The most important aspect of a company’s identity is its logo.

The internet provides you with a huge ‘shop window’ to display yours with impact.

Your logo will appear on your company website, Facebook page, Twitter profile, Google+ page, TripAdvisor, Instagram, Behance, Pinterest and so on.

It will eventually be displayed across 100 different interfaces, before business cards, vehicles, banners, actual shop windows, signs and vouchers are even taken into account!

How to commission a logo - Kaydee Web Consultancy

Logos on websites

As a web consultant with many years of experience, I have seen a vast number of logos.

When I’m briefed on a website design project I consider the colours and shape of the company’s logo. The layout of the website often depends on the shape of the logo.

A tall, portrait logo, for example, is unlikely to work on a landscape website as it will take up too much room and leave too much white space.

Website visitors should be able to access information quickly, so your logo should not take up too much space ‘above the fold’ (the portion of the web page that is visible when the page first loads).

Space should be left to view the rest of your content.

The readability of your logo on the screen is important, whether it is small or large.

It is also worth remembering that the logo will appear over the hundreds of internet platforms discussed above, all of which demand different shapes and sizes.

Logos for social media networks

Companies frequently use a truncated logo as well as the full version. The truncated logo can be used across social media networks or as an avatar. It should recognisable even when reduced to the size of a small square.

Having different versions of a logo readily available means that your brand will look good everywhere it appears.

Types of logo

A logo can be font-based, a symbol or a combination of the two.

The full logo should state the name of the company and represent the business type. Visitors should get a clear idea of the company industry simply by looking at the logo.

One way to portray your business type is to use a symbol as a statement. Symbols are great for branding because they are instantly recognisable. This symbol can also be used as the truncated version.

A logo on a website could respond to a users device. A full logo could be displayed on a computer screen, the truncated version on a smartphone.

Logos as favicons

When using tabs on a computer, websites are recognisable by favicons (short for ‘favourites icon’).

Used correctly, the favicon will show up in three places:

The tab when visiting a website.

The list of websites in your bookmarks.

To the left of the website address on some browsers.

Kaydee Web Consultancy FavIconWhen viewing my website or blog on a computer, you will see my favicon.

The favicon is tiny, but it brings brand awareness, making it very easy to distinguish between sites when you have several tabs open.

It is important to choose a logo or symbol that will look good as a favicon.

Thoughts when commissioning a logo

When commissioning a logo, you need to consider the following:

The industry you are representing

Does the logo reflect the industry?

Audience

Is your target audience young, old, male, female, high-end or mass market? Are they technologically capable? Are they business owners? Mothers?

Colours

Colours can affect the mood, so choose them carefully.

Fonts and custom fonts

Make it legible, but representative.

Size

It may be worth having your logo available in more than one size so you can use it in different places.

Longevity

Make sure it will represent your company for years to come, even if it requires a few adjustments down the line.

Use a graphic designer

Keep the logo simple but original. Use a graphic designer to come up with something that looks professional.

An awful logo will make your company look bad and will make marketing and branding extremely difficult.

Find a good graphic designer with original ideas by looking through a range of portfolios. Once found, brief them with answers to the points above.

Provide the graphic designer with ideas but take advantage of their creative flair.

Large design companies charge more than £2,000 for corporate identities, which is worth it for a top class, original branding idea.

There some freelancers that will be able to do a great job for small businesses between £300 and £500.

Updating your company logo

When updating an old logo, don’t completely change the look. This is your company’s brand. People who are glancing at your material must still recognise that it is from you.

If you feel you have to completely change your look, you will need to set aside time and money to rebrand.

Trademark

You should trademark your logo once you are happy with it so that no one else can use or copy it. You can do this using one of the links below:

www.gov.uk/topic/intellectual-property/trade-marks

www.uspto.gov

Let me know your thoughts on commissioning a logo.

We create amazing websites to START, GROW & MANAGE your business.

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