Some of you may remember an earlier post I did about coming up with a name for your company and how it can actually be quite a challenge despite seeming simple.  There’s another aspect of branding that goes along with choosing a name, and that’s creating a logo.

Now, those of you that are creatively-minded and artistic might jump at the chance to design your own.  In fact, I know there are some people who will actually enjoy that part more than the actual building of their business, but for those of us who have little artistic talent or vision, it’s probably best to leave your logo design to the professionals.

Think having a good logo isn’t important?  Think again.  How many logos you see on a daily basis?  Sometimes they’re incorporated with the companies’ name, but sometimes they just stand alone and you still recognize them.  Why?  Because the designs are easily recognizable and well done.  Imagine you’re at a coffee shop and the person sitting across from you is using a MacBook.  You can see the Apple logo on the top.  It doesn’t actually say “Apple,” but you still recognize it.

What about Adidas?  AT&T? Shell gasoline?  Audi?  VW?  You recognize all of these companies without even seeing their name.

Marketing consultants will tell you that this image recognition is a large part of branding because it has to do with getting people used to seeing your company, etc. etc., and they are absolutely correct.  And it can have the opposite effect, too.  A logo that is poorly designed, or even offensive, can push customers away and leave them with a negative opinion of you.

So back to the topic at hand.  What do you do if you’re like me and you need a design but you don’t have an artistic bone in your body?  You have two choices:

1) Try to design it yourself (which in my case means it will probably come out looking like a 5 year old did it)

2) Have a professional online logo maker like Logaster do all the design work for you so you can focus on running your business and leave the artsy stuff to people with talent

The way I look at it is it’s my business.  I want to make a good impression in all instances when people are exposed to it, whether on my website, business cards, advertisements, or letterhead.  Having a good logo is like wearing a suit to a business meeting; you don’t have to do it, but you might not make the impression you want if you don’t.