We are often approached for help with logo design. People have new ideas all the time and a logo seems like the best place to start in terms of marketing. Sadly, the little element sure causes a lot of commotion and heartburn for both businesses and creative agencies. Too often, no one is happy. The Mine Academy has embarked on a mission to cure the world of what we call “Logobliviexasperalysis,” a highly debilitating epidemic that we want to shed a little light on in a four part article over the next couple of weeks. We hope you’ll join in. To whet your appetite, let’s just launch right in to the first part:
What’s the point?
Let’s start at the beginning. What is a logo anyway? We won’t go into all the technical gibberish about the distinction between “logotypes” and “marks” and “icons” etc. We’ll just say “logo” and assume we all know more or less what we’re referring to. Logos are often confused with being a company’s brand in and of itself. This idea comes straight from heifer history. For centuries cattle have been “branded” as a way for owners to say, “that symbol means that cow belongs to me.” (Click here for more info on that) If you flip open the first page of Marty Neumeier’s quintessential book The Brand Gap, he quickly dispels the idea that the logo itself is your brand. Rather, a brand (as it is currently defined in the industry) is how someone feels about or perceives a product or service.
A logo ultimately comes to represent or symbolize the business and it can potentially assume those emotional ties. The mark of the cow doesn’t literally say “I belong to Farmer John, and you know how mean and ornery he can be so you better back off,” but over time, and with the right system of communication in place, it can certainly come to make that point very clearly.
So do you need a logo? Most people would say yes. Does it need to be good? Of course, but what is good? Who knows what’s good? How good is good enough? If I fork out the extra cash to pay for good, what is it going to do for my business?
We do believe that a logo has inherent value. It can be a valuable tool that will help shape favorable first impressions. In the sales arena, that can be the difference between life and death. It can be an important tool to help designate something in a clear and simple way. The key is to understand what you need to accomplish with potential and current consumers and the role the logo plays in the whole scheme of things. Join us next time as we continue this babble in “Geeze, don’t expect so much from the little guy.”
Learn all you ever wanted to know about logos here: http://www.squidoo.com/logobliviexasperalysis
0 Responses to “Logobliviexasperalysis: Part 1”