Do I need a logo when starting out?
I finally came up with a business name and wondering if I need a logo right now. I won't be able to create one myself and looking at everything I need to do and my limited budget, does paying someone to help with a logo make the most sense right now? Thank you for your feedback.
Expert Answers
Sort by Date
Sort by Votes
May 8, 2016
Hi Krista,
First thing's first: a logo does not equal your brand. It is part of your overall branding. Think of it like this though – your brand is really who you are and what you do as well as how people perceive you. Can you start building a brand without an official logo? Sometimes. Look at how many companies basically just pick a font for their company name and get going with doing business. Many clients that I've worked with who operate service-based businesses don't really have an official logo beyond just their company name with a specific font. I usually do recommend they come up with a logo simply because it's a visual element that immediately becomes part of their marketing and can help set them apart from competitors, but some do run with just a font for quite some time.
Now, if your company is product based, I think it's essential to come up with a logo right at the beginning. Think of huge companies like Nike, they got their logo pretty early on in their development and it's become an icon of the brand over the years.
The one thing I really don't recommend is what's called logo farms or crowdsourced logos. I've written a couple blogs about the pitfalls of that if you want to read more about it: http://jvmediadesign.com/blog/design/thinking-about-crowdsourcing-your-logo/ and http://jvmediadesign.com/blog/design/why-a-5-professional-logo-is-a-lie/
Hope that helps!
Sherry
May 8, 2016
My first toe in the water of small business had a logo I created myself. It was a solid blue triangle with a white exclamation point in the middle. It looked good at small sizes. Along with company name, I put it on business cards which is what I wanted first. That card and logo was simply something to give people so that hopefully they would remember me and contact info.
It's been my experience that no one other than graphic designers, looks at logos all that much. However, it is an expected part of a business card and, to me, the standard object in the upper left corner of a web page. So it is part of the first impression you make.
There's an old saying I keep in mind - KISS "Keep It Simple, Stupid". A splash of color and a recognizable symbol were enough to start with for me. Find something simple and use it as a ver. 1 placeholder. Evolve it later if you want. Ideally YOU KEEP the company name. I worried more about that than I did the logo, because that became the domain name, which is not as easy to change.
good luck!
May 8, 2016
You can always change your logo when you have reached the point where the business is generating a profit. There are some online logo makers where you can make a logo for free. Another option is Fiverr. You can get a logo made there for 5 bucks. If you go that route have several people make a 5 buck logo and pick the one you like the best. 50 bucks would get you ten logos to chose from. If you want to try making your own free one just google the topic and you will find dozens. The one I hear most about is https://logomakr.com/ They have a video on their site to show you how to use it. There are lots of others as well.
May 8, 2016
You've started in the right direction, I'd suggest a domain name as mentioned before as you establish your brand. However in terms of a logo, I would refrain from using services like Fiverr as I've seen/heard many horror stories of logos being copied there. Free logo makers/tools I think cheapen your brand as you'll look similar to many others.
Instead you can maybe get a student to design one or use a simple text based logo to start. I also don't believe that logos are only important to graphic designers. A logo is part of your brand and can also be utilized as a communication tool depending on product/services your business provides.
Of course once funds become available, you can take necessary steps to make improvements.
Good luck!
May 8, 2016
The value of a logo is not the same for every type of business. To a retail store your sign plays a more significant role in your early success, and an icon or graphic logo is not important. You just need a strong, unique wordmark and appropriate colour for the sign. If your business is a product, the design of the actual item and it's packaging are more important than a logo. In this case spend your money on packaging and again, just use a simple, but unique wordmark for a logo. If your business is a service a logo is much more important. It is your sign and your packaging. Aside from yourself, it's the only thing defining your company image visually in people's minds. In this case I would hire a graphic designer early on because you only get one chance to make a first impression. Even in a small service business, you want to give the impression the business is bigger than you. That builds customer trust.
May 8, 2016
As you have decided on your business name that business name should evoke some insight into what your enterprise is going to do. Your business name should also conjure up some fairly obvious image in your prospects and customers mind’s eye. If you don’t know what that is ask a few for their impressions. This should help you to determine a suitable (and essential) Logotype. Before you decide on your logo there are 3 far more important issues to confirm.
1 - Can you ‘register’ your company name in the USA?
2 – Can you then register your name as a ‘Trade Mark’ within your chosen industry?
3 – Can you acquire a URL with your chosen nomenclature?
Protection of the name you have selected is very important as one day you may wish to sell or franchise it!
You don’t need to spend a lot of money or engage a graphic design studio, you can start with a good typeface and appropriate colour scheme. Look at the graphic representations of the established and successful companies you will be competing with, what clues do they give you on what is acceptable to your target customers?
Initially make sure that what you have chosen is not already in use by another and that you can protect your IP.
May 8, 2016
Lastly Krista, avoid the obvious trap of initialising your name, or turning it into a meaningless acronym. When you are new you can't afford to hide behind obscure initials (they are not a logo).
May 9, 2016
Getting a trademark is tricky. She'll have to prove she is the first one using that moniker for commercial purposes. It costs about $300 and takes about a year. She said she's on a limited budget.
Dec 1, 2016
Gaining a trademark (TM) is not difficult at all, and @ just $300 a bargain compared with Australia! Having that trade mark registered can be fast-tracked in less than 12 months (as long as you don’t put the holiday season in the middle). If an enterprise is to have value, the company (or its director), must ensure that they take genuine ownership of their IP!
Dec 9, 2016
John, anyone can put TM on something but only says that you are laying a claim to that trademark, it does not mean you own it. To register it, and get the ® is a process that costs $300 and takes over a year here in the USA. I did it about two years ago. In that process you have to prove that you are the first to use it commercially.
Dec 20, 2016
The process is alarmingly slow in the USA Bob, but at just $300 probably the best investment in any enterprise's IP that I can think of.
May 9, 2016
Do you NEED a logo? Absolutely, not. Would it help you establish a brand image? Definitely. I've used two of the online logo companies and each one was less than $100 and I got five logos to choose from with multiple edits each time. The package included layouts and files for business cards that could be sent right to Vistaprint for printing.
Of greater importance than a logo is to have a website. People will want to check you out before contacting you. In addition, a good LinkedIn profile will do wonders for your business.
May 8, 2016
Hi Krista, given that you have now formally launched yourself into a business, there are 3 things which are essential - name, logo, tag line. These complete your identity. Amongst all the different kinds of marketing strategies, the logo too plays a unique role. Take Mercecdes for example. They do not have to explicitly mention Mercedes. The logo is enough. It's one way to push your brand. So, yes. Get yourself a cool logo - one which stands out and represents your passion and business.
May 8, 2016
Krista: the company name and domain name are the most critical components of establishing your brand. A logo is a nice to have in the beginning but will become more important over time to aid in quick brand recognition and to establish trust. Many of today's top companies are on their Nth logo redesign. I used to work for The Weather Channel and the logo was redesigned at least 3 times during 10 years as the company shifted it's focus from linear TV to online to mobile first. Fiverr is a great place to generate a low cost "placeholder" logo. If you do generate a logo I suggest going for a rectangle shape rather than a square. When you are using the logo you will find rectangles easier to incorporate in your designs and they will take less vertical space / height...which will be important in today's mobile first online world.
May 8, 2016
Hi Krista. Congratulations on taking the leap into entrepreneurship! As far as needing a logo to identify your business, the answer is an unqualified YES.
Just answer yourself this question. Would you take anyone wanting to sell you something (who you previously did not know) seriously, and/or buy anything from them if they had no logo or trademark to identify themselves? It's just one of those things in life. Imagine an entire supermarket where every product had the same package design (i.e. none). It does exist you say? Perhaps. Actually, where I come from, they call it "No Frills". Fortunately, as humans we respond to different colors, typestyles, and many other design elements – including a logo – that subconsciously influence our purchasing decisions and affects our level of trust with the product.
Please don't cut corners with your logo. You won't regret it.
Good luck!
Oct 31, 2016
From a professional standpoint, your logo is an important part of your branding and allows you to better connect and expose your brand to your chosen audience. You should use your logo as your main image (profile picture) across all of your social media platforms for better brand exposure and awareness.
Users will automatically associate this image with your company, so it is definitely worth splashing out on a professional graphic designer to create the perfect image to represent your brand.
When choosing a logo, remember that simple is always more memorable and different colours connect with different emotions and meanings (eg. Blue= Trust, Green=Healthy, Orange=Friendly).
May 8, 2016
Hey Krista. Congrats on the new business. You do need a logo but what you use in the coming year does not need to be thew final logo...You can always rebrand or evolve the brand that you develop.
Before spending hundreds of dollars on a nice graphic logo, just go with a simple typeface base logo...You can do this yourself with GIMP to turn this type into a png and a jpeg
May 9, 2016
Yes, Logo, Webmail, Websites are the need of the hour if you are looking to brand your business. With limited budget you can get help from professionals who can do the job for you. If you are ready I can arrange professional for you. Please tell me your budget and requirements.
May 11, 2016
I'd say your personal brand should overshadow any company brand if you are working on your own, or have a small business with staff. Get out there and collect cards, rather than give them out. This cuts down on the flood of solicitation emails you will get after every networking event. I tell people I just don't use cards (even though I do for the right reasons). Get theirs and send them your complete contact information (if you think they might be a good connection). Send a quick thanks but not now response to the others.
A logo can come anytime. When you are off to the races, rebrand if you had a logo in the early days, or get professional help from a branding expert.
Oct 26, 2016
I agree with many others. The logo is a part of your brand, but you can develop that when funds are more liquid. Be sure to present your name as professional looking as possible. Your name is the first step and website can be a useful tool, if it is well done and professional. There are many Wordpress site options online that are easy to use to create a phase one site.
May 8, 2016
You have to have a logo because that's where branding starts and how your market will recognize your business from time to time. If your worried bout having a limited budget you don't need to pay I'd be glad to do it for you just need some details though to make the right and sensible concept. Just message me Krista.
May 11, 2016
Yes. How we advertise and interact online is a huge part of every business now, and having a recognizable logo does make people remember your company. There are a lot of other elements that go into marketing, but every piece has its place. For Key West Video, we've had many clients let us know that they had seen our advertising online; which our logo plays a big part in, and they may not have needed us at that point in time, but because we are memorable and stick out, they remembered to contact us at the time they needed us.
May 11, 2016
You don't need but having a logo makes you or your business look more professional or legitimate. Everyone will have their own idea/look of what they want their logo to look like and so there is no right/wrong answer to how/what your logo should be. There are a few websites (just search for them on Google or Bing) that you can use to create your own logo "most are free". If you are hot happy with what you have done to create a logo, then seek out a professional service to create one for you.
May 12, 2016
Your brand is more than a logo. It is the quality of your work, how you treat clients and your presence in the market. Make a name for yourself first, then worry about how you market it.
May 9, 2016
Hello Krista,
I would like to recommend you FATbit Technologies for logo design services. You may check their logo design work and packages here: http://www.fatbit.com/website-design-company/affordable-logo-design-plans.html
Agree