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Blog posts tagged logo
Why it pays to revisit your website layout and content
January 25, 2011
When was the last time you carefully reconsidered your website? Have you analysed how effectively it’s working for you recently and looked at ways to get it performing even better?
My business website – Flourish Studios – has been live for a little under eight months and we’ve reviewed and tweaked it twice in that time, once after three months and again in October.
Tweaking isn’t about chucking everything out and starting again, it’s about making small changes that make a big difference, such as displaying your “bestsellers” prominently on your homepage.
Logos, websites and blog designs are the three things we sell the most of, so it makes sense to have those most clearly on the homepage. The initial design didn’t include blogs but did include marketing strategy. A quick check with Google Analytics Site Overlay tool showed me that people weren’t clicking on the Marketing Strategy button – so it was binned. We also found that no one wanted to find out how colour psychology could help their business, so that was changed too.
We replaced the buttons that weren’t working with our bestsellers and the click-through rates have gone up. This is less important with a serviced-based business, but essential when you’re selling products online.
I’ve tweaked the copy several times as we’ve settled into our own skin as a bona fide design agency. I look back at what I wrote even six months ago and see how far we’ve come. It’s exciting.
We’ve also recently tweaked the homepage to make way for the arrival of the new video. The video will get people thinking about some very specific things, so it made sense to have them just a click away to the right of the screen.
I also wanted to simplify the “bugs” (ie call to action buttons), because we figured that if there’s a lot going on with the video, everything else should take second place – otherwise you won’t know where to click first.
It’s now a bit cleaner and simpler but hopefully still has the character and essence of Flourish.
Fiona Humberstone, Flourish design & marketing
Is your design losing you business?
November 24, 2010
Most of us realise that great design can win us more business. And many of us invest in professional graphic design for our brochures, leaflets and website.
But what about the rest? What about that PowerPoint presentation you send to clients? How about leaflets you take to networking events? What about the checklist for businesses you’ve uploaded to your website?
If we accept that great design will engage, inspire and build trust with your customers (existing and prospective), what effect do you think bad design will have? You probably don’t need me to spell it out…
Many businesses design things in house. Even marketing executives at big blue chips design some pieces of collateral. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It can save time and money. But it’s those bits of collateral – your leaflet, your PowerPoint, your case studies or your self-designed blog – that can undermine your professionalism.
The bad news is that usually people don’t realise there is anything wrong with their designs. Oversized logos compete with standard colours and standard fonts to create a look that jars with all your well-produced work. The result? Your clients are confused and lack conviction in you.
It’s unrealistic to expect you to use a graphic designer for every piece of communication you produce, but you can learn some simple graphic design rules that you can apply to everything you do. And you can reduce the gap between the professionally produced stuff and your own stuff.
Do a bit of research into what makes design work. Read magazines, books (Robyn Williams’ The Non-Designer’s Design Book is excellent) and learn important from designs that inspire you. You can also find advice here on the Donut sites, too, of course.
Fiona Humberstone, Flourish design & marketing
Logo finished – what’s next?
March 23, 2010
Those of you that have been following the trials and tribulations of the development of a logo for Flourish, my new branding, graphic design and marketing services business, on this and my own blog know how much hard work we put into getting it right.
And those of you that can read between the lines probably know how much I wanted to just put the finished logo in a box and forget about it. Designing your own logo feels a little like childbirth – you’re pleased with the end result but you wouldn’t want to go through it again. Of course, most of us do forget the pain and go back for more!
So I chuckled to myself when a friend emailed me and asked: “Great, I see your logo’s done. What next?”
“Well where do I start?” I typed back. “Erm… the stationery, business cards, website design, exhibition stands, brand manual, email signatures, folder, postcards, ‘leave behind brochure’… I could go on, but you get the picture”.
Designing a logo is just the start of it. The impact comes from everything we do around the logo, the identity we build and the image we create.
Most small business owners will invest in having a logo designed, but they often don’t see through the whole process. They take the logo and throw together their own stationery, “knock out” some leaflets or take up that offer from a friend to design their website.
Their brand identity doesn’t reach its full potential and they miss the opportunity to create the best impression. At worst, the homemade designs undermine all the hard work they’ve invested and that hard-worked-for impression goes by the wayside.
It’s only by designing several pieces of marketing literature, perhaps a website or some stationery as well, that you can build up a true picture of what fonts, colours, imagery and illustration styles really work for your identity.
We’ve test-driven several fonts and illustration styles before we’ve settled on the ones we’re using. Why? Simply because, when you put them into practice you find some don’t work as well as you’d hoped.
And I’ve found that my “extra stuff” – the fonts, quirky illustrations and the photos we’ve used – are what I love more than the logo itself. It’s the “heart” stuff, the magic, which blends so well with the sensible “head” decision of my logo. But you can’t have one without the other.
So if you can afford it, you should definitely have your logo designed by a professional. But from experience, I’d also strongly recommend you set aside some budget for developing the whole identity. It will make such a difference in the long run.
Fiona Humberstone, Flourish design & marketing
Five reasons you shouldn’t design your own logo
February 18, 2010
I feel very qualified to write this post at the moment. As the owner of a brand and marketing agency, I work with a lot of small business owners who are missing opportunities because their logo (and brand image as a whole) isn’t sending out the right signals.
And as someone who has just been client, creative director and designer (along with my other fabulous designers in the studio) for her own business, I can see things from the other side, too.
The fact is you really shouldn’t design your own logo. Here’s why.
1 You need outside perspective. Our clients tell us one of the most valuable things we bring to the table, aside from design, is the perspective we help them gain on their business. Working with a branding agency on your corporate identity forces you to think about the way your business is structured and who your most profitable clients really are. Working with someone who is not as close to your business provides a different – and important – perspective.
2 It’ll cost more than you think. You think design agencies get their design for free? Think again. I’ve spent thousands of pounds on developing the identity for Flourish, my new branding, graphic design and marketing services business. The staff cost and the opportunity cost of both my designers and I working on our own stuff rather than billable client work has been significant. And if you’re not a designer I recommend you focus on what you do best and let us get on with what we do best. More profitable all round – and the end result will be better.
3 Unless you’re a graphic designer, you’re unlikely choose the right fonts or colours. I’ve studied typography, colour psychology and logo design for years, as have my graphic designers. We understand how to evoke an emotion through a colour or a font.
4 You won’t add the creative flair your business deserves. Great logos have wow factor. Usually, they’re simple, but clever. And I don’t mean a Photoshop drop shadow (sooo nineties!) or a web 2.0 glassy reflection (oh so naughties!). I’m talking about a clever icon or creative treatment that will get your clients taking you seriously.
5 You’re too close to it. Being so involved in the design process makes it incredibly difficult to make objective decisions. In the end, the only way we broke through our creative block was for me to completely disassociate myself from the design and act as creative director only.
I see now why other design agencies commission someone else to design their logos. In the end, we managed to crack it ourselves and I have to say, I’m delighted with the end result. But if you’re not a graphic designer I urge you to invest in a professionally designed brand identity. It’ll be one of the best decisions you ever make.
Fiona Humberstone, Flourish design & marketing
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