Logos and packaging grant you the comfort of familiarity. I think all children now know the "Blue box" of cheesy macaroni. I know all people can recognize Chester the Cheetah on the Cheetos bag. The bright orange beckons you to grab it up - you know it and trust its implied quality over the pale orange knock-off cheetos. ( Nothing against generic brands, I buy them quite often, but this is to demonstrate the point that building familiarity eventually builds implied contracts of quality and price).
So, when starting a business, a recognizable, individual, unique logo and packaging scheme is tantamount to your corporate identity. You can slap that baby on business cards, magnets, bumper sticks, boxes, packaging, letterheads, envelopes, and of course- the product.
When considering a logo, if you are new- you may hit the internet and search engines for some guidelines and help. I've noticed a new business of logo design services. Before, logo designs were created by advertising companies, and people who graduated with degrees in manipulating public perceptions and playing on cultural meanings.
Now, we have 4 step programs- pick a category, pick a picture, pick a colour, pick a font. Viola, corporate identity and consumer influence in under 10 minutes for $70.00.
While you can go through these programs easily and quickly- and from what I viewed with a wide variety of ideas and concepts- it helps to know some basic truths and principles in building and designing your logo. Most of these have to do with colour. I am not an advertising expert, though I have taken classes in basic advertising and designing. However, I have taken several classes in psychology, specifically studying how we perceive implied messages in advertising and our modern culture.
1) Color Scheme- It helps to have a general trend throughout the things you create. You want your business card to have your logo on it, as well as your product. Having an orange business card, with a lime green logo unless you are a pumpkin farmer, isn't generally the best colour combination known to man. Not that everything needs to match, but there should be a harmony, a palette.
2) What image do you want to portray? I have never seen a bank use bright, cheerful colours before WaMu. Banks normally try to appeal as custodians of your money- elegant, professional, somber. Dark blues, rich golds, some mahogany, maybe a risque, muted cranberry. WaMu was blue and gold, and then exploded with cheerful yellows, pinks, aquas and greens when they tried to pull the "friendly" bank card- different from those stuffy rich bankers without a soul! They also were trying to capitalize on college freshmen getting their first bank accounts and cards. Bright colours tend to appeal to younger audiences and crowds better.
3) Give added messages through colour- A healing spa called.... Spaheal in bright pink conveys a spa designed and aimed for women. Through it in a light green with a leaf and suddenly it looks more medicinal and healing, since we associate green with life, earth, conservation, healing, etc. Put Spaheal in blue, and it seems like an aquatic spa with water massages and water-based therapuetic treatments. Put it in gold, and it seems gender neutral and high class, -read, expensive.- Colour packs its own message that needs to be taken into account.
I hope some of these help other budding entrepreneurs design their logos and launch their dreams!
