A good logo as your signature should be simple, professional and informative. You can effortlessly implement this on your signature without making it look dull and boring. Presented below are some of the ways to use to make your email signature cool with a logo.

Don’t include too much information

One of the most common mistakes people make with their email signature is to thing that they are mini autobiography. They end up jamming them with lots of unnecessary information and links which ultimately make them look dull and boring. When you create your signature with a logo, there is no need to include too much information.

The essence of the logo is to market your brand, and if people can take note of it, they will definitely head over to your website where they will find the rest of the information you are tempted to include in the sign. Therefore, try and keep the signature clean and to the point by not cramming it with the logo in addition with lots of other information.

Consider the color of your logo

As noted earlier, the signature will be the last thing the reader will see after reading the email. When you use a logo as the signature, it is important to consider the dominant color of your design. There are instances when the color may appear a little dull when used in the signature and in such cases, it is advisable that you tweak the colors and probably use some bright pallets to attract the reader’s attention to the logo. Obviously, when the color of the logo doesn’t contrast that of the email, then decipherability will be hampered and the logo will not be as effective as it would have been.

Use just the right size

For proper organization and better display of the logo on the signature, the size ought to be just the right one. A large logo size will not just be boring and annoying to the reader, but it may also affect the rendition of your email and make the structure and the organization disjointed. Additionally, if the signature takes more space than the actual content of the email, you may appear as imposing your brand to the recipients and it may make them change your perception about you.

Use smaller font pallets

Too many fonts are not a disaster for your logo alone, but also for your signature. Ideally, it is advisable not to use a lot of fonts in your logo and if this is the case, you will have to do some tweaking when using the logo in your email signature. This is a nice way to keep the logo simple and clear as the name and thus making it more effective in your branding efforts.

Let the logo be in the right format for small screens as well

It goes without saying that the logo should be able to render properly in computer screens before you use in the signature. Some businesses not fond of using communications may just pick any logo format and use it as the signature. You need to ensure that the logo is in a format which can be rendered across multiple devices, and especially on small screens, without its quality being affected. This is very important given that the number of people accessing emails via mobile device keeps on increasing and if the image in the signature can’ be displayed well on mobile devices, it may be a blow to your marketing and branding efforts.

Full width email signs

For most people using emails in their signatures, they follow the conventional format of position the signature at the bottom left section at the end of the email. Whereas this is the position which has been in use since time immemorial, sometimes a little creativity is needed to stand out from the crowd. For instance, you can modify the logo size to have an extended width to make it larger and more conspicuous.

In this way, it will draw in a lot of attention from the reader, besides making the email appear aesthetically appealing. However, you should consider this approach only if the logo can adopt a landscape layout without compromising its quality and overall visual appeal.

For better results with the logo as the email signature, there are other common mistakes that people fall for when designing their email signatures. For instance, there is no need for you to put all your phone numbers and email addresses on the signature. Watch out for such mistakes and you will never get it wrong with your email signatures.

Learn more about building a logo for a beauty company here!

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• What long term, short term and mid range goals do you have for the product/service/company/cause that you are working with/developing?
• Is there any direct competition in your marketplace or anyone else in your local community trying to do the same thing?
• Do you need to convince prospective clients and change their mind about your product/offer?
• Do you want to get people’s attention and inform them about what you are doing for your project?

If you answered yes to any one of these questions you definitely should consider logo design for your project. If your company or your project is still in the beginning stages and you are looking at it as more of a basic hobby, you could probably put a logo on the back burner or do without one entirely. A logo is really a sign of professionalism and if your project is more casual effort or something that you simply want to spread through word-of-mouth, you should hold off on professional logo design especially.

If you have decided that it’s time to get a logo it’s important to remember that you have some options available to you. There are also some top considerations to make when it comes to the type of logo that you need and how immediate your need for a logo may be. Here are some other main points that might influence your decision for a logo:

What do you need the logo for?

When many people decide that their project needs a logo they don’t consider how often that they might actually use a logo for their purposes. If you are running a small accounting business out of your basement you may only need to have a logo for a small sign and letterhead. If the vast majority of the business for your company is actually completed through word-of-mouth advertising or a small newspaper ad, you could probably get away with using just a simple logo template. When you need to compete with many other people in the industry and you rely on large scale advertisements as a means to capture an audience however you should strongly consider using a professional logo design.

Advertising needs a logo:

If you do advertising for your business or your project you need to have some type of logo design in place to increase brand awareness. Even if your plan is to develop a few brochures or to send out your business plan to a few potential investors, advertising of all types needs to have some kind of logo for your brand. Depending on your level of competition you should consider getting a full-blown professional logo especially if you are advertising in a major magazine, regular classified ads or in online advertising. Setting yourself apart from the competition and really getting noticed usually requires an extremely professional logo. Using a template design in a national advertisement will only work against you. You may be surprised at the number of leads that you can generate with a professionally created logo over something simple that you made in an online template.

Put yourself in the viewer’s perspective:

A brand without a logo or brand with poorly made graphics can give you a feeling of unease in a particular idea. If you want people to have confidence in what you are doing you need to have access to a professional quality logo. A poor logo is like having multiple spelling mistakes in your business proposal, it just doesn’t instill any confidence in your company, your brand or your idea.

Another big aspect of putting yourself in the viewer’s perspective is that most likely people will be looking at your project with fresh eyes. You need to be able to convince strangers that what you are doing is professional and that they can trust you. If you are able to emulate the style of other professional organizations and have an official logo for your brand it can make you seem more established and more professional even if you have only been working for a month.

While not everyone will need a professional logo for their brand immediately, in order to establish a brand identity and to experience growth/longevity a brand needs to establish a logo for the future. Take a look at what you want to accomplish for the future and see if a logo can help you to accomplish those goals immediately.

Check out these tips on how to give your brand personality. 

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Many people find it confusing to distinguish between the terms brand, identity, and a logo. These three terms are usually used interchangeably, and whereas a layman can be excused for doing so, the same case should never be for a professional designer. However, if you are in the design world and you have never fully comprehended the difference between the three words, no need to worry – even some of the most polished designers know how to apply them but cannot give the outright distinction of the three words. Below, we try to figure out the differences in these potentially confusing words as well as give an explicit explanation on when each can be applied.

Understanding what a Logo is

At its basic meaning, a logo is a mark that is used to identify a brand. The term logo originates from the Greek word Logotype, a combination of two words, logo and typos meaning word and imprint respectively. The aim of the logo is primarily to promote instant public recognition of the brand. With such a significant role, the logo plays an important in the identity system of an organization, and since people are visual beings, it is also crucial for the branding of the organization. Potential customers will have a look at the logo, which is the visual mark of the company, they then will retain its color, shape and form and remember it whenever they see it another time. A logo thus becomes associated with the brand of the company or the organization.

In most instances, a logo usually consists of an icon or a symbol together with words that can be either the company’s name or the company’s slogan or tag line. There are also several instances when a logo does not have any icon or a symbol but comprise of a logotype, which essentially is nothing but just words without any symbols.

There are some cases when a brand becomes so popular that it can be easily recognized by just the symbol or the icon. It doesn’t happen most of the time, but when it does, the respective companies usually benefit a lot from the branding prowess of such logos. For instance, the Red Cross, Apple, and Nike are examples of logos that are well known in the world over, yet they feature simple symbols with no words at all.

Identity defines how your brand is perceived by your audience

Identity dictates every possible way on how your brand is perceived by your potential audiences. Identity, also known as visual identity or visual identity system in branding refers to the visual devices that a company uses to communicate its brand to the target audience. These might include but not limited to items such as a color system, graphic designs, logos, fonts, etc. The system may or may not incorporate other collateral such as brochures, signage, and stationery as well as written content like a positioning statement.

When you search over the internet for the correct meaning of a visual brand identity system, you will be bombarded with lots of information, but all these will concur that identity, in most cases refers to the visual elements that are used to recognize a company or a business. They are majorly the physical elements that customers, as well as the potential customers of the company, come in contact with. A complete package to define a brand would, therefore, include items such as the logo, email signatures, ads, websites, business cards, employee uniforms, the package designs, the store layouts, word mark, the corporate jingle, emblem, stationery symbols, etc.

A Brand – This is a concept and not a concrete of a physical object

A brand is the biggest picture in the equation and it is the foundation of every marketing framework that a company comes up with. Essentially, a brand relates to the psychological and emotional relationship that exists between a company and their customers. As defined by a well-known branding expert Marty Neumeier, a brand is your gut feeling about a business, product or a service. It is not actually what you say it is but rather what THEY say it is. Being that a brand is a gut feeling, therefore, it simply boils down to what you feel and think the very moment you come into contact with the company in question or any of their products and services.

Over the years, it has been proven that human beings are very emotional when it comes to brands. Hence, it makes it nearly impossible to give a precise definition to the concept of brand. People accumulate such gut feelings based on different experiences depending on their interaction with the company either physically or through the phone, emails, adverts, etc.

But for a strong brand to be built, a strong foundation is needed. Human emotions are very tricky. Hence, you must get it right with the messaging and the design to clearly communicate to your customers and clients. Hopefully, this clears the air about the difference between a logo, branding, and identity.

Should you ever try a DIY Logo design? Find out here!

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A luxury brand logo is a sure-fire way to get someone’s attention.

Some of the worlds most desirable designer brands and luxury brands have instantly recognizable logos because they are portrayed in mainstream culture as royal.

These are luxury brands that have made themselves known in the media, in film, in print advertisements and more.

They often come with specialty logos that enhance the brand and make people want to use these luxury products even more.

Here are some of the top luxury brand logos that have been around for years that people continue to appreciate to this day.

Use these examples in the creation of your own luxury brand logos:

Rolls Royce:

The luxury auto maker Rolls Royce has their luxury logo on the front of every Rolls Royce vehicle.

The symbol has been named many things over the years.

You may have heard of the small sculpture which sits on the front of these vehicles as “Emily”, “The Spirit of Ecstasy”, “ The silver lady”, or more.

The original version of this sculpted symbol was created by a famous English sculptor.

These same objects are still handcrafted and make their way to the front of Rolls Royce vehicles.

The model was Eleanor Velasco Thorton who was the woman who was sculpted by auto pioneer John Walter Edward Douglas Scott-Montagu.

This means that the luxury symbol not only showcases freedom and wealth but also an intense love and passion.

The same passion that many people feel for their Rolls Royce Vehicle.

Chanel:

Chanel and its interlocking C’s are some of the most famous luxury logo icons we have today.

Not only does this image often pop up at fashion shows, in the mainstream media, at awards shows, and in designer stores, but we see them regularly in advertising.

Between Chanel perfume and the clothing that the company produces, there is always brand recognition when it comes to this beautiful logo.

It has a deep history as well.

The logo design was crafted by Coco Chanel in the year 1925 and has continued to be used by the company completely unchanged up to this day.

Some think that the logo is inspired by interlocking Cs that can be found at the Chateau Cremat, whereas others think inspiration was taken from Renaissance interlocking medallions.

One thing is for sure, this is a highly recognizable logo with a deep history.

Louis Vuitton:

The Louis Vuitton Monogram is coveted as a motif for fashion gurus and it can be found on a variety of designer luggage, fashion items, handbags and more.

The original motif print was designed as a specialty monogram logo to stop counterfeiting attempts.

While other styles of luggage are easier to counterfeit, the Flower motif, which is Japanese inspired, came out in 1896 and is still used to this day.

The designer branding uses a damier or French checkerboard pattern with brown and beige squares in a pattern.

This look created not only an iconic look for fashion, but it serves as the company’s main logo as well.

This is an extremely recognizable luxury brand.

Rolex:

The Rolex crown is one of the most iconic symbols in the entire world of watches.

The Rolex crown can often be found at events, on the watches themselves, as well as in a variety of advertising.

It is a fairly subtle logo, but when you see a real Rolex or the advertising, you will definitely be interested to learn more.

The Rolex logo has a deep history and it is also fairly simple.

The main goal of the Rolex crown was to use it as an extension of the main slogan.

The Rolex’s slogan at one time stated there was “A crown for every achievement”.

The use of the crown in the logo stuck.

Since the year 1903, the brand has been using this logo in all of its marketing and on its watches.

The crown symbolizes the precision and prestige for a watch worth celebrating.

This could be the reason why Rolex watches are often given out to winning athletes.

Ralph Lauren:

From Ralph Lauren perfume and cologne to quality fashion items, this symbol is heavily showcased.

The Polo by Ralph Lauren collection features famous fashion items and promotes an active lifestyle.

The launch of this brand, however, actually started with a line of swimsuits for women.

These 1970’s swimsuits were built for women but tailored in a designer style for men.

This is the first time this logo was used on an item.

The full polo emblem made its way to fashion items just two years later and has remained unchanged since.

The Polo from Ralph Lauren logo is the embodiment of luxury, style, an active lifestyle, and pure elegance.

Check out these top beer brand logos as well!

The post 5 Famous Luxury Brand Logos appeared first on LogoMaven | Easy Logo Design Software & Logo Maker.

It is recommended strongly by most business and marketing experts that every business should have a logo, no matter the size of the enterprise. This is especially true for a small business that is still struggling to get off its feet and get known to the masses. It is the branding of such a business that will either make or break them.

A business logo is an important aspect of branding hence it goes without saying that any small business interested in seeing a significant result and growing their venture must invest in a professional logo. However, a business logo will do more to such businesses apart from accentuating their branding efforts.

Here are some of the reasons why it is necessary that every small business has a good logo:

Create a sense of good establishment

A good number of people are usually skeptical about engaging small businesses since they doubt their competency and ability to deliver on their word. They thus end up losing lots of businesses to the large and established companies that have built a good reputation over the years.

A business logo can be used by search companies to show their commitment to clients and give assurance that they are stable and have what it takes to deliver good results. This is achievable when the business logo is professionally designed with the right images and wording to convey such a message to whoever sees it.

Get the attention of more potential customers

In most cases, the growth of a small business is directly proportional to the number of clients or customers it has. But many small businesses still struggle to get customers. What they fail to realize is that a professionally designed business logo can be used to get the attention of potential clients and make them aware of the goods and services being offered by the company. Besides, the power of image should never be underestimated, and a business logo can be used to create and portray a good first impression on the potential clients.

Business logos add integrity and credibility to the small business

A business logo will add to the integrity and credibility of the small business by making it appear more professional and experienced. Additionally, it is important to remember that there are several businesses without a logo, and potential clients will always develop a cold foot when it comes to dealing with such faceless ventures. A good looking business logo is thus you ticket to earning trust and professionalism from your clients.

Stand out from the crowd

As stated above, a business logo will put your business in a different league from those other small businesses without any logos. Not only this but if you have a good logo, you will stand out from your competition and attract more clients by simply having a well designed professional look. Humans are visual being, and when they can recognize your logo from the rest, they will have a higher inclination to try out your products and services.

Give your customers something to identify with

As a small business, it is crucial to creating a sense of belonging to your clients. You need to make them realize and believe that you are a stable company dedicated to serving their needs. A business logo will make it easy for you to do this and also create some form of identity amongst your customers.

They will have something they can use to identify with your business, and this will soon lead to customer loyalty, making you get more and more business coming your way. But in the absence of a business logo, your customers will be trolling in the dark not knowing how to identify with your business.

Pass across your marketing message

As a small business, your products and services may not be known to most of your potential clients. Professional logos are always designed to pass across certain marketing messages through the use of appropriate texts and graphics.

As a small business, therefore, you can use a business logo to pass effectively across your marketing message such that your potential customers will know exactly what you are offering, even before they make any contact with you. This is how powerful a business logo can be if you design one in the right manner.

Meet the expectations of your clients

For every type of business, clients and customers will always expect to see a logo. It sounds ridiculous to send business emails or letters without a logo on the letterhead. Therefore, for small businesses to meet this little expectation from their clients, having a business logo is crucial.

Other than the above, a well designed logo that you are proud of as the business owner will improve your self-confidence and give you the zeal to work hard and grow the business to greater heights. Make it a matter of urgency to have a business logo in case you are running a business without one.

Follow these tips for branding 101!

The post Why Every Small Business Needs a Logo appeared first on LogoMaven | Easy Logo Design Software & Logo Maker.

Once you have a uniquely designed logo for your business, the next step is to trademark it so that you are the only person in the whole universal with the legal rights to use it in branding or promoting your products and services. Failure to trademark your logo may give others a leeway to use it and trademark it for their businesses, and if the logo gains worldwide recognition as the ones we know, you stand to lose a great chance of global growth and dominance.

Before delving into the intricate details on how to trademark your logo, it is important first to understand what a trademark is and the particular items you can trademark. In simple terms, a trademark refers to a phrase, symbol, design, word, mark or any other device in use by a person or company to differentiate his products and services from those of other businesses or providers. Trademarks can also be seen as brands, and you can secure legal rights associated with it just like in the case of copyrights.

A business logo is thus a form of a trademark because it is used by individuals and businesses to distinguish their products and services from those of other companies. A logo can exist in the form of design, letters, words, symbols or a combination of all these. The process of securing a trademark for your logo in the United States is surprisingly not a complicated, and virtually any businesses or product owner can do. Just follow the steps listed below if you want to know how to trademark your logo in the United States-:

Perform a Trademark Search

The first step when you want to trademark your logo is to ensure that it is exclusively available for your adoption and use and that it is not in use, either in part or in whole by another party or business. The way to know about this exclusivity of use and adoption is by performing a trademark search. You can do this by searching the U.S Patent and Trademark’s Office records, or you can use the services of search companies like the Thompson CompuMark to find out if your logo is already in use by others and if it has been trademarked. It is, however, advisable to use a trademark attorney to do the search on your behalf when you want to trademark your logo. The beauty of using the services of such attorney at this stage is that they can refine the search terms to yield far much better results than you would have received when doing it on your own. Besides, they also possess the legal expertise to analyze the results and advise you more appropriately when you want to trademark your logo.

Secure Trademark Rights to you Logo

There are three distinct ways you can use to secure the trademark right for your logo once you determine its exclusivity. But this can only happen after you conduct a successful search, and you are sure that there is nobody else who has trademarked the logo or is using it. These methods include the following-:

Start using your logo – using the logo is the first way you can trademark it. In this manner, any person interested in using it will know that it belongs to someone and in most cases, they will look for other alternatives. The problem with this method is that it gives you very limited rights of over the logo. Any person can still go ahead and trademark it before you, thus making you infringe on their trademark rights if you continue to use the same logo.

File application with the U.S Patent and Trademark Office – though you can trademark your logo with the Secretary of State’s office in your state (when you intend to use it in your state alone), it is recommended that you file an application with the Patents and Trademarks Office so that you acquire national rights over the use of the logo. If your application is approved, your logo will receive nationwide protection and nobody else will ever be allowed to use it. It is also recommended that you use the services of a trademark attorney since such applications are always detailed with lots of legal jargon that might confuse you.

Enforce the Trademark Rights

Once you manage to trademark successfully your logo, the next and the final step is to shield it against adoption and use by any third party. This is what is referred to as enforcing your trademark and you do so by having a “trademark watch” in place. A Trademark Watch will alert you whenever anyone is using your logo or a nearly similar logo to yours. The other alternative you can use after you trademark your logo is to include the words TM on it so that whoever sees it will know that is already trademarked hence they can’t use it in any way.

These are the necessary steps needed when you want to trademark your logo in the United States. They seem simple, but when it comes to actual application, they may be tedious and confusing. This is why it is still recommended that you engage a trademark attorney at all stages when you want to trademark your logo.

Learn how important your logo is to brand identity and why it needs protection, here. 

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