One of the biggest advantages when marketing a small business is the flexibility to try new strategies and explore opportunities to grow your business. Because they have a direct relationship with both the product and customer, small business entrepreneurs are able to quickly analyze what strategies are or are not working and adjust accordingly. This is especially an advantage in digital marketing, where a businesses willingness to try something new can be a significant competitive advantage for reaching new customers in meaningful ways.
Though you may be flexible enough to try new marketing tactics to grow your business in 2017, is your logo? Take a look at the checklist below to see if your logo is ready to move as quickly as you:
Your logo is legible at any size
Do any of the elements on your logo become less legible at different sizes? Some logos that look good on your computer screen are a little harder to read when shrunk to fit on the side of a pen or in an app icon. Print out your logo at various sizes to test the limits of your current logo design so that you’re prepared for any promotional opportunity.
Your logo works on any background
A logo that looks good on a light background may be impossible to read on a dark one, so most brands create two versions of their logo for these purposes. Try placing your logo on various backgrounds to make sure it is ready to be placed in a variety of locations.
Your logo is still effective in one color
Most business owners will run into a situation where they need to display their logo in only one color, whether this is due to the limitations of the printing method or even budgeting. It is important to have a logo that doesn’t rely on color to distinguish different elements of the design so that the brand’s identity remains intact even when one color is used.
Your logo fits in any format
It’s almost impossible to design a logo that is the perfect shape for every situation, so brands often create two different versions of the logo: horizontal and vertical. The horizontal logo, which is considered the “standard” format, can be used on anything from web banners to promotional pens while a vertical or “stacked” version can be used on signage and social media avatars.
Your logo can be printed on different mediums
Image Courtesy of MJW Embroidery
Though it may be tempting to use complicated images, gradients, and effects on a logo that look great on a computer screen, it is important for a business owner to remember that their logo should be usable in the physical world just as much as the digital. Overly complex designs do not translate well to some mediums like apparel embroidery and sign printing which are great mediums for increasing brand awareness.
Flexible Branding
If your logo falls short in any of the categories above, it may be time to revisit your branding strategy. An entrepreneur’s ability to be flexible when growing a small business will be greatly reduced the first time a partnership or advertising campaign has to be put on hold to redesign the logo to fit.
You don’t have to start from scratch! Existing brands may be able to utilize their current logo to create alternate versions or a designer may just need to simplify the existing logos. In the situation where a designer may need to start fresh, the existing branding is a great starting point to create something new that is still true to the brand.
If you are just starting your business, you’re in luck! Just make sure that you get all the necessary variations designed from the beginning and take a look at our 10 Logo Design Tips for more insight on what makes a logo great.
By thinking ahead about all your branding needs and getting a truly flexible logo for your company, your branding can be just as agile as your marketing strategy.
If you need help creating variations of your current logo, or need to create a flexible logo from scratch , consider enlisting the help of our network of over 150,000 creatives to give you great options. crowdSPRING’s Logo Design Service offers a step-by-step creative brief that helps you outline your company’s needs and allows you to select from over 100 entries on average.
