Why "just a logo" won't get the job done
Maybe you're a new business owner in a hurry to get started and you just want to forgo the branding process...
Or maybe you've got a little sticker-shock over just how much it costs to start a business...
Or maybe you've been in business for a while and your old logo just isn't cutting it anymore...
Whatever your reason, I know it is SO tempting to ask your designer for "just a logo" but there are a few things you'll want to consider before going down that long frustrating road.
1. Discovery makes all the difference
Let me take you on a little journey... back to a few years ago, when my freelance career consisted of one-off projects. Logos, Flyers, etc - all one-hit wonders. I was a designer on one of those "design competition" websites. Customers would ask for "just a logo," submit a short description of what they were looking for, and receive many many logo options.
Excellent, right? "Sign me up!" you may be thinking, but let's look a little closer...
Too often, those designs deviated from the description or seemed to assume a particular target audience. There was no "Discovery" process - meaning all those designs were created in a vacuum, and that's not where your logo needs to be. Your logo is the core of your brand, creating it without regard for the kind of clients you want to attract will only lead to re-branding down the road.
While those customers were getting a great deal (a logo for around $200-$500), it's absolutely worthless to spend any money at all on something you'll just have to change later. Save yourself the headache and establish a solid brand from the beginning.
2. launching a business is no small task
When you start your business, you'll probably also be launching business social media pages. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, all have different image requirements and you'll need additional images to give your social media pages a professional look. How will you know what to post or how to present your business on these platforms if you haven't defined your business's core values and personality?
You will also need to launch a website. Now, you can have your logo designed and then hand it to your website designer, but without a concrete brand or "style guide" to work from, it's going to become very complicated and tedious for you to create your "look" out of thin air as you go along. Taking the time to define your brand and create your style guide at the very beginning, ensures that you have a concrete document of your company's "look," personality, values and target audience (or ideal customer) to give to any designers you work with. This will keep your brand cohesive across all platforms.
What about print? Do you plan to write memo's or invoices? Are you going to leave business cards with friends and family to hand out? You may be able to wait to have these created, but again, if you just have a logo to work from, the sky is the limit on the kinds of designs you'll end up with. Without a clear branding guide, designing your print materials becomes a chaotic process.
3. be wise in how you invest your time & money
Asking for "just a logo" is absolutely cheaper than developing your brand, but will only cause frustration and end up costing you more time and money to fix in the future. If you'd like to spend a little time to get your business's brand set-up right, you can grab my Free Branding Questionnaire HERE and get started today! Using this guide will make the process so much quicker and easier! This questionnaire takes you through the process of defining your business, your target audience, and the look you want to create to convey your brand's core values.
If you don't have the time, we can brand your business for you! We offer the start-up package specifically to help busy entrepreneurs like you! This is designed to be a cost effective option to get all your brand basics done at one time, so that your business can hit the ground running. This package is basic, but it is so much more than just a logo and can be customized to suit your needs.