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Will You Add? - Having a Logo Designed for Your Business? How to Ensure You Get What You Think You’re Paying For
Advertising Techniques
Everyone living and working in the modern world today is influenced by advertising which is the practice of informing the public of the benefits of a particular product, service or activity in order to stimulate sales. A key area of many organizations sales strategy is advertising. A well-placed and well-designed advert will attract many people. This complements other sales strategies used and gives good value for the money spent. Information contents of the advert and an unsuccessful one. There are different types of goods and services all with different requirements. This means that an advertiser has to know how to treat his products. Information levels will be decided upon depending on what type of product is being advertised.Too little information will not impact strongly enough to woo a customer. Too much information will put off a potential customer. Therefore, the balance of the information has to be just right. Moreover, advertising agencies charge large amounts of fees. It is necessary that he returns justify the expenditure incurred. Special interest groups usually raise concerns over issues close to them.
nal product is either a finished, “set in stone” logo that a company will use from that point on, or the final product(s) are concepts that help the company flush out ideas they haven’t had time to look into, ideas they can look over, discuss and test.Everyone living and working in the modern world today is influenced by advertising which is the practice of informing the public of the benefits of a particular product, service or activity in order to stimulate sales. A key area of many organizations sales strategy is advertising. A well-placed and well-designed advert will attract many people. This complements other sales strategies used and gives good value for the money spent. Information contents of the advert and an unsuccessful one. There are different types of goods and services all with different requirements. This means that an advertiser has to know how to treat his products. Information levels will be decided upon depending on what type of product is being advertised.Too little information will not impact strongly enough to woo a customer. Too much information will put off a potential customer. Therefore, the balance of the information has to be just right. Moreover, advertising agencies charge large amounts of fees. It is necessary that he returns justify the expenditure incurred. Special interest groups usually raise concerns over issues close to them.
Either way, it’s important to make the distinction before the project begins. The following set of questions will help both parties understand the nature of the project.
What Questions to Ask to Determine if You have Logo Design or Concept Design:
Have you spent any time thinking about what you think would be a good logo?
Have you scrutinized your competitors logos, do you have any examples of logos (in or out of your industry) that you like or dislike?
Designing Promotional Product Strategies That Work
When designing a new marketing plan involving promotional products or gifts, it’s important to plan out a strategy ahead of time. All too often, a business owner or marketing department latches on to the idea of giving away a gift as a promotion, but fails to do the planning that would build the promotional strategy from a nice idea into a marketing powerhouse. Before you run right out to purchase nifty printed pens or other promotional gifts with your logo on them, take a few minutes to work out an effective marketing strategy that incorporates the promotional items that you choose.Step 1: Set your goals. The first step in any marketing campaign is to set your goals. What is it that you intend to accomplish with this campaign? Be specific about your aims. “Increase sales” is a worthy goal, but it doesn’t give you much guidance in designing your strategy. Instead, think things through. Increase sales to whom? Increase sales of what? When you can make a statement like “we want to increase the number of women ages 18-30 who come into our beauty salon for a complete makeover”, you have a goal that you can build a
About a year ago I worked with three enterprising women who were considering a start-up company specializing in makeup and a bath and body line. They were a good referral from a trusted business colleague.
When these clients first contacted me, they hadn’t done any research in their client market, they had no business plan and they had no idea what type of logo they wanted. Nor did they know what their business was about, what their competition was doing, or even who their customers were. They just thought, “We need a logo design of some kind that will define our company, so let’s hire a designer”. These clients were intelligent, fun and enthusiastic women who said they wanted logo design – but in retrospect I now know they needed was not logo design but concept design.
NOTE: If you’re a small business owner here’s an important point you don’t want to miss: your company should define what your logo looks like and what it is; your logo should not define your company.
Why is it important to distinguish between concept and logo design?
Understanding the project as a logo design or concept design clearly defines the final product of the project, as well as the project’s expectations. When the project’s expectations and objectives aren’t clearly defined we end up with miscommunication and the project can end badly for both parties.
If you’re a designer, it’s critical to have the expectations spelled out; miscommunication and misconceptions can cost you a load of time and money. It’s your responsibility as a designer to get clear on what the project’s scope and objective really is, and help the business owner understand the process and the end product. And as a business owner, you want to make sure you’re getting what you’re paying for.
Here’s a real world example, which should help you distinguish between logo design and concept design: a client tells you, “This is what we want, we’ve taken some time to look at the competition, talked to our clients and discussed what we’re looking for in a logo/brand. We want it to say this…” – this is logo design. The final output and objective for this project is going to be a final, finished logo that the company is going to use as long as it remains in business.
Conversely, another client says, “Well, we’re not sure what we’re looking for, so were bringing you on as our creative person. We don’t know what we want, but if you hit it, we’ll know it” – this is concept design. The final output and objective for this project is to generate new ideas and identity concepts for company can mull around, brainstorm over (the designer essentially does the research and the thinking for the company). Clients typically receive 3-9 different concepts depending on the designer.
Do you see the difference?
Ultimately the final product is either a finished, “set in stone” logo that a company will use from that point on, or the final product(s) are concepts that help the company flush out ideas they haven’t had time to look into, ideas they can look over, discuss and test.
Either way, it’s important to make the distinction before the project begins. The following set of questions will help both parties understand the nature of the project.
What Questions to Ask to Determine if You have Logo Design or Concept Design:
Have you spent any time thinking about what you think would be a good logo?
Have you scrutinized your competitors logos, do you have any examples of logos (in or out of your industry) that you like or dislike?
Options Backdating: Restatement: Meaning, Types, Impact
Had a good discussion with a few analysts (financial) and accounting on the question around differences between Restatement and Recertification of results - what are they, what is the difference etc.?1. Restatement: It will effectively rewite a company's books. Dr. Min Wu of New York Univ of Business has a great paper on Review of earnings restatement. Here are some highlights:a) Restatements typically occur when a company, often in consultation with its auditors or the SEC, determines that the company's financial statements contained either "errors" resulting from "mathematical mistakes, oversight, or misuse of facts at the time the financial statements were originally prepared," or "accounting irregularities.” The dissertation focuses on these types of restatements. In reality, it can be hard to distinguish between intentional misstatements and misinterpreting the accounting rules.b) There are several reasons for restatements. The first involves companies that prematurely recognize revenues, or, even worse, recognize fictitious revenues. Misstating costs or expenses is
d logo design – but in retrospect I now know they needed was not logo design but concept design.Had a good discussion with a few analysts (financial) and accounting on the question around differences between Restatement and Recertification of results - what are they, what is the difference etc.?1. Restatement: It will effectively rewite a company's books. Dr. Min Wu of New York Univ of Business has a great paper on Review of earnings restatement. Here are some highlights:a) Restatements typically occur when a company, often in consultation with its auditors or the SEC, determines that the company's financial statements contained either "errors" resulting from "mathematical mistakes, oversight, or misuse of facts at the time the financial statements were originally prepared," or "accounting irregularities.” The dissertation focuses on these types of restatements. In reality, it can be hard to distinguish between intentional misstatements and misinterpreting the accounting rules.b) There are several reasons for restatements. The first involves companies that prematurely recognize revenues, or, even worse, recognize fictitious revenues. Misstating costs or expenses is
NOTE: If you’re a small business owner here’s an important point you don’t want to miss: your company should define what your logo looks like and what it is; your logo should not define your company.
Why is it important to distinguish between concept and logo design?
Understanding the project as a logo design or concept design clearly defines the final product of the project, as well as the project’s expectations. When the project’s expectations and objectives aren’t clearly defined we end up with miscommunication and the project can end badly for both parties.
If you’re a designer, it’s critical to have the expectations spelled out; miscommunication and misconceptions can cost you a load of time and money. It’s your responsibility as a designer to get clear on what the project’s scope and objective really is, and help the business owner understand the process and the end product. And as a business owner, you want to make sure you’re getting what you’re paying for.
Here’s a real world example, which should help you distinguish between logo design and concept design: a client tells you, “This is what we want, we’ve taken some time to look at the competition, talked to our clients and discussed what we’re looking for in a logo/brand. We want it to say this…” – this is logo design. The final output and objective for this project is going to be a final, finished logo that the company is going to use as long as it remains in business.
Conversely, another client says, “Well, we’re not sure what we’re looking for, so were bringing you on as our creative person. We don’t know what we want, but if you hit it, we’ll know it” – this is concept design. The final output and objective for this project is to generate new ideas and identity concepts for company can mull around, brainstorm over (the designer essentially does the research and the thinking for the company). Clients typically receive 3-9 different concepts depending on the designer.
Do you see the difference?
Ultimately the final product is either a finished, “set in stone” logo that a company will use from that point on, or the final product(s) are concepts that help the company flush out ideas they haven’t had time to look into, ideas they can look over, discuss and test.
Either way, it’s important to make the distinction before the project begins. The following set of questions will help both parties understand the nature of the project.
What Questions to Ask to Determine if You have Logo Design or Concept Design:
Have you spent any time thinking about what you think would be a good logo?
Have you scrutinized your competitors logos, do you have any examples of logos (in or out of your industry) that you like or dislike?
Promote your Business: Start your own Newspaper
Good PR is harder to get than ever these days. There are many good reasons for this and the proliferation of PR agencies and one-man bands play only a small part.The real culprit is technology. In the good ol’ days (if they ever existed) getting some really cool press coverage depended on two things: A. Having a product to sell or announcement to make which would fall into the category of newsworthy items. B. The relationship that existed between the PR agent and the beleaguered editor of the publication targeted.Within that matrix it was relatively easy to get good press coverage. You provided the product and chose the right PR Agency and they did the rest.Not so today.Each editor of each publication in every corner of the planet is laboring under tight deadlines, low costs, hardly any time at all and so many press releases and product placement offers hitting the newsdesk that they could easily fill most landfills in the country.Why?Well, the shrinking of newspaper and magazine staff for one has seen a glut of PR Agencies springing up everywhere. You’d expect that.JournaliIf you’re a designer, it’s critical to have the expectations spelled out; miscommunication and misconceptions can cost you a load of time and money. It’s your responsibility as a designer to get clear on what the project’s scope and objective really is, and help the business owner understand the process and the end product. And as a business owner, you want to make sure you’re getting what you’re paying for.
Here’s a real world example, which should help you distinguish between logo design and concept design: a client tells you, “This is what we want, we’ve taken some time to look at the competition, talked to our clients and discussed what we’re looking for in a logo/brand. We want it to say this…” – this is logo design. The final output and objective for this project is going to be a final, finished logo that the company is going to use as long as it remains in business.
Conversely, another client says, “Well, we’re not sure what we’re looking for, so were bringing you on as our creative person. We don’t know what we want, but if you hit it, we’ll know it” – this is concept design. The final output and objective for this project is to generate new ideas and identity concepts for company can mull around, brainstorm over (the designer essentially does the research and the thinking for the company). Clients typically receive 3-9 different concepts depending on the designer.
Do you see the difference?
Ultimately the final product is either a finished, “set in stone” logo that a company will use from that point on, or the final product(s) are concepts that help the company flush out ideas they haven’t had time to look into, ideas they can look over, discuss and test.
Either way, it’s important to make the distinction before the project begins. The following set of questions will help both parties understand the nature of the project.
What Questions to Ask to Determine if You have Logo Design or Concept Design:
Have you spent any time thinking about what you think would be a good logo?
Have you scrutinized your competitors logos, do you have any examples of logos (in or out of your industry) that you like or dislike?
Are Ad Agency Account People Evil?
Before we discuss just what constitutes 'evil,' let's be brutally honest.Ad agency account people have very, very tough jobs. In actuality, they probably have the hardest positions there are to be had in the entire world of advertising.Why?Well, in addition to not being able to participate in 'every day is dress down Friday' like the creatives are able, being an account person means taking marching orders while trying to stay the course.The account person is the middle person to a lot of information brokerage. They are the point people between the client and the head of the agency, between the client and the creatives, between the client and the media department, between the media department and the head of the agency, between the head of the agency and the creatives, and between the producers and, well, hopefully you get it.They are it.All communications go through them, and as such, they are ALWAYS put in the position of having to bear bad news. What do ad agency people do? They middle man bad news."The client wants to reduce the budget for next quarter.""The client final output and objective for this project is going to be a final, finished logo that the company is going to use as long as it remains in business.
Conversely, another client says, “Well, we’re not sure what we’re looking for, so were bringing you on as our creative person. We don’t know what we want, but if you hit it, we’ll know it” – this is concept design. The final output and objective for this project is to generate new ideas and identity concepts for company can mull around, brainstorm over (the designer essentially does the research and the thinking for the company). Clients typically receive 3-9 different concepts depending on the designer.
Do you see the difference?
Ultimately the final product is either a finished, “set in stone” logo that a company will use from that point on, or the final product(s) are concepts that help the company flush out ideas they haven’t had time to look into, ideas they can look over, discuss and test.
Either way, it’s important to make the distinction before the project begins. The following set of questions will help both parties understand the nature of the project.
What Questions to Ask to Determine if You have Logo Design or Concept Design:
Have you spent any time thinking about what you think would be a good logo?
Have you scrutinized your competitors logos, do you have any examples of logos (in or out of your industry) that you like or dislike?
Office Design Tips
Wherever you work, at a home office or at a work office, your office working experience depends entirely on its design and productivity. If you ask any experts, they will tell you that your office environment and ambience can tell a lot about your efficiency and productivity. A bad office design and an insipid office environment may dampen your spirit and seriously curtain your overall productivity. You may not have the required budget and necessary time to carry out a detailed office renovation work. Nevertheless, you can also make minor adjustments in your present setting to improve your working efficiency.Here are some of the practical tips to boost your efficiency and overall productivity:1. Make public your products and create an office brand. Create a niche brand for your company. Preferably your office must match your brand. A successful branding exercise requires that you make your office look and feel like your brand. Create banners, posters, cut outs and print out excellent business card to achieve this target.2. Excessive noise makes you emotionally disturbed, leading to increased anxiety annal product is either a finished, “set in stone” logo that a company will use from that point on, or the final product(s) are concepts that help the company flush out ideas they haven’t had time to look into, ideas they can look over, discuss and test.
Either way, it’s important to make the distinction before the project begins. The following set of questions will help both parties understand the nature of the project.
What Questions to Ask to Determine if You have Logo Design or Concept Design:
Have you spent any time thinking about what you think would be a good logo?
Have you scrutinized your competitors logos, do you have any examples of logos (in or out of your industry) that you like or dislike?
Have you talked to any of your clients or prospects about this?
Who’s making this decision? How are you or they going to be making it?
Are you going to be making this decision based on what you like or what your clients have told you they like?
Have you invested any time getting some preliminary feedback from clients or prospects?
What is this logo supposed to convey, communicate or say to a client or prospect?
Do you have a tag line?
What images/icons or insignias do you think would help communicate your message and draw in customers?
How would you like your logo to differentiate your company from the competition? How do you want your logo help you define a niche market that is different from your competitors?
How do you want prospects/customers to feel when they see your logo?
What do you want prospects/customers to think when they see your logo?
What are some adjectives you would want your prospects/customers to use to describe your company based on seeing your logo?
Based on the answers given to these questions, you should quickly be able to determine whether the project is a concept design or a logo design.
Key Phrases that Indicate Concept Design:
Here are a number of top phrases I’ve heard that should tip you off that the project is concept design rather than logo design. The business owner says,
- “I don’t know what I want, but when I see it, I’ll know”
- “Just create some logos, and I’ll tell you what I think”
- “I can definitely tell you what I don’t like”
- “I don’t have much for you to go on, just use your creativity”
- “I haven’t had time to think about what I want”
- “I am not sure what else is out there, as far as my competitor’s logo”
- “I’m just starting this business and I probably have to get something”
- “I am thinking of starting this business and I’ve got to come up with a look or something”
- “I just need to get something done”
Even though they said they wanted logo design, the 3 clients were asking for concept design. Unfortunately, I accepted the project as a logo design instead of concept design – which proved to be a HUGE mistake, and one that designers often make.
I ended up spending over 10 hours developing their image for this “dream company”, going from one idea to the next. The women came up with a new idea each day; they wanted me to try out to see if they’d like it, and without fail, each time I did this they came back with, “We’re not sure about it, we’d like to try something else. Something’s missing but we don’t know what”. This was, to put it lightly, unbelievably frustrating.
It sounds crazy but this was my fault, I didn’t first analyze and distinguish
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