So your thinking of having a new logo? Your logo is a very important thing to get right and there is probably a lot more to consider than you may have even thought of, but don’t worry! We’re here to help you navigate your way through the process and give you five key points you need when getting a logo designed. So sit back and have a read of these five points to make sure you get the best logo for you and your business from the start.

MAKE SURE IT’S VERSATILE.

Most businesses should have a website and this will probably be the main place which your logo may be seen. However, if you’re a bricks and mortar business you will probably have signage on your building. you may already have business stationery and possibly some promotional pens that you give out to customers etc.

Your logo should fit on everything you need it to and still look good. A good logo designer or agency will make sure that whatever they design will work on all possible materials you may need it to. It is also handy to have a landscape and portrait versions of the logo design. For example, if you have a logo designed in a portrait format, it’s probably not going to view too well when it comes to having it on your website as you will not be able to read any wording that may be part of your logo.

Don’t go too text-heavy or wordy with your logo design as when you need to use it at a smaller size, it will probably be too small to read.

MAKE SURE ITS UNIQUE TO YOU.

You may think it’s obvious, but make sure that your logo design is as unique as possible to you. If you’re a local business, make sure your logo stands out and does not look similar to another local business in your area, that goes for the colours you use too.

For example, if you’re a holiday letting agency by the sea, and every other holiday letting company in your area is using the colour blue, DON’T use blue. Think outside the box and chose colours that will stand out and get your business to stand out from all the others, that’s not to say you should go for fluorescent pink! Your designer should talk through with you and find out about your business, your values and what you want your logo to say about you. They should also check out the local competition to avoid any similarities in the final design.

If you would like to trademark your logo, you will also need to make sure your logo is unique to you because you will not be granted a trademark if you have a similar logo to another company in your business sector. If you are a UK company and file for a trademark and your logo or name is already out there, then you would not be granted the trademark and it will just end up costing you money essentially for nothing.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A MONO AND FULL-COLOUR VERSIONS.

Some people will ask for a logo and receive just that, but you should also be receiving a mono version of your design too, should you need to use it in the future.

Mono logo designs are always useful for things like uniform designs if you should ever need them as embroidery machines can’t replicate complicated gradients or shading if you have that in your logo. If you have tee shirts printed with your logo on it will cost a lot more to print a 4 colour design than a one colour design. You may not be thinking of this straight away if you’re just starting out, but this could save you a lot of money along the way.

It’s also handy if you need to add watermarks to images or simple documents like invoices that don’t need to print full-colour logos. It’s important to make sure your logo works well in one colour as well as multiple colours.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A COPY OF THE FINAL LOGO DESIGN IN AN EPS FORMAT.

Once you have decided on your final logo design, it’s important that you make sure you receive a copy of the final design in an EPS file format. You may not have the software to open this document, but if you ever require something designing in the future like signage or promotional adverts, a third party designer may ask for the logo in an EPS format.

You want to make sure that your logo is clean and clear whatever size it is. So you will need an EPS copy of your logo to be able to send over to a designer for them to use for your logo to be perfect at any scale, otherwise if you just have the PNG or Jpeg versions of your logo, they will look pixelated and poor quality when scaling up.

MAKE SURE IT FITS WITH YOUR BUSINESS.

Sometimes as obvious as this sounds, its often overlooked in the excitement and strange ideas that some people have when getting a logo designed, but make sure your logo fits in with your business.

That means, does it convey the message that you want people to feel about your business. Is it easy for people at a glance to work out what your business does just by your logo, or is your logo confusing and would need explaining to someone what your business is?

If you’re a care home, you probably want to stay away from the colour red as this is the colour for blood, danger or warnings and may do better going for a soothing, caring and trusting with colours like blues or green.

SO TO RECAP…

A logo is a big part of your business or organisation and there are many things to consider that we have touched on. The key points to take away from this article is.

• Make sure that your logo tries to outwardly show your values and give an idea what it is you do or what you’re about.
• Your logo makes sense when using it with all types of material, from a website or signage to a pen or business cards.
• If you have a colourful logo, make sure you have mono versions too.
• Make sure it ties into what your business or organisation does. There is no point having a logo that makes you look more like an I.T consultant when you sell pet food
• Make sure your unique, you don’t want to be confused for another company or look like one of your competitors.