“Image is everything. In today’s multimedia driven world, this is a common phrase in the corporate world that now rings truer than ever. Corporate image is fundamental to a business’s success, and what better way is there to portray your company’s image than through its logo. A logo is to a company as a face is to a person, and just like your face, it is how people recognize you and your brand. It portrays your personality as well as your values and principles. Research done by Princeton psychologists Alexander Todorov and Janine Willis reveals that it only takes 0.1 seconds for the mind to form an impression of a stranger in reference to their face. Since your logo represents the face of your business, it is vital to leave a lasting impression on your consumers’ minds, and a good one at that Establishing yourself in the corporate world without a logo is an uphill task that may slow down or even hinder the growth of your business. This due to the fact that people will find it difficult to know how to recognize your brand. What if all car manufacturers had no logo? Aside from recognizable car designs like those of Lamborghini and Porsche, how would you tell that that saloon car that just cruised past you while you were walking on the street was a Toyota or an Isuzu? Without that ever present logo on the front or rear of the vehicle, this would be a very difficult task. This simple example portrays just how crucial a logo is to a company. However, having just any old logo used to represent your brand is never good for business. A logo acts as a mental shortcut to your product or company and must hence leave a mental picture that is unique, appealing and properly communicates the worth of your company or product.
The market today is saturated with thousands if not millions of logos in all forms of multimedia. It is therefore imperative that your company’s logo, aside from being distinctive, have meaning in order for it to present a unique and specific impression on the consumer. This goes a long way into setting your business apart from the competition as well as solidifying consumer loyalty. This is because the work of a logo continues long after your image and identity have been established. By ensuring that your logo accompanies all your products and services as well as wherever they are mentioned, it won’t be long before the presence of your logo will be sufficient enough for your clients to relate to your company. For instance, whenever you see the image of an apple with a bite taken off from its side on a device you immediately recognize that it is a product from the Apple Inc. electronics company. Logos also help to establish ownership of a product or company while providing a legal safe guard against forgeries and fakes. A logo acts as a signature, proving legal ownership and hence giving you the right to sue any company should they try to imitate your logo in attempts to increase their sales.
It is common for businesses to make the grim mistake of paying insufficient attention to their logo design. A poorly thought up or constructed logo can easily damage your company’s image or give the wrong impression of your company to consumers. A well designed logo portrays professionalism and competence, separating your business from competitors with substandard logos or none at all It is therefore important to invest adequate time and money in the creation of a logo so as to best represent your business. Your logo can easily be your most powerful marketing tool and even become the main reason for the sale of your company’s product. So be sure to invest in developing a GREAT logo and looking after it and you and your business will be sure to reap the benefits.
