Important Information to Provide to Your Business Logo Designer

Logo design can be an intimidating aspect of the business development process for many entrepreneurs. If you are unsure of your ability to create a company logo, consider hiring a professional designer to take care of everything for you. It's often well worth the additional costs to pay a professional and save yourself hours of frustration. However, it's not as easy as just pulling out your checkbook. Once you've found a qualified graphic designer that fits your budget, you must provide them with an assortment of pertinent information about the business to ensure that the designer has a clear understanding of what your company offers so they can convey that message with the logo.

1. What Do You Do? It's impossible to design a compelling business logo without knowing fundamental information about the company. Meet with your designer to thoroughly explain the services or products that your business provides or will provide to customers. Whether you sell custom T-shirts or you offer legal services for copyright and trademark options, it's imperative that your logo expresses a message that illustrates what you provide to your customers. Make sure to share pricing information for each of the services or products. Different strategies may be implemented for high-end products versus the common design approaches for budget goods and services.
2. Who is Your Target Market? Brainstorm to determine who you want to purchase your products or services from. Are your offerings useful to everyone or only for an affluent demographic with a lot of disposable income? Are you targeting a specific geographic area? Determine a complete demographic snapshot of your target audience to share with the designer. It should include the following:
   • Age: Teens, young adults, middle-aged, elderly, etc.
   • Gender: Male or female
   • Financial status: Average income of your customers
3. What Do You Stand For? Share your company's core values with the designer to ensure that they understand what kinds of messages the logo should radiate. For instance, a family-friendly or religious business should have a more conservative logo than that of a nightclub or a men's magazine. Core values are also helpful in choosing the colors featured in the logo. Scientific research has proven that colors invoke a variety of emotions, which is why a designer needs to understand what your business stands for before they choose the logo colors.
4. What Are Your Strengths? A great logo represents your attributes so that a customer feels confident in your brand. Clearly communicate your strengths to the designer so they can create graphics and choose colors that illustrate your attributes to the target audience. Are simplicity and efficiency your claims to fame? A sleek and modern logo exudes those attributes.

As with any relationship, communication is paramount. By clearing explaining your company, you can help the designer understand your expectations and cut down on time spent editing and revising so that the logo is completed in less time.