How exciting! You’ve decided to follow your dream and start your own business. You’ve selected a name that embodies what’s special about your company and you are rearing to go. Money may be tight as you are first getting out of the gate, so you decide that your homemade logo will do for now.

Really?? Your new business is your opportunity to develop a strong brand from the ground up. You’ve gone through the drill of developing a mission statement, defining a business model and picking out a new desk chair – and you’re going to allow your business name to go out dressed like that? No, no, no.

Your logo is a crucial part of your new brand identity. This logo will adorn your letterhead, your signage and your business cards. It will be imbedded in every email you send and within every proposal you develop. The right logo will help you put your best foot forward. Never skimp on your logo design.

I pride myself on designing great logos. It’s a process that begins with a healthy conversation about the new business’ unique value proposition and the demographics of the audience defined as our marketing target. During this initial conversation, I ask my client if they have a tagline that we can incorporate in the logo design. I highly recommend a tagline for most business brands!

Okay, now I understand the key messages that are paramount to this new brand, and the logo design process commences as follows:

  1. Black and white logo designs are developed. If the design works in black and white, it will really come to life when we apply 1-color, 2-color or 4-color design elements.
  2. We review initial designs and pick our favorite – or we combine, change or accentuate design components that resonate strongest and further develop a logo, until we have one that makes us smile.
  3. We apply a variety of color options. We review and select our favorite. How exciting! “Wow, my business colors are turquoise and red!”

When reviewing logo designs, there are some basic guidelines to keep in mind.

  • Show your design choices to no more than 2-3 people. Everyone has an opinion, and with more than 2-3 people weighing in, it makes the process more difficult than it need be.
  • Think about what you want to communicate to your clients or customers. Do you want to be trendy, savvy, conservative or edgy?
  • Follow you heart. This is your company and you need to love your logo! It will be an integral part of who you are and what you stand for. Remember, being able to have the final say in how you represent yourself is one of the reasons you started this company in the first place.