Logo Lotto – Don’t Gamble with your Visual Identity

When you consider the job a visual identity does for your organisation, it’s amazing that so many people take chances with its design.

Your visual identity embodies who you are. It’s the public face of your organisation, your primary brand, the one visual element that creates instant recognition and connection with your market. A good visual identity inspires trust and loyalty, creates a tone of voice and perception of professionalism. In short, it communicates the personality of your organisation to the public.

Too important to muck up, right? Right. But some people seem to approach identity design like it’s some kind of game.

So what are the do’s and don’ts when you’re thinking about a new visual identity?

Don’t give this important project to your local graphics class or your neighbour’s grand-daughter who is ‘good at drawing’. Not only will you be wasting money, the damage done to your business with a bad design could be significant. You want a professional result, go to a professional. Period.

Don’t run a logo competition, don’t DIY or use ‘free’ logo makers, and don’t accept ‘speculative’. The first approaches will lead to a mish-mash of solutions from people who are probably not qualified (yes, that includes you) and don’t know who you are or what you’re trying to achieve; the second will result in sub-standard solutions for people who don’t think enough of their own skills to charge for them. You do the math.

If you’re thinking logo design, you’ve probably already Googled it and found a thousand cheap, almost unbelievable deals, packages and stock images. The truth with these deals is that you’ll invariably end up paying one way or another, either in ‘extras’ or, worse still, in a poor quality result. You know what they say about things that seem too good to be true? Believe it.

We’ve all seen those unfortunate corporate identities – ones that are obvious phallic symbols or which have other embarrassing hidden meanings – and we’ve thought, ‘how could they not know?’ Truth is, they probably didn’t take time to ask. Question: How much does it cost to preview your design with clients, peers and stakeholders. Answer: Far less than the damage done by a design that misses the mark.

So if you’re ready to consider a new visual identity or product branding, don’t play logo lotto. Talk to our visual identity specialists at Adstract Art about how we can create an identity that you will be proud to have as the flagship of your organisation’s visual communications. In fact, we’d bet on it.