Shownotes
Time for Logo Check up?
Check #1
Is your logo aligned with your brand? [04:35] Adjectives that describe your business. [04:45]Check #2
Image Professionalism. [06:01] Is it an original piece of art? [06:56]Check #3
Consistency of your image. [09:05] Is the logo the same everywhere? [09:18]Check #4
Logo Quality. [10:57] Look at your logo for detail. [11:50]What do you do if you need to change your logo?
Total Rebranding. [14:31] Look at your company name and the fonts. [14:44] Colors that match your brand. [15:27] Online resources that can help you with logo creation. [18:41] Look right in your community. [18:55]CAUTION as you’re looking at any changes to your current logo
Is it clean, crisp and clear? [20:17] Will it look good in black and white? [20:30] Receive all logo file formats. [20:33]DOWNLOAD the Logo Checkup Worksheet
This one sheet freebie is like taking your logo to the doctor. Check it’s health and overall viability in supporting your business. Fix any areas where you can’t check the box and you’re good to go!Resources mentioned in this episode
DaFont Fonts.com MyFonts 1001Fonts TheFontHub There are many places you can go and look for fonts. Just google it. BUT, make sure if you find one you like that it’s free for your intended use AND be very careful when you download. Many of these sites have multiple buttons that say download. They may be for the font or they may be for a new toolbar or something else entirely. Just make sure before you click that you are sure what you’re downloading.Join our FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community
Take the Gift Biz Quiz
Where are you in your business building journey? You may be further along than you think. Take this quiz to find out. At the end, you’ll have access to a free download to help you along. P.S. This is not a quiz where your result gets published to social media. It’s for your eyes only :o)The Makers MBA Program
Feel the pride and satisfaction of turning your passion into a profitable business. Become a member of the Makers MBA program and access valuable videos, worksheets, and guides and connect with a community of gift biz builders just like you. It’s time to get moving on your dream. Get started today!If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. That helps us spread the word to more makers just like you.
Thanks! Sue
Transcripts
You're listening to gift biz unwrapped episode 150.
Speaker:Today, we are going to be talking all about your logo.
Speaker:Is it time for revision?
Speaker:Stay tuned to find out Attention.
Speaker:Gifters bakers,
Speaker:crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Speaker:Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.
Speaker:Now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is gift to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode,
Speaker:packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources, and the support you need to grow your gift.
Speaker:This here is your host gift,
Speaker:biz gal,
Speaker:Sue Mon height There it's Sue and I am so glad
Speaker:you're joining me here today because we are going to do
Speaker:a checkup of your logo.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:when we start our businesses,
Speaker:that's one of the first obvious things you want to do.
Speaker:You want to select your name and your logo.
Speaker:And if you're already in business,
Speaker:some of you are brand new.
Speaker:So this will help you as you're developing your first logo.
Speaker:But if you've been in business for a while,
Speaker:I think that we have a tendency to say,
Speaker:okay, that set that's done.
Speaker:And then we move on and continue to grow our business.
Speaker:But now I want to circle back and let's check and
Speaker:see if your logo is still in line with the business
Speaker:that you have developed up to this point to get started.
Speaker:I want to ground us in what the logo is in
Speaker:the first place.
Speaker:It's the first visual representation of your company that many prospects
Speaker:often see.
Speaker:And for that reason alone,
Speaker:it's super important,
Speaker:but it's only one part of your overall brand.
Speaker:When we talk about a brand overall,
Speaker:it encompasses every touch point that a customer might have with
Speaker:you. So it is yes,
Speaker:the visual in terms of your logo,
Speaker:but it's also the feel of the business.
Speaker:When people come into your shop,
Speaker:when people enter your craft booth,
Speaker:your promotional materials,
Speaker:how you interact with them through the sale,
Speaker:all of this encompasses your overall brand.
Speaker:And as we've developed our companies,
Speaker:as you add each layer on,
Speaker:as you grow the business,
Speaker:there comes a point where you should go back and check
Speaker:and make sure that everything is in sync and everything is
Speaker:aligned. The reason this alignment is so important is because consistency.
Speaker:So if someone comes in and sees you in your shop,
Speaker:let's say,
Speaker:and then they go on and see you on social media.
Speaker:And then they also purchased your product.
Speaker:So they have the visual of your product.
Speaker:All of that should speak with the same vibe.
Speaker:And this consistency builds trust between you and customer,
Speaker:because they understand what you offer.
Speaker:And they understand the feel of the business.
Speaker:This trust then builds loyalty,
Speaker:loyalty, built sales,
Speaker:and we all know what sales does that build your business.
Speaker:So that's why it's important to come back here and do
Speaker:a little bit of a checkup of your logo.
Speaker:Let's make sure that everything is still in alignment.
Speaker:So the strength and the foundation of your business gives you
Speaker:all of that trust and loyalty and potential sales to make
Speaker:your business as great as it can possibly be.
Speaker:What we'll do now is we will go through and give
Speaker:your logo a checkup.
Speaker:And if we see along the way that there's something that
Speaker:needs changing,
Speaker:no worries,
Speaker:because I will also talk through what you need to do
Speaker:and how to get those changes taken care of.
Speaker:Let's get started now and go through your logo checkup for
Speaker:you to be able to easily follow along.
Speaker:I've created a download.
Speaker:If you go to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash one 50,
Speaker:there's a single page download there that you can capture.
Speaker:And then do your own a little doctor checkup on your
Speaker:logo in doing this checkup,
Speaker:we're going to cover four things.
Speaker:The first is whether your logo is still aligned with your
Speaker:brand. Feel second is the professionalism of your image.
Speaker:Third is the consistency of your image.
Speaker:And finally,
Speaker:the logo quality.
Speaker:First off is your logo in line with your brand image,
Speaker:or I like to call it your vibe,
Speaker:close your eyes right now,
Speaker:and think about your business.
Speaker:What are the three adjectives that you are trying to portray
Speaker:about your business?
Speaker:Here's some examples to show you what I mean,
Speaker:maybe it's lighthearted fun and happy.
Speaker:Maybe it's serious educational and productive,
Speaker:or maybe it's a combination of terms.
Speaker:Maybe it's fun,
Speaker:educational and playful.
Speaker:These adjectives are important because they serve as a guiding light
Speaker:for you with how you present your business.
Speaker:So now think of these adjectives and then think of your
Speaker:logo. Do they mesh together?
Speaker:In other words,
Speaker:are they in alignment?
Speaker:Is your logo lighthearted and happy?
Speaker:And does it give off that feel if those are your
Speaker:adjectives or is your logo bold and dramatic and super professional
Speaker:when really your adjectives are more lighthearted and jovial,
Speaker:if that's the case,
Speaker:then there's a disconnect.
Speaker:So this may be something that you're going to want to
Speaker:look at and adjust.
Speaker:So point number one,
Speaker:what are the adjectives that describe your business and then is
Speaker:your graphic in sync and representing the same feel point number
Speaker:two, image professionalism.
Speaker:As I think about logos,
Speaker:I think about all the different styles that exist.
Speaker:So one of these would be you,
Speaker:some logos are initials.
Speaker:Only some logos are actually the company name in an interesting
Speaker:font, or perhaps a combination of fonts.
Speaker:I think those are always interesting where one word is one
Speaker:font and another word is a different,
Speaker:but very complimentary font.
Speaker:And then we also have logos where there is the name
Speaker:of the company.
Speaker:And then there is an additional graphic.
Speaker:And that is the majority of logos.
Speaker:Actually, most people do like to have the company name and
Speaker:then some type of a graphic image representing their business.
Speaker:This is where the problem can arise.
Speaker:If you have a graphic attached to your logo,
Speaker:let's take a look at it.
Speaker:Now, is it an original piece of art or did you
Speaker:use clip art or some other free stock photography that you
Speaker:pulled off the web?
Speaker:Because you thought it looked really nice and complimented the name
Speaker:of your company,
Speaker:but it's not original to you.
Speaker:That means anybody can go online and find that exact piece
Speaker:of photography,
Speaker:clip art,
Speaker:the image that you used and use it for themselves as
Speaker:well. So it does not make you unique.
Speaker:I know I get it in the beginning.
Speaker:You're strapped for money.
Speaker:Time is an issue because there are so many things that
Speaker:you want to get going.
Speaker:So it's all right.
Speaker:I forgive you.
Speaker:If you have used some type of publicly accessible image,
Speaker:but now is the time for change and we'll get to
Speaker:exactly how you do that.
Speaker:After we go through the checkup,
Speaker:not only is that piece of art,
Speaker:not a unique to you,
Speaker:we can spot it a mile away.
Speaker:I'm sure you've seen this yourself.
Speaker:When you've looked at other people's logos,
Speaker:you can tell if something is original artwork made just for
Speaker:their business or whether it's free stock photography or images,
Speaker:this subtly,
Speaker:whether you mean it to or not gives an underlying message
Speaker:about your company.
Speaker:If somebody doesn't really know you yet,
Speaker:they're looking for any reason not to purchase from you.
Speaker:Any explanation of why giving you their money may not be
Speaker:a good idea.
Speaker:People will question and evaluate how that flows down into the
Speaker:rest of your business,
Speaker:into how you work as a business owner,
Speaker:the quality of your product and how you would service them
Speaker:in case there was an issue that came up.
Speaker:It's not fair.
Speaker:I know.
Speaker:And I know everybody who listens to this podcast is a
Speaker:well meaning and hardworking business owner.
Speaker:So you don't want an image in your logo where you
Speaker:may never talk to that,
Speaker:but they see you online.
Speaker:Give some type of a message.
Speaker:That's really not you.
Speaker:So again,
Speaker:we need to make sure that that image is professional.
Speaker:Let's move on now to consistency of your logo,
Speaker:that refers to all the different touch points of your business.
Speaker:All the places where a customer can run into you ask
Speaker:yourself is the logo the same everywhere.
Speaker:We're talking about websites,
Speaker:the sign on your brick and mortar store,
Speaker:printed materials,
Speaker:business cards,
Speaker:even the labels that you put on your product images in
Speaker:emails, it goes on and on,
Speaker:including all of your social media sites.
Speaker:So here's the point to look at is the logo exactly
Speaker:the same in every touch point.
Speaker:When someone sees you at a craft show,
Speaker:for example is interested in your product,
Speaker:makes a purchase and then wants to buy from you again.
Speaker:So they go on your website.
Speaker:If that website looks completely different than what they knew you
Speaker:as when they saw you in person,
Speaker:that's a disconnect as we were talking about at the very
Speaker:beginning of this episode,
Speaker:there is a disconnect when there is not consistency within the
Speaker:brand, it brings up a question of quality trustworthiness and credibility.
Speaker:When I talk about the logo being the same,
Speaker:yes, of course,
Speaker:there may be different versions.
Speaker:You might do a black and white logo in one case,
Speaker:or one of them might be color or they'll be different
Speaker:sizes. That's okay.
Speaker:But if the fonts are different from one place to another,
Speaker:or you have different shades of your logo colors,
Speaker:maybe you've already changed your logo at some point,
Speaker:and just never went back and added the updated one to
Speaker:all your platforms.
Speaker:This is the checkpoint where you'll take care of all of
Speaker:that. Finally,
Speaker:checkpoint number four is your logo quality.
Speaker:This is where we're looking at your logo for reproduction purposes.
Speaker:Your logo should be at 300 DPI that's dots per inch.
Speaker:What this means in the graphic industry is it's going to
Speaker:produce an image that's very crisp and clean.
Speaker:Have you ever seen images that are super blurry?
Speaker:This is particularly important when you're doing printed pieces.
Speaker:So brochures,
Speaker:business cards or posters when you take your logo and you
Speaker:put it online,
Speaker:sometimes you'll use a lower resolution image just because the uploads
Speaker:on your website will go faster,
Speaker:but you want to make sure that you have a logo
Speaker:format that is in minimum 300 DPI that you have available
Speaker:to work off of for print.
Speaker:I also want you to look at your logo for detail.
Speaker:I have run into so many logos that are so super
Speaker:detailed. When you try to shrink them down to be on
Speaker:smaller pieces,
Speaker:or you try to convert them to black and white,
Speaker:it's a complete mess.
Speaker:If you think in your mind's eye of some of the
Speaker:brands that you love and you think about their logos,
Speaker:envision how simple they are.
Speaker:Think of the Nike swish.
Speaker:Think of Apple clear,
Speaker:simple, clean,
Speaker:and crisp.
Speaker:That's what you're after.
Speaker:So make sure that your logo is 300 DPI is not
Speaker:overly detailed and convert very easily to gray scale,
Speaker:which is the black,
Speaker:white and in-between colors and has sharp clearly defined lines.
Speaker:And now,
Speaker:again, if you're thinking that this is an area where you
Speaker:could do a little bit of an update in your logo,
Speaker:we'll talk about what to do about it in a few
Speaker:minutes, summarizing here,
Speaker:the four points of your checklist are as follows.
Speaker:Does your logo fall in alignment with the feel and the
Speaker:vibe of your business?
Speaker:Number two is your logo professional in terms of the graphics
Speaker:that are included with your company name,
Speaker:if indeed you have an image associated in your logo.
Speaker:Third is your logo consistent across all platforms,
Speaker:both online and offline.
Speaker:And how about the quality of that logo?
Speaker:Is it crisp,
Speaker:clean, memorable,
Speaker:and easily reproducible?
Speaker:Let's take a quick pause right here and listen to our
Speaker:sponsor. This podcast is made possible.
Speaker:Thanks to the support of the ribbon print company,
Speaker:create custom ribbons,
Speaker:right in your store or craft studio in seconds,
Speaker:visit the ribbon print company.com
Speaker:for more information.
Speaker:I'm wondering now how you're feeling about your logo and what
Speaker:you're thinking.
Speaker:Just like when you go to the doctor,
Speaker:if you're not feeling well,
Speaker:what does he do?
Speaker:He gives you a prescription and then you walk out and
Speaker:you do whatever you need to do to get yourself healthy
Speaker:again. And you move on.
Speaker:That's exactly what we're going to do here.
Speaker:Let's talk now about what to do.
Speaker:If indeed you're feeling like there are some tweaks that need
Speaker:to be done for your logo.
Speaker:What do you do?
Speaker:If you need to change?
Speaker:I have three points here for you and resources.
Speaker:So let's go with that.
Speaker:The first one is,
Speaker:again, the feel,
Speaker:let's say that your logo just isn't in alignment anymore with
Speaker:the feel of your business.
Speaker:In this case,
Speaker:you're going through a total rebranding,
Speaker:which is super exciting and fun.
Speaker:First step would be once again,
Speaker:to look at your company name and the fonts that you're
Speaker:using. Is there something that you want to change there?
Speaker:Do you want to do a combination of fonts?
Speaker:There are a ton of online places where you can look
Speaker:at different types of fonts.
Speaker:I'll put some of those in the show notes.
Speaker:So you have a few that you can reference.
Speaker:You can actually go in there and type in your company
Speaker:name and then pick different font styles.
Speaker:And it will show you what it looks like in those
Speaker:fonts. So that's a fun thing to do,
Speaker:but I caution you.
Speaker:You can end up wasting hours in there looking at a
Speaker:number of different fonts.
Speaker:So be a little careful about that,
Speaker:but so you'll want to consider your fonts.
Speaker:And then secondly,
Speaker:your colors,
Speaker:if up to this point,
Speaker:you really haven't established specific colors that represent your brand now
Speaker:is the time to do so.
Speaker:If you're not in the graphics world,
Speaker:you may or may not know about this already.
Speaker:There are certain numbers that reference different colors,
Speaker:and these are called hex color codes.
Speaker:It starts with a pound sign,
Speaker:and then there are six letters or numbers after that.
Speaker:These numbers match specific colors that you can then use when
Speaker:you're creating things online,
Speaker:you can give them to graphic artists so that they're able
Speaker:to design for you.
Speaker:And it's really important for you as a company to have
Speaker:specific colors that match your brand.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:here at gift biz,
Speaker:I have a very specific yellow that I use.
Speaker:That's important because when I print business cards or when we
Speaker:do something online or when I'm doing graphics for emails there,
Speaker:aren't different shades of yellow all over the place.
Speaker:It's one specific yellow,
Speaker:a resource that I'll give you here.
Speaker:There's actually a couple.
Speaker:If you go online,
Speaker:you can just Google hex color picker.
Speaker:It's H E X and there you can go and look
Speaker:at all different types of colors and you'll actually get the
Speaker:hex codes right there too.
Speaker:You'll see what I mean when you go over there.
Speaker:The other thing that you can do,
Speaker:if you are on Chrome is get an extension called color
Speaker:Zilla. And this is really cool.
Speaker:It's C O L O R Z I L L a.
Speaker:What this allows you to do is go to any website
Speaker:online and use that little extension,
Speaker:and it will bring up all of the hex codes for
Speaker:those pages.
Speaker:So let's say there are a couple of brands that you
Speaker:really like you to say,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I really liked that shade of pink that so-and-so uses in
Speaker:their brand.
Speaker:You can use color Zilla,
Speaker:go over to their website,
Speaker:click on color Zilla.
Speaker:And it's going to tell you exactly what colors they're using
Speaker:there a nice way to then merge that into your brand.
Speaker:And here,
Speaker:I probably don't need to say it,
Speaker:but I will.
Speaker:Anyway, just for peace of mind is you don't want to
Speaker:be copying other people's brands,
Speaker:but you can also pick up the hex colors are available
Speaker:for everybody,
Speaker:right? So you might find a pink that you really like,
Speaker:but you're going to merge it in with your own color
Speaker:of teal or whatever.
Speaker:Again, you don't want to be copying people's brands because you
Speaker:want to be unique.
Speaker:You want to be your own person and your own company.
Speaker:So if you're going to go through a total rebranding of
Speaker:your logo,
Speaker:you'll be thinking about your fonts and then also decide on
Speaker:your hex number,
Speaker:color codes.
Speaker:At this point,
Speaker:you might be saying,
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:this is such a huge project.
Speaker:I do not want to be tackling this myself.
Speaker:Well, you don't need to.
Speaker:There are a lot of very economical ways that you can
Speaker:get your logo redone with original artwork without having to break
Speaker:the bank.
Speaker:And without having to spend a ton of time,
Speaker:yes, you can do it yourself.
Speaker:You can also go to online resources that can help you
Speaker:with logo creation.
Speaker:Several of these are Fiverr 99 designs.
Speaker:You could hire someone from Upwork and they could help you
Speaker:create a logo.
Speaker:Another option is to look right in your community.
Speaker:How about in your high school in the arts department?
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:these kids are so smart these days.
Speaker:I bet you could hire someone in high school who could
Speaker:create a logo for you.
Speaker:That would be awesome.
Speaker:And I don't see you having to pay more than $50
Speaker:for logo creation in that way.
Speaker:And if you get a senior going into graphic arts in
Speaker:college, that would be a great thing for them to be
Speaker:able to use on their college applications.
Speaker:Another option is through your chamber of commerce.
Speaker:All of us have graphic artists within our communities and just
Speaker:out in networking.
Speaker:If you make the announcement that you know,
Speaker:you're looking for someone to help you redesign your logo,
Speaker:I'm quite sure you'll be able to find somebody in your
Speaker:own area to help you along with that.
Speaker:So don't feel like this is an insurmountable task.
Speaker:The benefits of having a high quality logo far outweigh the
Speaker:time and the investment that you'll make in getting this done,
Speaker:right? Whether you decide to do it yourself or you hire
Speaker:out, I just want to bring up a few design cautions
Speaker:here for you,
Speaker:as you're looking at any changes that you make to your
Speaker:current logo,
Speaker:or if you're going through a complete redesign,
Speaker:here are three things that I want to make sure you
Speaker:look at in your final review before you're all done.
Speaker:Number one,
Speaker:is it now clean,
Speaker:crisp, and clear,
Speaker:go back and listen to the conversation as we were going
Speaker:through the checklist and make sure your logo passes the test
Speaker:also, is it going to look good in black and white?
Speaker:Finally, you'll want all extensions of your logo to be available.
Speaker:If you go with an outside designer,
Speaker:this is something they should naturally be giving you.
Speaker:So if they've created your logo in Photoshop or illustrator,
Speaker:you're going to want the extensions for those graphic creation programs.
Speaker:So for Photoshop it's dot PSD and for illustrator it's dot
Speaker:AI, you'll also want the extensions for printing.
Speaker:So you're going to want your logo in dot P N
Speaker:G dot JPEG and dot G I F if you don't
Speaker:know what I'm talking about here,
Speaker:no worries.
Speaker:These are just different types of logo files.
Speaker:It's your same logo,
Speaker:but it's in different versions.
Speaker:It's kind of like getting your favorite top in pink and
Speaker:red and the print that you see it all originates from
Speaker:the same pattern.
Speaker:It's just different versions of the same thing.
Speaker:This is super easy for a graphic person to do it.
Speaker:Just, they just take the original artwork and then put it
Speaker:into the different versions,
Speaker:but make sure you get all of those before you pay
Speaker:your bill.
Speaker:Once you've got your new logo,
Speaker:then you're going to want to go and put it up
Speaker:everywhere in the download that I referenced earlier,
Speaker:I made a list of different places.
Speaker:You want to make sure that you make adjustments with your
Speaker:logo and yes,
Speaker:it will cost you a little bit of money to get
Speaker:new business cards and brochures.
Speaker:And if you need to do that over time,
Speaker:that's fine.
Speaker:But you just want to make sure that you get it
Speaker:taken care of within a reasonable timeframe.
Speaker:Because once again,
Speaker:it's the consistency that's so important.
Speaker:So there you have it,
Speaker:all the information for your logo checkup and the free download
Speaker:link. Again is gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash one 50.
Speaker:We've covered all the points that you'll want to look at
Speaker:as you're analyzing your logo,
Speaker:and then what you should do.
Speaker:If you need to do some revisions,
Speaker:as we close out here,
Speaker:I just want to remind you why you want to do
Speaker:a logo checkup in the first place.
Speaker:And that is to make sure that you are presenting the
Speaker:best image you possibly can out into the market,
Speaker:especially when people run into your company online or somewhere where
Speaker:you're not available.
Speaker:So you're not able to interact with them.
Speaker:This happens all the time since we have online media now,
Speaker:right? And the point is you want your logo to be
Speaker:doing the best work it possibly can in terms of representing
Speaker:your business consistency with a beautiful logo builds trust,
Speaker:trust builds loyalty,
Speaker:loyalty builds,
Speaker:sales and sales will help you grow your business.
Speaker:Thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker:And if you are interested in sharing your logo with me,
Speaker:I would love to see it.
Speaker:You can do so by just jumping over to the show
Speaker:notes page at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com and attach it in the comments section right below the
Speaker:show. And if you'd ever like to get in touch with
Speaker:me, I'm available through email.
Speaker:Just go ahead and send me your message to Sue at
Speaker:gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com. Bye for now.
Speaker:And I look forward to seeing you again next week.
Speaker:This episode is all wrapped up,
Speaker:but your gift biz journey continues.
Speaker:It's your time to experience the pride and satisfaction of turning
Speaker:your passion into a profitable business.
Speaker:Join the gift biz builder program and access valuable lessons or
Speaker:worksheets, and a live Q and a sessions.
Speaker:Addressing your specific challenges.
Speaker:You also have the opportunity to connect with a community of
Speaker:gift biz builders,
Speaker:just like you head over to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com/gift biz builder,
Speaker:and get started today.
