How to Design a Strong Logo

Recently I have had conversations with a few people regarding logos and branding for businesses... now I am all for innovative thinking and new ideas, however there are a few human things that you should be aware of if you are thinking about designing your own logo...


For a logo to reproduce in various formats it is generally a good idea to have a very high resolution picture file (ie rasta file - with pixels) oooorrrrrr even better, have your logo in a vector format (in lines and shapes). It will save your logo becoming soft and/or blurred.


Black is OK ... but ... it can be a pretty restrictive colour - a sweeping statement - however research shows that humans like, and are attracted to, colour and a coloured logo will generally be more eye catching.


When thinking about colour make sure your feature colour has multi use and multi design capabilities – ie when the logo is reproduced on a white background there generally lots of choice, however often logos will be used on coloured, dark or black background. The logo needs to be able to handle all background colours and colourways. Added to which there are occasions that the logo will be produced in black and white only. The logo design needs to be able to handle those occasions too.


A strong logo icon and robust logo type is important for reproduction – anything too fine or too light will be wishy washy and fade away to the human eye. – there is only a nano second to make that logo brand impact, if it is not strong and visible the opportunity will be lost.


Generally speaking where there is a lot of text or a range of capital letters, fonts with Sans Serif become blocky to the human eye. In other words the eye tries looks at each individual letter rather than reading a series of them together. If the same text uses a Serif font then the eye has much less to struggle with.  Equally using upper and lower case can assist the eye further in capturing a statement or a range of text

Finally a good logo will generally have two basic design elements to its design. There will be an icon that can be used along with the logo type or indeed as a standalone icon or avatar. Equally the logo type (ie the words) should be able to be used as a standalone aspect of the company brand.


Using the above as guidance will help you create a strong logo - and if you have any questions contact me at

thirza@lippymarketing.co.uk

Your Personal Brand is Your Xfactor

Recently there seems to have been a number of ‘conversations’ on various online forums which have been talking about business impact and how clothes affect your personal brand. Including things like “do clothes maketh the woman?” and “Does My Career Look Big in This?” - which have been interesting to browse through – but at the same time every now and again make me wince.

Don’t get me wrong – the thoughts in the main are absolutely fine - that said there have been no stunning revelations or newly discovered eureka moments ... and I do agree that clothes can play a key part in defining your own personal brand.

BUT .... simply wearing certain clothes and dressing a particular way are a long way from developing your own personal brand.

Your personal brand is everything about you - it is the sum total of the perceptions, meanings and understanding of what your ‘audience’ believes you to be in their heads and hearts. It is everything they think, feel, say, read, hear, watch, guess, imagine, believe and suspect about you – and when it comes to being self employed that is also reflected in your business, your services and/or your products.

You need to think about your personal brand way before you ‘launch’ yourself (eg: try to win new business, make a presentation, go for a job promotion or any other situation) where you are seen by your employers, your employees, your clients, your prospects, your fans ... whatever and whomever your audience might be... It is more than sensible - it is critical - that you to understand where you think you are with your own personal brand and where others put you.

Your personal brand is serious and a massively important aspect to you, and your future.  In business it also gives you potential - If you build your brand to be something particular – others understand that there is a premium to using you and your services or products – cost and convenience factors do not sit as prominent deciding factors.

In business (and in your personal life) managing your own personal brand can help you achieve your goals and stop you from falling in to the cheaper or more convenient business provider categories. To find out more email thirza@lippymarketing.com.

You Are Your Business Brand

Being self-employed or a business owner - how you look, act and behave can impact on the reputation of your business and your bottom line.

You are your business and with that you are your business’ brand.  Being self-employed and/or a business owner means that your brand and your business brand are really one in the same.

Even ignoring your business cards, your website, your telephone answering techniques, your logo, your marketing materials ... et al - there is more than that to think about!!

• how you respond publicly and privately to clients or suppliers
• how you talk with staff, colleagues and team members
• what you say about your competitors
• how you present yourself at industry events
• the thoughts and comments you share with others – on and off line

... it ALL impacts - not only your personal brand, but your business’ brand - and this can impact your sales, your income and your customers buying habits.

So whilst I and many others would love to say what we really think, in true life and in business we can’t always do that.  Online and in public it comes down to finding the right topics and issues on which to comment and give your opinion on - whilst at the same time finding a positive way or appropriate way to say what you think. Even more importantly it is knowing when it’s better not to say anything at all!

When you ARE the business we need to consider every ‘touch point’ and every interaction. Every email, every conversation and every meeting is Public in one way or another – and it’s on YOUR record. 

In fact the younger generation should think further – see the blog by Andy Pickles - http://andy-pickles.tumblr.com/. He makes an excellent case. 

It is amazing what some people will say in writing, in a blog post or in a tweet. In this digital age, personal and business lines are most definitely blurred. Every photo on Facebook and every Tweet is a very public and a pretty visible record of your personal brand.

If you’re not sure about your personal or business brand take a step back and have an objective look, ask others for feedback, survey your clients or contact me to find out how I can help - http://www.lippymarketing.co.uk.