

If you are ready with your company name then look at the logos of your competitors, this will give you an idea of what is present in the market. Then you may be able to adopt a similar pattern and develop your own company logo that suits your corporate identity.

2 ) KISS (Keep it Straight Simple):

Simplicity is the key to designing your business logo. Having a single focus is critical. You must be clear on what your identity is first, develop a concise company logo that clearly states your company’s identity.

3 ) Examine other famous logos:

You can check some of the famous company logos. This will give you an inspiration you need to design your company logo accordingly. Much effective would be to check out your competitor’s logos so that you may avoid any plagiarism while designing you own corporate logo.

4 ) Color Scheme

Think about the colors that you feel will represent your business; your logo must reflect what your business is about as well as your corporate culture. Try to stick to a two color logo if you intend to print business cards and stationary as this will reduce your printing cost considerably.

5 ) The professional logo touch:

As a beginner you can opt for free logo design sites or if your budget permits you then I would recommend hiring a professional logo designer. Even if you have your own logo design skills, you should still consult with a design professional.

6 ) Analyze target market:

Do make sure that the logo is designed with the target market in mind. An effectively designed logo is compatible with the consumers of the product or services that you provide. Therefore your logo could be designed to appeal to the interests of the customers.

7 ) Compatibility:

Make sure that your designer gives you your CMYK, Pantone, and RGB color codes as color displays and prints differently on paper variations and other surfaces, this will ensure that your logo displays correctly across all mediums (print, digital etc) making it professional and consistent.

8 ) Corporate Identity manual:

It will be a good idea to get a basic corporate identity manual from your designer, this may cost extra but you can give this document to your printer or collateral manufacturer to ensure color consistency. A corporate identity manual is also the first step in developing your brand.

9 ) Proxemics:

Use Proper Spacing between the words that you use in your logo because spacing is important in all aspects of life. Successful relationships require space, as do successful sentences. Improper spacing can be the difference between Kids Exchange and Kidsexchange:

10 ) Protect your corporate logo:

It isn’t all about logo designing only. You also need to guard your business logo from infringement and plagiarism. You apparently do not want somebody else to copy your logo and use it on their brands. It will surely stain your reputation in the market. That is why you need to protect your logo by using the copyright laws.

11) Corporate Loyalty:

Start building the loyalty toward your corporate identity by communicating with your employees. Integrate your brand in your company’s offices and on everything that is used as a resource internally. This will deliver a consistent and repetitive message and hence give every employee ownership and familiarity with your company logo.

1 ) Too much Special Effects:

Avoid using gradients, patterns, and drop shadows to reduce your printing cost considerably

2 ) Too much details:

Be careful of too much detail as it will not display correctly when your logo is used in a smaller format e.g. on business cards and footers. When such corporate logo is printed on a business card, it loses its clarity.

3 ) Avoid common symbols:

While designing your corporate logo you must not use the common graphics and symbols which everyone seems to be using. Try to apply unique graphics and symbols to make your logo different. If you use overly unique typeface in your logo then you won’t be able to use trademark to protect your logo.

4 ) No room for controversy:

Based on the second point, do not leave room for controversies to develop over your company logo. Designing a complex logo may let imaginations run wild and possibly open up issues pertaining to various taboo subjects.

5 ) Haste makes waste:

Do not design the symbol in a hurry. Take sufficient time to build up a good logo concept. Your logo should clearly symbolize the products and image of your company.

6 ) Think Big:

The meaning of your company’s logo must not be underestimated. Think ahead at least 10 years from now and decide what your company’s ambitions may be then. It is imperative to choose the design that will still be able to meet not just what your business stands for today but what it will likely be in the future years.

7 ) Avoid trendy looks:

If you’re redesigning your old logo, you run the risk of confusing customers-or worse, alienating them. One option is to make gradual logo changes. But don’t plan to make multiple logo changes. Instead, choose a logo that will stay current for 10 to 20 years, perhaps longer. That’s the mark of a good logo design.