One of our graphic designers, Rob, talks about the importance of having a professionally designed logo and all the ways it can benefit your business.

What is a logo?

A logo, in theory, is a very simple thing. It is a visual symbol that is made up of text and imagery. However, a logo has a big role in the business it is designed to portray what the company does and what it stands for.

A professionally designed logo is usually made up of 3 parts, the brand mark, brand name, and a strap-line. The brand mark is the graphical section of a logo. This is usually what consumers associate the most with a company. For example, when you think of McDonald’s, you see the golden arches, when you think of Nike, you see the Nike tick. The brand mark needs to be simple and easily recognisable, so consumers don’t forget you.

The importance of a brand name

A brand name is a name that you have given to your company, product, or service. This should be short and sweet. If consumers see a name that is 5 words long, they are not going to read it or remember it. A lot of companies that have long names, usually take one section as their brand name and use the rest as the strap-line.

The importance of a memorable strapline

The strap-line is a small amount of text that is usually underneath the brand name to give more detail to the consumer about what the company is or what the company’s values are. The strapline, otherwise known as a slogan, should sum up everything you want people to think about your brand. Take Tesco for example, their strapline is ‘every little helps’, meaning every small thing is beneficial towards a bigger objective. This short, memorable strapline is refreshingly down to earth. It portrays a message of value, quality, convenience, and great service and fits perfectly no matter what they’re advertising.

the benefits of a professionally designed logo?

Making an impression

The human brain can absorb and process visual information better than any other form of information. In fact, the brain is able to process images around 60,000 times faster than words, and around 90% of the information our brain absorbs is visual.

This shows how vital a professionally designed logo is to a company. Our brains are absorbing so much imagery at one time that in order to make your logo stand out and catch people’s attention it needs to be eye-catching, well-designed and of the highest quality to not blend in with or get lost in the crowd.

Having the right files

When you get a professionally designed logo, it is a lot more than a designer sending an image over to you and that’s it. The more touchpoints that you have for your logo, the more different types of files that are required, so the level of quality is carried throughout each platform.

For instance, the file required to place a logo on a website is completely different from the type of file you will need to print your logo on a t-shirt. A professional designer will supply you with all the different types of logo files. This will ensure that you will not have a pixelated logo on your website, or the wrong colour printed on your t-shirt or flyer.

Portray quality

The biggest reason why small companies decide not to get a professionally designed logo is the price. However, if you decided to design your logo yourself, and it ends up looking home-made, cheap, or tacky, this can seriously harm your business. Think about it yourself, if you had the choice to walk into 2 shops. One has a nice clean professional logo, with eye-catching colours that are targeted towards you.  Another shop who’s logo looks dull, badly designed, and the colours don’t work well together, which shop are you going to walk into?

It’s the same when it comes to online, as it’s all about trust and quality. Will your customers look at your professional logo and trust that the quality of the product or service that you are selling is high? If not then they will look somewhere else. You need to convince consumers that your business delivers quality products and services. Your branding and logo design is an important aspect of this. The better you portray your company to consumers, the more likely they are to buy from you or use your services. If you do provide great products and a great service, then people will associate your professional logo with quality.

Separating yourself from your competition

In a world where new businesses starting up every day, competition has never been higher. This is why making your business unique from everyone else is crucial. Your company will stick in a consumer’s head if you make your business stand out from the rest.

The main thing you need to do with any business is to figure out your USP (unique selling point). This does not stop at your product or service; it continues throughout the design of your business. Having a well-designed and eye-catching logo can help you separate yourself from the competition. A professionally designed logo will help you to highlight what makes you different.

It is important to remember that your logo is the front face of your business. It is the first thing consumers will notice about you, so you need to make a good first impression. If your logo is boring or looks unprofessional, then this is the impression you will be giving to your customers. You may not be happy with or proud of the logo that is the front face of your business. If this is the case, then why would a random consumer be interested in it?

How Castle can help you design a professional logo

If you were hiring an employee to sell your product or service, would you want someone that had 0 experience? Or someone, that has 10+ years of experience? The same principle applies when it comes to a logo. You may think it’s not hard to design a professional logo. But the reality is you just won’t get the same level of quality if you do it yourself or rely on someone who isn’t a trained professional. A professional graphic designer, like the team at Castle, will put in hours of research. We ensure that you are getting a logo that is professional, eye-catching, high-quality, and most suited to your specific business.

Are you looking for a new professional logo for your business? Or maybe you’re looking for a fresh new rebrand? Our graphic design team can help give your business a new lease of life, a fresh start and take your business to the next level. We will provide you with a dedicated brand manager and offer unlimited design revisions. To find out more, check out our branding service page, or to arrange a free consultation, contact us on 0151 372 1234 or info@castle.co.uk.