What logo comes to mind when you see the double golden arches (or part of it)?
It wouldn’t take long for anyone to immediately recognize it as the logo representing Happy Meals and golden fries; a gateway to the promised land of McDonald’s. The fast-food chain even turned their logo upside down in honor of International Women’s Day; a clever twist to their iconic symbol.
Wouldn’t you like a logo as recognizable as McDonald’s? You may say you are not as successful as this global franchise with a similar marketing budget, but the development of a key identity piece like a logo deserves much more time, effort, and money than you feel it needs. Consider this; your logo will be front and center throughout the lifetime of your business!
Your Story as an Iceberg
A logo does not simply become iconic overnight. While McDonald’s has over 60 years to define and refine their identity, new business ventures nowadays may not have the luxury of taking as much time to establish their presence in a very saturated market. Having said that, it is still important for your brand (ie. logo and more) to be crafted well from the get-go.
You are a small start-up who has identified a need in the marketplace and developed a possibly viable solution. As you seek to break off from the pack and carve out that niche, the first thing that usually comes to mind is, “I need a logo for my business.“
While a logo is essential, the ultimate goal is to establish your business’ existence and create awareness of your offering; your brand needs a story.
A Brand is more than just a logo
Attractiveness or aesthetic is subjective and a logo needs to be more than just “good looking”. There are many aspects of a company, both visible and invisible, that will inspire a meaningful logo and more importantly, help formulate a memorable brand story.
- The INVISIBLE core or culture of your brand…
- Vision – What your company ultimately seeks to achieve
- Mission – The approach to achieve that vision
- Value – The beliefs that drive work ethics
- … should inspire and support the VISIBLE
- Offering – The products/services your company offer
- Behavior – The words and actions you and your employees exhibit
- Experience – The interactions your customers have with the brand
Let’s Craft Your Story
Crafting a brand story is an arduous but critical journey. A powerful brand story is foundational to the success of a company; it inspires and guides you and your employees, and it is what your customers remember and talk about. So the next time you see a familiar logo, notice that you don’t necessarily think about how good it looks but rather, the memories and emotions attached to that brand.
Maya Angelou said it well, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.“
Check out an article from Fast Company titled “No one cares about your logo“.
PS: Has your company been around the block for a while? Are you needing to cut ties with your DIY-clipart-inspired logo or update a website built in the 90s? Then, your brand may benefit from a cosmetic rebranding .
Click here to learn how your brand can be reinforced through three core touchpoints.
Let me know how I can help your company, no matter how small, to craft a powerful Brand Story!
DeSi9n HouSE 