I have had a number of clients over the years approach me asking for an estimate to create a website or a brochure, or a business card design – and my first question to them is always – “do you have a logo”? It still surprises me when the response is “No.”
No? You mean you want a brochure to market your company, but you have no logo? You want a website, but you’ve not considered a brand identity? You want a business card... but you don’t have...a logo? Talk about putting the cart before the horse, folks.
It's your identity
Your logo is your brand - the visual representation of your company. It's what first identifies you as a professional. Your company logo should be the first thing you create after you’ve established a name for your company. The logo design should be very carefully considered and not rushed. The logo will set the tone for all of your marketing because it will be on everything.
If you want to market your company, your first step must always be to develop an appropriate, professional, distinctive logo, along with a style guide for your communications. That consists of a color palette, font choices, guidelines to follow in creating all your subsequent communications. This is called a ‘brand identity’.
Once you’ve got that, the rest of your marketing will simply fall into place. It makes no sense to do it any other way.
And while you're at it
As long as you're creating the logo, be sure to hire a professional. For the same reason you must create the logo first, you must make sure that it is created correctly by someone who understands the six essential points to creating a good logo. This type of service can be found at all different price points to match your marketing budget.
