1. Start with your positioning, not your logo
Most business owners start with the question: what should my logo look like? But a logo is the translation of something else: what you stand for. Without that story, a logo is just a nice picture without meaning.
Ask yourself three questions before you start on a brand identity:
- What do you do? Describe it in one sentence your neighbour would understand.
- Who do you do it for? The more specific, the better.
- Why do customers choose you? Speed, quality, personal contact, price or expertise?
The answer to that last question determines your look. A budget hairdresser looks different from an exclusive salon, even though both cut hair.
2. Design for your customer, not for yourself
Your own taste is a poor compass. The question isn’t whether you like the logo, but whether your ideal customer feels drawn to it. An accountant who wants to reach young entrepreneurs may benefit from a fresh, approachable style rather than the classic navy blue.
Tip: look at the brands your customers already use and trust. What feel do they have? You don’t have to copy them, but it tells you what your customer is used to.
3. What makes a good logo?
A good logo is simple, recognisable and works at any size. It should stay legible as a 16-pixel favicon and look strong on a company van or building.
Test your logo with this checklist
- Does it work in black only or white only?
- Is it recognisable as a profile picture on Instagram or LinkedIn?
- Could you sketch it from memory in a few seconds?
- Will it still look good in five years, or is it mostly on-trend right now?
That’s why every package includes your logo in colour, black and white, in three formats and as a favicon.
4. Choose colours for a reason
Colour is often the first thing people remember about a brand. Stick to one main colour, one or two supporting colours and a neutral colour for text and backgrounds.
Colours carry associations. Green often stands for growth, nature and calm. Blue for reliability. Orange and yellow for energy and approachability. Use those associations deliberately, but also look at your competitors: if everyone in your industry uses blue, a different colour can make you stand out.
Define your colours for print (CMYK and Pantone) and for screens (RGB and HEX). That way your brand looks the same on your website as on your business card.
5. Two fonts are enough
Choose one font for headings and one for body text. More fonts make your look restless. Pay attention to legibility on small screens and make sure the fonts are also available in Word, so you can create quotes and letters in the same style.
6. Consistency sells
People need to see your brand often before they remember it. Every time your logo, colours or tone are different, that process starts again. Consistency isn’t a detail, it’s a growth tool.
- Use the same version of your logo everywhere.
- Create templates for quotes, invoices and social media posts.
- Record your agreements in brand guidelines, so your printer, web developer or new colleague gets it right too.
Good to know: the Brand Easy and Brand Fuller packages include brand guidelines with rules for logo use, colour use and typography. View the packages.
7. Your brand online: website, Google and social media
For many customers, your website or Google profile is the first point of contact. Make sure your brand identity is instantly recognisable there.
- Google Business Profile: use your logo as the profile picture and an image in your brand style as the cover photo. Ask happy customers for a review.
- Website: use your fixed colours and fonts, and put your key message at the top of every page.
- Social media: work with fixed templates. Being recognisable in the feed matters more than a different design every time.
- Advertising: ads on Google or social media perform better when the landing page has the same look and promise as the ad.
8. Five common mistakes
- Too much detail in the logo. What looks good large becomes illegible small.
- Following trends. A fashionable logo feels dated two years later.
- No fixed rules. Without agreements, ten versions of your brand slowly appear.
- Only thinking about the logo. Business cards, email signatures and templates make the difference in daily use.
- Putting it off. Every month without a professional look costs you trust, and therefore customers.
9. When is it time for a new brand identity?
A new brand identity makes sense when your business has changed, you want to reach a new audience, you’re embarrassed by your business card, or your brand looks different on every channel. When starting a business it also pays to get it right straight away: starting over later costs more than laying a solid foundation now.