Corporate identity may seem like a high-level problem for medium- and large-sized corporations, but this cannot be farther from the truth. In fact, at the risk of sounding biblical, each business is created equal. In other words, big or small, each is considered its own, separate legal entity. Just as each individual has its own birth certificate, each business has its own Articles of Incorporation establishing its "birth." And since each business is considered its own entity, would it not stand to reason that each business have its own face or personality? All Fortune 500 companies have their own face and personality, which appear in the shape of a corporate logo.
Building or developing a persona for a business seems to elude most business owners who may not be interested at all in thinking up a name, brand, or corporate logo. These types of businesspeople typically rely on heavy word-of-mouth referrals and count on this type of activity to furnish a steady stream of revenue. Although these types of sales offer the lowest-resistance opportunity available, it does not guarantee that such sales will not cease or at lease slow in the future. When and if this happens, all a business can be left with is a name, which is usually stickered onto a door or side of a vehicle.
In order to establish an image, the business owner needs to create a corporate logo for the company. Depending on the owner's level of competent creativity, the corporate logo may be designed in-house. The keyword, however, is competent. Many business owners might scribble a logo and run with it, but have no clue just how unprofessional the so-called corporate logo really is. In instances where the owner wants to design the logo in-house, 3rd party opinions should be sought. Former clients who have nothing to gain or lose by providing an honest review is an option, just as testing the logo on a webpage is. But prospective clients and employees should not be used to critique the work. (Sometimes, a spouse might even provide honest feedback, but we normally urge against consulting a spouse -- 3rd party is always best).
For the business owner looking for a professional corporate logo, there are numerous providers available who will design your logo from scratch. The process normally starts with the business owner completing a creative brief. This document outlines the business (e.g. what it does) and through a series of questions the designer(s) get a feel for the company's personality. Completing the creative brief should take a bit of time on the owner's part as it will ultimately result in several sample corporate logos.
Next, the designer drafts the logo. While it may seem a simple process with the designer following the creative brief in the same way a chef might follow a recipe. After all, the designer will draw on the creative brief information to illustrate a sample of logos that fits your company specifically. The aim will be to exceed your expectations with more than one logo.
Lastly, a decision for a final logo will need to be made based on the sample. With your final logo sample chosen, a few final tweaks might take place and you will then be prepared to incorporate the corporate logo in everything related to your business, from invoices to business cards to signage.
Providers and prices range from low- to high-end, from free all the way up to $5,000 or more. Unfortunately, the corporate logo quality often has a linear relationship with the price paid, but when you consider the longevity of your business it stands to reason that you might be better off paying a little more for your corporate logo.
Quote Stork works with two logo designers. VistaPrint is one of them and offers cheaper and self-serve corporate logo design. Since VistaPrint wants you to buy stationery product from them (e.g. letterheads, business cards, stamps, etc.) they will let you build your own generic logo and if you order other product, they will let you have this logo for free. For a company where a corporate logo is not all that important, VistaPrint makes sense. For businesses where image is rather important (and this will be most businesses), the other logo designer Quote Stork endorses is LogoWorks. For $299, LogoWorks provides high-quality corporate logos. While the price seems steep up-front, the quality of logo speaks for itself (you can view their work on-line) and the end-product is not only more likely to satisfy, but to endure over time.
Building or developing a persona for a business seems to elude most business owners who may not be interested at all in thinking up a name, brand, or corporate logo. These types of businesspeople typically rely on heavy word-of-mouth referrals and count on this type of activity to furnish a steady stream of revenue. Although these types of sales offer the lowest-resistance opportunity available, it does not guarantee that such sales will not cease or at lease slow in the future. When and if this happens, all a business can be left with is a name, which is usually stickered onto a door or side of a vehicle.
In order to establish an image, the business owner needs to create a corporate logo for the company. Depending on the owner's level of competent creativity, the corporate logo may be designed in-house. The keyword, however, is competent. Many business owners might scribble a logo and run with it, but have no clue just how unprofessional the so-called corporate logo really is. In instances where the owner wants to design the logo in-house, 3rd party opinions should be sought. Former clients who have nothing to gain or lose by providing an honest review is an option, just as testing the logo on a webpage is. But prospective clients and employees should not be used to critique the work. (Sometimes, a spouse might even provide honest feedback, but we normally urge against consulting a spouse -- 3rd party is always best).
For the business owner looking for a professional corporate logo, there are numerous providers available who will design your logo from scratch. The process normally starts with the business owner completing a creative brief. This document outlines the business (e.g. what it does) and through a series of questions the designer(s) get a feel for the company's personality. Completing the creative brief should take a bit of time on the owner's part as it will ultimately result in several sample corporate logos.
Next, the designer drafts the logo. While it may seem a simple process with the designer following the creative brief in the same way a chef might follow a recipe. After all, the designer will draw on the creative brief information to illustrate a sample of logos that fits your company specifically. The aim will be to exceed your expectations with more than one logo.
Lastly, a decision for a final logo will need to be made based on the sample. With your final logo sample chosen, a few final tweaks might take place and you will then be prepared to incorporate the corporate logo in everything related to your business, from invoices to business cards to signage.
Providers and prices range from low- to high-end, from free all the way up to $5,000 or more. Unfortunately, the corporate logo quality often has a linear relationship with the price paid, but when you consider the longevity of your business it stands to reason that you might be better off paying a little more for your corporate logo.
Quote Stork works with two logo designers. VistaPrint is one of them and offers cheaper and self-serve corporate logo design. Since VistaPrint wants you to buy stationery product from them (e.g. letterheads, business cards, stamps, etc.) they will let you build your own generic logo and if you order other product, they will let you have this logo for free. For a company where a corporate logo is not all that important, VistaPrint makes sense. For businesses where image is rather important (and this will be most businesses), the other logo designer Quote Stork endorses is LogoWorks. For $299, LogoWorks provides high-quality corporate logos. While the price seems steep up-front, the quality of logo speaks for itself (you can view their work on-line) and the end-product is not only more likely to satisfy, but to endure over time.
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