Logos and Corporate Identity

Since the middle ages logos have been used to identify many things from families to nations. Indentifying each other is one of the most powerful things the human race have developed. Take for example our names. We give each other names to distintive each other. Armies in the old days used crests to identify were they were from and who the were fighting for.

Now, graphics have remain the same when it comes to armies, but the use of graphics has evolve into a strong selling tool for every single business, club, groups out there. If you sit down and watch TV, read a magazine or simply drive around in your car you'll notice that everything has graphics and for the most part they are trying to sell something or at least grab your attention. With that said you now know how important images are. The way you present yourselves has a lot to do with how much and how fast you sell or present something.

Before creating any advertising or promotions you need a why to differ yourselves from the other companies and creating a logo is the best way to get started. Logos can be complex or simple but the best logos are the ones that work on everything that they are put on. From billboards to clothing if it does not work on those then your out of luck.

To create the perfect logo you must gather information about the company. These basic question are something that will help you guide an artist to creating the perfect logo identity.

1. What type of industry is your company in?
2. How many people work in your company?
3. What do you want to convey to people when they think about your company?
4. Are there any particular colors you want to use (1-2 color MAX)
5. What are your competitors' logos look like?

Here's the reasons for these questions.

1. What type of industry is your company in?
You want to be able to identify your logo in the correct industry by using a particular font and icons. For example you own a Mexican restaurant? You may use Mexican style fonts with a chilly pepper incorporated into it.

2. How many people work in your company?
This will help the artist under stand the size of the business. Are they more corporate or are they a Mom and Pop shop. This will also reflect in the fonts and sometimes the way the letters are laid out.

3. What do you want to convey to people when they think about your company?
What do you want to tell the public? You want to tell them that your restaurant has the fresh ingredients and that your food is the fresh around? This can be incorporated in a tag line and icons that are used in the logo? For example a chilly of some type or a tomato.

4. Are there any particular colors you want to use (1-2 color MAX)
When people buy are look for services they all judge the book my it's cover. If you're logo is hard do read because it has too many colors then they will ignore it when they see it out on the street or in a catalog. You want people to know you without having them think. Also the color has a lot to do with what type of product or service you are selling. Take for example Mc Donald's, Jack in the Box and Burger King, they use colors that effect the brain in such a way that makes them hungry. They use color like Yellow, Red and Orange, you will never see a fast for restaurant using color like Black or Green or purple. Warm color make food look tasty. What colors are the plates at restaurants? White or warm colors. They are never neon green or any other bright colors. Same thing when it comes to department stores. atrack the right kind of people to the right store has a lot to do with what colors are used. Take for example Walmart or Target. What colors do they use inside their stores? White or blue, red but for the most part they use all white. White is a basic color and attract the general public more than if they were using dark brown or dark colors. Now think of an expensive store that sells high quality clothes over $200. What colors do they use? Dark brown floors with dark cabinets and all their sales people are wearing dark cloths. Black is rich in color and darks can be used to attract people with exensive taste.

5. What are your competitors' logos look like?
You want to be able to design something that looks more professional and true to the industry than you competitors. You want to stand out from the crown but not make then ignore you.
Take 3-4 competitors and design something that looks better in design, color and it is visually pleasant to look at. All these things come into play when creating a logo or corporate identity.

After the logo has been created and you are happy with it, be sure it can be used on everything from imprinted pencils to bill boards. If those do not print well then the logo is no good. You don't know how many times I'm being told that the person who designed their previous logo had to redesign or re-layout something because it did not fit a promotional piece they were working on. The logo should work in a 1X1" square and a large format dimension. Also the logo has to work in Black and white and full color. The logo should also contain NO special effects like drop shadows or gradients because sometimes they are hard to reproduce.

By following these simple tips I guarantee you that you logos will come out looking better than the competition and will recognized faster and more by the public eye.

When is comes to receiving your logos on disk from the designer it is important that you get all the following file formats.

Adobel Illustrator File: EPS, AI, PDF
Adobe Photoshop or raster images: jpg, tiff, psd.

You should get high resolution images, also with 2 versions (1 color, 1 black and white) you should also get an alternative layout. For example if you're original logo is stacked get one that is horizontal.

For any questions or if you need assistance creating your logo please contact me at ernie@graphicdesign-s.com or visit my website at www.graphicdesign-s.com