You Need a New Logo. Should it Be an Evolution or a Revolution?
Like a firm handshake or a friendly smile, your logo is a customer’s first impression of your business. So, it’s important that you make it a good one. It’s hard to win a customer back once they have a bad taste in their mouth about your organization. Is your current logo giving the impression you want? Is it conveying what your company is about? If not, then the next question to ask is “Do you need to slightly tweak your logo, or do you need to start from scratch?” Let Gatorworks help you make that decision and to give your business the best look.
Signs Your Logo Needs A Redesign
How do you know if you need to change how your business presents itself to the public? There are two main signs we see most often. If you’re wondering whether these two apply to your logo, it’s highly likely it does.
It Simply Doesn’t Look Good
First of all, your logo should help you stand out from the crowd. Having an easily recognizable logo makes it easier for customers to remember and associate it with your service or product. This rolls into the next point: your logo should be simple. If your logo is too complex, not only is it harder to remember, but it’s less versatile. Probably the most important reason your logo needs an overhaul is to establish trust with your customers. An aesthetically pleasing logo can legitimize your organization for clients and give them the feeling that they’re in good hands. A poor logo can make you seem scatter-brained and create distrust with your customers.
It Hasn’t Matured With Your Business
Additionally, if your company was founded before the digital revolution, your logo may not translate well to profile images or retina screens. If people think they’ve just gotten out of a Delorean when they look at your logo, you may be perceived as out of touch with technology.
Let’s say you’re making all the right changes to your company. You’ve updated technologies and workflows, made processes more efficient, and revised your organization’s mission statement and brand voice. Or, maybe you started out as a very small business with a logo that was “good enough” for the time. But since then, you’ve tripled in size and now have more at stake. Consequently, your untouched logo doesn’t represent all this positive evolution of your company.
Redesigning Your Logo
Now you might know your logo definitely needs help to simplify or better reflect your company. Next, you should decide whether to just make some changes to your current logo or scrap everything and start fresh.
To help you make this decision, there are some important questions to ask yourself.
- How identifiable are you? Can customers recognize your logo among your competitors? Remember: the simpler your logo is, the easier it is to identify. Think of that sporty swoosh, the golden arches, or a bitten apple.
- Do you want to respect your history? Changing too much about an established logo could have a negative impact on your business. Your loyal customers may feel like they’re being disregarded and replaced with a newer audience. So it’s important to factor this in, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change anything. For example, Morton Salt—a long-established brand—modernized their logo without losing the essence and history.
- What prompted the need to change the logo? Often, companies are noticing some kind of poor performance a logo refresh could help with. Are you losing relevance in a technology-driven world? Is there more competition with newer companies? Do new customers assume you’re old-fashioned? These answers can help guide your decision.
A Logo Evolution?
If you want to keep some aspect of your current logo, a nuanced evolution may be the right path for you. Sometimes a fresh color palette, font change, or icon refinement is all you need to bring your logo up to modern standards. AT&T has basically had the same logo since its inception, but it’s been tweaked throughout the years to keep up with users.
Or a Logo Revolution?
In many cases, a revolution is warranted. Sometimes it’s better to make waves rather than ripples, so a complete redesign is necessary. This way, everything is back on the table and you can really drill down to the core of your business. Take a look at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their logo used to look like it was lifted straight off the cover of a romance novel. Now it strikes fear into the hearts of their opponents.
Talk To The Louisiana Logo Experts Before You Decide
There’s no formula to deciding if you need to evolve your logo or revolutionize it. Every business is different, every market is different. If you want to work with someone local, in Louisiana we regularly redesign logos or start from scratch with branding. Gatorworks is here to guide you through the forest of competition and figure out which path is right for you. Contact us by calling 225.924.6109 or filling out our online form. We’ll meet with you in our Baton Rouge office, go through the options, explore what you want to communicate – and deliver a new logo you can be proud of.