Chicago Graphic Design: Is your logo design killing your business branding

Chicago Graphic Design 

Exceptional Brand Identity Solutions: Chicago Graphic Design

Most businesses have a logo, but the vast majority of businesses have not used that logo to its full potential, or have even left their logo design and branding to an amateur designer or even having one of their staff make up a logo using clip art (gasp!). This is done without any real research into how a logo effects consumer perception, and is done without thinking about the entire branding concept. This is killing your business online and in person.

When was the last time you got someones business card and saw a little clip-art dude that you can get free on Microsoft's website? Probably not too often. Then why are YOU doing it? Take a little time to read through this post to see exactly how your logo effects your business, your target market, and what a proper logo design and branding solution could do for your company for years and years and years...

Logo Design:
Logos and trademarks make up the most creative international language in the world. An excellent logo can cross barriers and provide your organization with an avenue to deliver your services and products to customers in a uniform way. Without this, you’re effectively flushing your business down the drain.

Every successful company has a distinct personality, just like humans, and a successful brand and logo design are essential to attracting multiple types of personalities and markets. If you’re business doesn’t have these things, it’s time to invest in them. When you embark on this journey into branding, company identity, and logo design, you should be aware of several points of interest:

1. Your logo and branding needs to IDENTIFY your company/product/service.

2. Your logo and branding must DIFFERENTIATE you from the masses.

3. Your logo and branding must COMMUNICATE the value of your services and products.

4. Your logo and branding should ADD VALUE to your company by creating a benchmark for quality and reputation.

5. Your logo and branding must REPRESENT your products and services as valuable things. If your logo isn’t doing these things, choose to update and seek advice from a professional graphic design firm.

Brand Identity:

Branding can be technically defined as a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these things intended to identify one particular seller or a group of sellers and to differentiate them from others. This sounds important right? Well it most definitely is. One thing to note is that branding is NOT about getting your target market to choose you over your competition…it’s getting them to see you as the only solution to their needs and problems.

A good brand has the following:
1. The ability to deliver your message clearly
2. Give your company credibility and strength
3. An emotional connection to your target market
4. The ability to motivate buyers and consumers
5. A distinct knack for keeping your target market loyal to your services or product

To succeed in this, you need to understand your target market, your customer’s wants and needs, and the ability to project what they’ll want and need in the future. You can do this by integrating brand strategies through your company at every public contact point.

A strong brand is as valuable as gold as the battle for loyal customers gets more and more intense. It’s important to spend time investing in research, and an effective Creative Firm to help your marketing communications strategies be the best they can be. Your brand and logo are the foundation of your company.

So the next time you even think about making a Microsoft Word clip-art image your logo...STOP.

Contact a real Chicago Graphic Design Company and schedule a meeting.

/// Integraphix, a Creative Agency in Chicago, Illinois

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I just need a logo

"I want you to design a brand for my business - all I need is a logo." This is a common phrase uttered by some of our Integraphix clients, and it is a misconception in the minds of many business men and woman who are looking to brand their business. They misunderstand that a brand is not merely a symbol, logo or 'mark' used on a sign outside their doorstep. The reality is something more. The logo design is just one part of a larger branding process. A brand is what huge corporate giants from smaller competitors. The problem that faces most graphic designers and chicago marketing company studios these days is clients with almost no knowledge of what a brand is. Sometimes the graphic designer creates a logo design for a client that may fail to establish its presence, but this is hardly the fault of the designer. The client, perhaps, didn't want to pay for the full branding process and therefore the designer was not allowed to fully develop the brand for the client. It was not the failure of the logo, but the failure of the brand to be designed.

Think of this scenario…you have never heard of Apple or before (just assume for a moment). You are unaware of the corporation and what it has to offer to you. Now imagine… if you pass by a someone on an Apple laptop sporting the logo or drive by an Apple billboard, would you be amazed by it?… Probably not. It's just the silhouette of an apple.  Back to reality!  Famous brands like Apple have actively marketed their logo and established its connection with the company, which is why you have a strong awareness about it. That strong association created in the minds of customers is the brand that has been established and is a large part of why the company has had the success it has. Why buy a computer that costs $2000 rather than a computer you can get for $500? Granted Apple has quality on their side too, but it's also the stigma of having a Mac on your lap rather than an HP.

This is the biggest downfall of branding decisions made by many business owners and entrepreneurs. A brand is not just a mark or a symbol that you put on your company sign board. On the contrary, a brand leaves a mark on your customer that is long lasting. Another major distinction between a logo and a brand is their focus span. Logos illustrates what a company stands for, what it has to offer and what is its purpose of existence. In contrast, a brand has strategic focus. It depicts a vision of the firm as to what the brand will be and what it promises to its customers in the future.

A logo design is a visual representation of any company or business. It projects the image of the company existence in the industry. A brand goes one giant step further in PROTECTING the image of the firm. Whatever you establish through your logo design is inevitably protected by your brand.

Think of the Gap fiasco. The company unfortunately decided to redesign their logo. This attempt failed horribly at the mercy of their customers. But their longstanding BRAND power protected them from any serious damage.  

Wrapping it up, logos lay the foundation of a brand but are not sufficient to establish their presence. Brand Marketing does not end with a logo. They must be communicated through a brand in order to be recognized. Think about it next time you ask your marketing company for a logo - perhaps invest in the whole package!

Integraphix, a Chicago Marketing Company