When you hear Mcdonald’s, what image comes to mind? Is it the yellow or gold uppercase “M” with the words McDonald’s written across it? Now, that’s the power of a logo. This is why big brands spend millions of dollars to design one. Having a good logo is a part of branding. It’s what makes people remember your business. After all, it is the first thing that customers see, and it can make or break a company’s image.
For start-ups or SMEs, it is easy to make the mistake of having an amateur do their logo. After all, hiring an amateur (or even doing the logo themselves) can cut back the cost. But if you want a professional-looking logo, you should hire a professional graphic designer to do it.
But first, we should address this question.
What is a professional logo?
A logo is a professional symbol that represents a business or brand. It is an essential part of a company’s branding and marketing efforts. This helps customers identify the business and its products or services.
A graphic designer or branding agency can create a professional logo that is unique and memorable to promote a company. But a logo made by an amateur is typically created by someone who is not a professional designer. An amateur logo may be adequate for some businesses. But it is not as effective as a professional one in promoting the company and its products or services.
Anyone can design a simple logo. But if you want your company to be taken seriously, you need a logo that meets the standards. Otherwise, you risk looking amateur-ish or, even worse, confused. This is because a professional logo is designed by a designer who obeys fundamental design principles. They also consider the brand identity the business is aiming for. For instance, minor elements such as shape must align with the brand identity a brand is gunning for. Hence, the shape and color used on a logo go a long way in determining the customers’ perception of the brand.
A professional logo will also give your business a competitive edge, which will help get your business out there.
Features of a professional logo
Here are some of the features of a professional logo.
1. Timeless
A professional logo is timeless and never goes out of style. If you have a logo done by a professional, you won’t worry about following the trend or changing your logo every once in a while. It’s because your logo will already speak for your brand. Once you hire a professional graphic designer, they will provide you with a design that you can use for a long time.
2. Simple and memorable
A professional logo is simple and easy to remember. It should be unique enough to stand out, but not so complex that it’s difficult to recall. A graphic designer who has worked with different clients for years knows what can hook your potential customers. Having a professionally done logo ensures that it will be memorable, but straightforward to everyone.
3. Scalable
A professional logo can be scaled up or down without losing its quality. This is important because you’ll need to use your logo for different contexts, products, and marketing materials. This ensures that the logo looks good on any medium, from a small business card to a giant billboard. Additionally, a scalable logo can be used for print and digital media, which is essential in today’s world where so many people use traditional and electronic formats.
4. Reflective of the company’s values
A professional logo is something that the company can be proud of and stand behind. So, a professional graphic designer must grasp the organisation’s aspirations, mission, and values before designing a logo. Otherwise, the design will be just another combination of lines and colors, with no bearing on the organisation. It should also convey the brand concept from the very first glance.
5. Visually appealing
For people to remember a logo, it must be visually appealing. So, you must avoid cluttered designs or too many colors as this can make the logo difficult to understand. It’s also essential to use colors that work together and complement each other. But this is one of the problems you will face if an amateur makes your logo.
Hiring a professional graphic designer will ensure that your logo looks pleasing. As a result, you can rest assured that your logo looks good and will attract more customers.
6. Emotionally triggering
A good logo should evoke some emotion in the viewer. Whether it’s happiness, trust or excitement, a positive emotion will make people more likely to do business with you. Likewise, a professional logo should leave a positive impression on potential customers. A good logo can help make a business successful and a bad logo can sink a company. That’s why it’s important to put thought into your logo and make sure it’s the best.
A professional designer knows how to make emotionally triggering logos, which is something amateurs would struggle to do. With their years of experience in the industry, you will get a logo that will evoke emotion in anyone who sees it.
7. Versatile
A professional logo can be used in various ways and on different platforms. It should look just as good on a website as it does on a business card or billboard. A professional logo should also be simple enough to reproduce in various sizes. When a logo is too complicated, it often has to be simplified when printed on smaller items like business cards or flyers. This can make the logo lose its original impact.
A professional graphic designer knows this problem. Hence, they will be able to make a versatile logo design that can be used on any platform without losing its original impact.
8. Unique
The logo should also be unique to the company and not copied from other top-rated businesses, or else it would not be legally protected due to plagiarism. Hiring a professional graphic designer will ensure that your logo is unique and not copied from somewhere else.
Why do you need a professional logo?
A logo plays a huge role in dictating brand perception. Get it wrong and your business will come crashing down. So, what are the benefits of a professional logo? Here are some.
You have just one chance to impress
Your logo is often the first thing people will see when encountering your brand. For most customers, their decision to do or not do business with you depends on it. Besides, they decide whether you are reliable enough to do business within a third of a second.
If your logo doesn’t impress customers and fails to project professionalism within that period, you will lose business opportunities. Hence, having a professional logo will help bring more business opportunities.
Whether it’s on your website, social media profile or business card, you want to ensure that your logo gives off the right impression. So, your logo must have the correct fonts, colors and elements. Hiring a professional designer will help lessen your worries about this matter.
Builds credibility
Having a professional logo also builds credibility. Customers know an untrustworthy brand by simply looking at its logo. When people see that you have taken the time and effort to create a professional looking logo, they will be more likely to trust you and do business with you.
This can be an essential factor when competing against other businesses. Having a professional logo shows that you’re willing to put in the extra effort to make your company look good. It will also give you an advantage against your competitors.
Creates brand recognition
One of the main benefits of having a professional logo is that it can create brand recognition. As people see your logo more and more, they will remember your brand and what you stand for. This can be highly beneficial in terms of marketing and reaching new customers. It’s an excellent strategy for remaining relevant in your customers’ minds until they finally decide to patronise you.
Hiring a professional designer to do your logo will ensure that your logo has a unique design that will make it remarkable.
Professional logos are unique
Nod your head if you’ve come across template-heavy graphic design tools. You probably have heard that they’re cheaper than professional graphic designers. They may come cheap and make graphic design more accessible, but as you know, cheap does not equate to quality.
Such tools can never replicate the strategy, creativity and quality you will get from hiring a professional graphic designer. Furthermore, you can’t claim ownership of any logo designed with such templates. So, it’s better to spend on a professional graphic designer who will do the work they are meant to do. You can also claim ownership of the logo after it’s done.
Ultra-targeted
There’s a familiar maxim in marketing: if you’re selling to everyone, you’re selling to no one. It’s the same thing about a professional logo.
Professional logos are a product of in-depth research into the prospective audience that the organisation seeks to resonate with. So, your organisation should attract your ideal audience. These are the people who are more likely to become your customers and even lifetime ambassadors.
Adaptable to various media
For a business in the 21st century, you must be active on different social media platforms and traditional media. Traditional outlets, such as print and television, printers, and creative agencies, are strict about file formats, layouts and colors when submitting logos.
To adhere to these rules, you can either create an alternate version of your logo every time or you can invest in a responsive, adaptable professional logo that you can use across various mediums without distorting its resolution.
The first solution makes you look unprofessional, but the second solution depicts professionalism that will benefit your business.
The bottom line
Professional logos are a must have for any business. Every customer expects to see it and it goes a long way in determining the success of your business. In most cases, it’s what your customers will remember you for. If your logo is unique, visually pleasing and memorable, it will live in their minds rent-free!
Although it costs a lot in the short term, investing in a professional logo is a worthwhile decision and will reap returns in the long run.
Let’s chat
We work with clients of all sizes, from small business owners to not-for-profit organisations. No job is too small! Take a look at some of the logos we’ve created for our clients.
If you would like to know more about our branding, graphic or web design services, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are more than willing to help you.
