The theme of this week is logo design, inspired by a couple of our clients who are undergoing that process right now. We partner with graphic designers to help you with your logo as part of our larger branding package.

Your TOP Social Strategy for this week is to keep your logo as simple as possible. According to this fun piece of market research from Signs.com, People have a hard time remembering even some of the largest brands' logos off the tops of their heads. Clean lines, very few details, iconic colors, and the ability to be seen over colorful backgrounds or visible in black and white are key. In the Signs.com study, simple images with 1-2 colors significantly outperformed logos with more complex designs, the most complicated of which was the Starbucks mermaid logo.

The first point we emphasize with clients is that if your logo is already fine, don't kill yourself trying to redesign it. The logo isn't the ingredient that breaks the business. My advertising design teacher back in college would likely have failed the person who designed the Starbucks logo, since it is so detailed. As Starbucks is such a ubiquitous brand, it's clear that the logo hasn't destroyed their ability to succeed. Other aspects of their repeatable business model helped them go from coffee shop to international franchise, not the least of which includes decent coffee. The reverse is true for your brand, though—if your business is struggling, redesigning the logo is most likely not going to fix the problem. The logo is only one aspect of your brand, and your brand means nothing if you don't have basic standards in place, like having a strong product, being able to find new customers or retain repeat ones, or having a sustainable revenue model.

I've seen it again and again in corporate settings when a new chief marketing officer is brought onboard a flailing business: they will decide that changing the logo or brand colors will refresh everything and magically increase sales. If you do this too frequently, however, it will confuse your customer base, especially if the logos are disparate enough that your brand is unrecognizable. In most of the above brands, the logo iterations happened several years (sometimes decades) apart, and the changes were minimal enough that they were not jarring to established customers. 

When you do update logo, channel all the tools you've utilized to shape your brand thus far: personas, mood boards, your mission statement, and anything else you've created for your company's cohesive look and feel. Think about the emotions or experiences you are hoping to elicit from your audience. Research your competitors to see what they've successfully designed and make sure you distinguish your company from theirs. 

When designing your logo, take into account the different situations in which you'll use it, such as various social media platforms, a banner image for your website, your business cards, and any other print collateral you might create. If you work with an outside designer, make sure you are both on the same page with the look and feel you are hoping for, and what works or doesn't work for you. Expect several rounds of iteration as they sketch ideas with you. If you're new to design and are creating the logo yourself, I recommend reading up on color theory, use of negative space, and the golden ratio. It's hard to teach yourself design in such a quick manner, but the internet is full of resources.

Don't forget to ask your network what they think of your logo as you iterate. As with all of marketing, testing with different audiences is a key way to determine whether you are on the right track or not. A good sniff test will be if your test subject, like the people in the study, can recreate the logo from memory a few minutes after seeing it!