Importance of a business logo

[RubyGloom]

I read an article on google saying that a good logo is very important and is the most over looked business marketing tool. How true is this and where does one start for a logo? Do you make it yourself or hire someone?

 

[PatrickJamesYu]

I read an article on google saying that a good logo is very important and is the most over looked business marketing tool. How true is this and where does one start for a logo? Do you make it yourself or hire someone?

I think it's pretty important.
It is a visual aid for people to remember the business.
That way people might be like this:
"Hey what was that business I wanted to buy that thing/service from? Oh yeah that one with the tree and the roots. Tree and Root Inc."
Haha.

It doesn't always have to be a picture of something, if it is, I think it should incorporate the name into it
Later on when it is more recognized, you can be more creative and remove the text if wanted.

It doesn't always have to be an illustration
Even just typography and composition works.

You can make it your self, if you want or can.
But I recommend getting it done professionally.
People who don't usually make logo's don't have the eye to make good logo's.

 

[RubyGloom]

I read an article on google saying that a good logo is very important and is the most over looked business marketing tool. How true is this and where does one start for a logo? Do you make it yourself or hire someone?

I think it's pretty important.
It is a visual aid for people to remember the business.
That way people might be like this:
"Hey what was that business I wanted to buy that thing/service from? Oh yeah that one with the tree and the roots. Tree and Root Inc."
Haha.

It doesn't always have to be a picture of something, if it is, I think it should incorporate the name into it
Later on when it is more recognized, you can be more creative and remove the text if wanted.

It doesn't always have to be an illustration
Even just typography and composition works.

You can make it your self, if you want or can.
But I recommend getting it done professionally.
People who don't usually make logo's don't have the eye to make good logo's.

Thanks, If I were to make it myself would I use CS5? and if I have a professional do it is there any thing specific I should look for while searching for one (I mean other then a good portfolio)?

 

[Overread]

For something like a logo when looking for a professional you want to see both that they've got a good portfolio, but also that that portfolio contains used logos from other companies - in other words make sure they've a good track record with producing logos.

Also remember that part of a logo is consistency - a lot of people who do them themselves find that they chop and change it a lot, which results in photos in portfolios and the like carrying different signatures and logos. What you want is a single look that identifies with yourself so that its your logo - that helps it stick in peoples mind a lot more.
Big chances in logos normally come with rebranding or new identifies with companies or is part of a big marketing push - ergo if the change their looks its not just a new picture, but an investment in marketing to push it through as well.

 

[PatrickJamesYu]

I read an article on google saying that a good logo is very important and is the most over looked business marketing tool. How true is this and where does one start for a logo? Do you make it yourself or hire someone?

I think it's pretty important.
It is a visual aid for people to remember the business.
That way people might be like this:
"Hey what was that business I wanted to buy that thing/service from? Oh yeah that one with the tree and the roots. Tree and Root Inc."
Haha.

It doesn't always have to be a picture of something, if it is, I think it should incorporate the name into it
Later on when it is more recognized, you can be more creative and remove the text if wanted.

It doesn't always have to be an illustration
Even just typography and composition works.

You can make it your self, if you want or can.
But I recommend getting it done professionally.
People who don't usually make logo's don't have the eye to make good logo's.

Thanks, If I were to make it myself would I use CS5? and if I have a professional do it is there any thing specific I should look for while searching for one (I mean other then a good portfolio)?

You can use photoshop CS5. Make it in 300 dpi!
Or if you are going to keep it simple without texture I would recommend Illustrator.
Illustrator is all about vectors so it's construction characteristics are kept intact so it can be resized to billboard sizes.
More practically, it can be business card sized, to poster sized, to car vinyl wrap.

If you go with a professional, look through the portfolio
and look for success.
See who the logo was made for.
Just small businesses?
Look and see if he/she has got some big businesses under their belt.

My buddy does band/musician design.
He does a lot of underground but big metal bands from the US, and a few from the UK.
But his biggest accomplishment was 2 designs for Metallica, a bigger, older and much more nation wide kinda band.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

NONE.














Until, that is, your company becomes super duper famous and your logo has become known by billions.

 

[KmH]

A logo is almost useless for a retail photographer that only shoots locally. Few retail photographers have the graphic design training (or the software) needed to design a logo. Logos are designed with vector graphics applications. Photoshop is a raster graphics application.

You know, Fed-Ex considered 240 designs before they picked their current one.

Coca-Cola's logo is just their name.

Sometime logo's turn out BAD: Bad Logos - When Logos Go Bad - Logos that Suck - Bad Logo Design Samples

 

[Big Mike]

Logos certainly are important for big companies...especially when they have a big public persona and/or they do a lot of advertising etc.

For a small business, especially for a photographer, I don't think it's that important, but it certainly won't hurt to have one (and a good one is a nice perk).

As mentioned, don't use Photoshop to make it (if you can help it). Illustrator is the tool of choice because you want a vector file. That way, it will look the same, whether you put it on a business card or put it on a billboard.

One technique for getting a logo, is to visit a graphic designer forum. Many of them allow you to start a competition. You specify what you want, and what you'll pay the winner. Then, you'll hopefully get several designers giving you some options. You can narrow it down and maybe ask for some tweaks before declaring a winner. You pay them and you get your logo. I know a few photographers who have go this route. It doesn't always work out, but most times it does. As with anything else, the more you're willing to pay, the better your results are likely to be.

 

[nickzou]

Ah yes... so now that I've worked in UI Design, Graphic/Web Design, Industrial Design, and been shadowing pro wedding photographer and being an active member on this for a while now. I can tell you that the value of all of these services are highly inflated by the people who work in the field itself. I'm sure as photographers here, a lot of people will get defensive if I say that most websites could do without paying thousands for photos that just sit on the landing page of a local business website or that a local jewellery sort should higher a photographer to shoot all their pieces when a nice Canon Powershot S camera and some good lighting, a few online tutorials on proper product photography will do them just fine. Likewise, UI and Industrial designers think that engineers would be HOPELESSLY lost without the golden assistance of their craft. It's true that their designs immensely improve on the of any given device or interface but they tend to stroke their own egos. Just like the way web designers think EVERY WEBSITE NEEDS THE PERFECT COLOR PALETTE and without that, your business is doomed to fail horribly. It's not true, there are bad designs but there are passable designs and for most small to medium businesses, that's all they need.

It's something I've noticed. All of these creative services would like you to think that the world would be lost without their service but it isn't the case. The world would just be less pretty. And the price of their service is set by a local cartel not necessarily the actual work put in. The wedding photographer I shadow (for free) charges nearly 5k per wedding. Is his work better than mine? Yes. Is it 5 times better? I dunno about that. I've picked up all his tricks in about a month. At this point, he just has better gear. At this point I've realized that most photographers aren't mad at a newbie charging less for their photos because it lowers the value of their overall service it's because they don't want to compete. Well I think it's time for photographers to deal with it. Web designers have, there are some crappy web designers who charge low low prices. There actually a huge market of very competent web designers that charge the same price but I don't see the high end web designers bitching about it. Learn to capitalism.

And no, you don't need a good logo. This is the biggest myth about marketing today. Brand recognition is not relevant until you at least start franchising. I've worked for small local charities who kept saying "brand recognition" with no idea of what it actually meant. And they wasted thousands upon thousands of dollars doing unnecessary things to their websites and envelopes and business cards towards this end. The other myth is that if you're logo is SOOO good someone will never forget it. Sorry, that's not how memory works.

So no, don't pay some graphic designer for a logo for you right now. They'll charge you anywhere from 200-1000 for a tiny little graphic and honestly... that's just money down the drain. I should know, I've conned plenty of people into buying logos they didn't need (and they were still good logos, just wholly unnecessary) and I still do it on a daily basis.