Newsletter - A Dummy's Guide to Branding & Logo Design

Welcome to the November installment of the monthly MWI email newsletter. Subscribing is as easy as a visit to MWI's website at www.mwi.com, and unsubscribing is as easy as replying to this email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

A DUMMY'S GUIDE TO "BRANDING" & LOGO DESIGN

Do you hate it when creative-types with messy hair and thick-rimmed glasses talk about "branding" in a way that leaves you wondering if they're talking about your company's logo, your advertising, your business cards, or something more ethereal? For all those who have ever felt confused about the word "branding," we offer this brief and (hopefully) informative guide.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BRANDING

Sometime between the dinosaurs 300 million years ago and the stock brokers who roamed the planet prior to March 2000, cowboys ruled the earth. However, cowboys had a problem. They were responsible for thousands of head of cattle, and these cows weren't fenced in anywhere. Bovines of every size, shape, and color roamed the countryside freely, grazing upon the green grass. In order to let people know which cattle belonged to whom, the cowboys would "brand" each and every cow.

To do this, they heated a shaped piece of metal at the end of a long rod and pressed it against the hide of a cow until it burned an imprint. The cows didn't like this, but the system worked, and even the cows agreed that getting branded was relatively pleasant compared to what happened once they got fattened up. Cattle owners each had their own unique shape or symbol that was easily recognizable and indisputably marked a cow as belonging to them.

Today, the word "branding" is most commonly associated with the mark or symbol companies use to identify themselves. But unlike the cowboys of the Old West, to a company today branding is more than just a mark; it's the sum total of all feelings and perceptions the public has about that company, and good branding (also called "brand equity") can be worth billions to companies like Nike or Coca-Cola. However, just for today, let's talk about branding as it specifically relates to the mark, or logo, of a company.

THE GOOD

What is good branding when we're talking about a logo? Let's look at three factors:

  1. Design (how well the logo is designed)
  2. Time (how long the logo has been around and had time to become well-known)
  3. Promotion (how well the logo has been promoted)
nike

Although there are exceptions, most successful logos can be rated as "positive" in at least two of the above areas. The Nike "Swoosh" (what we call a logomark) is an example of a logo which has been well designed, has been around a decent length of time, and has been well-promoted. The logo is clean, simple, timeless, and easy to use in a variety of situations, from being printed on the side of a pen to painted on the side of a 10-story building in Los Angeles. The logo has been around for a few decades-long enough to become well-known worldwide, and it has been well-promoted through creative advertising and marketing.

coca cola

Many would say the same things about the Coca-Cola logo (which is an example of a logotype, since the logo consists of a word typed out rather than a symbol or "mark", although they also use a type of "swoosh" as part of their branding), but I would have to disagree with the masses on one point-design. If the Coca-Cola logo did not exist, and someone came up with that design today, do you think it would get approved by anyone? It's hard to read at any size, and in this day and age it's quite old-fashioned with its fancy script. However, the logo has been around for so long and marketed so well that Coca-Cola has been able to overcome the logo's design flaws and turn them into strengths. The complexity that makes it a poorly designed logo is exactly what makes it instantly recognizable and so successful when combined with time and good promotion.

etrade

ETrade's logo is an example of one that has been in existence only a short time, yet is well-known. It is well-designed in that it is simple, recognizable, and easy to use in many different formats and situations. All it took to make it well-known quickly was millions and millions of dollars in advertising.

THE BAD

Ok, in order to keep this short and non-offensive to any specific entity, let me just talk about some bad logo design elements.

The Swoosh. The "swoosh," which could also be called an arc or a curve, has become overused in logos, perhaps due to its success as part of the Nike branding. Some estimates suggest more than 60% of all logos use a swoosh. If you need to be convinced to leave a swoosh out of your logo or remove it if it's already there, read this article from TheStreet.com.

The Shadow. Putting a shadow behind part or all of your logo makes it difficult to read, harder to work with, and a shadow distracts needlessly from your brand. It should be used in rare cases where it makes sense, and only under the direction of a trusted professional.

the man

The Man. Maybe you know what I'm talking about, maybe you don't. I'm talking about the little three-piece man you see incorporated in all too many logos. It's not that "the man" is bad in and of himself, but he's been overused and therefore isn't original. There are at least seven companies in Utah alone using this man in their logos with more than one of them holding a star. You may have never noticed him before, but if you look around you'll start seeing him everywhere.

More is Less. Next time you're driving along the freeway, take a look at the billboards you see. You'll notice that some billboards are easy to read, and you can read everything on the billboard and tell what message the advertiser is trying to get across during the brief time you're able to look over before wrenching the steering wheel to avoid hitting the car in front of you that just slowed down. Other billboards contain text that is small and impossible to read even if you're sitting stuck in traffic, let alone driving at the speed limit. Some billboards contain multiple photos, designs, phone numbers, website addresses, email addresses, and so many other elements that you don't know what to try and remember. Many billboards fail to return the value of what they cost because the advertiser tried to cram too many things onto it. In the end, the billboard fails to communicate any message at all, and gets very little response.

Logos are sort of like billboards. The more elements you introduce into your logo, the harder it is for the human mind to process and remember. The simpler your logo, the faster it is processed. With a simple logo it is that much easier to build brand equity in the minds of those you hope to influence. Keep it simple.

THE UGLY...BUT GOOD

totally awesome computers

Can a logo be absolutely bad and yet successful at the same time? No doubt about it. If you're a Utah resident, you've no doubt seen the TV commercials for Totally Awesome Computers. If you're not a Utah resident, you are definitely missing out. TAC has the most annoying, low-budget radio and TV commercials with branding to match. Their entire image is straight out of the 80s, evidently when the company's founder was in high school. Somehow this company has succeeded in creating a website that appears to pre-date the Internet itself. Simply put, their branding stinks. It's cheesy, it's ugly, it's annoying. It's so bad people discuss the latest annoying commercial from TAC during their lunch breaks. But the company is wildly successful financially. They are one of the exceptions to rules #1 and #2. Their logo is poorly designed, and they haven't been around for a long time. Like Coca-Cola, their promotional abilities (i.e., spending a fortune on TV and radio advertising) have made up for other challenges and they have turned bad branding into an integral part of their success.

ROUND UP

No one remembers everything they read. Often we just try to take away one or two main points from an article, book, whitepaper, or other reading material. If there's anything you take from this month's MWI email newsletter, I hope you will take a look at your company's branding and ask yourself 1) is it well designed? 2) have we adequately promoted our brand?, or 3) have we been around long enough that think we can afford to ignore #1 and #2? Depending on the answers, you may need the help of a professional, or at least a cowboy.

-- Joshua Steimle, CEO

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