Does your company have the right logo?

What’s the point of having a logo and why do designers and marketers place so much importance on them?

A logo isn’t just a pretty little doodle next to your company name. It’s what people will remember your business by. We’ve all heard that humans are very visual creatures – they respond to images much more than to just plain text. That’s why it’s standard practice to have a logo – think of it as the icon or stamp that sets the tone of your company. So in truth, it really is a big deal and a lot of time should be spent creating the right logo.

Many companies think that any logo will do. Not true. While having any logo is a good start, it actually can be detrimental to your business should you have one the misrepresents your company. A logo should convey the service you provide, the age of the audience you’re targeting and the cost of your services. How does this work?



In looking at the example, we’ll pretend that a small gift and flower shop is opening up. It’s target market is middle-aged women and while it’s a fun and classy joint, it’s not overly priced. The logo at the top is very inappropriate for this business. The letters are all uppercase and feel rigid and too overbearing – this font does not at all represent the organic nature of plants. Furthermore, the letters are blue – plants are green... Catch my drift?

The leaves are nice, as they suggest what the business does, but they’re too prominent. The black “the” in lowercase at the top of the logo sits funny. It feels like it was plopped there simply because the designer didn’t know where to put it.

Let’s look at the bottom example (please note that this took me five minutes for demonstration purposes only – this is not a great logo, by any means). The soft “the” in brown shows that the designer thought about how to incorporate the word into the logo while giving it its own place. The retro-styled lettering of “greenhouse” is slightly playful but also very “vine-like” in feeling. The small touch of the leaves on the end of the “e” give just enough of an afterthought to relate the logo even more to plants without rubbing it in the viewer's face. The overall look of the logo is feminine while elegant. A much more fitting choice.

So, with this I ask you... Does your logo fit your business? Can you tell what products or services you provide by looking at your logo? Does it feel expensive or cheap? Does it look appropriate for the age of your audience? If the answer to any of these items isn’t what it should be, you could be loosing sales and customers. While redoing your logo on your own is a great way to save some cash, hiring a professional to help you get started and to solve these problems is sure to be helpful in the long run.