Logos: your identity, our superpower

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Logos: your identity, our superpower

Industry

Tech

Service

Branding

Client

Various

Think your brand is your logo? Think again.

Your logo is just one ingredient in the secret sauce that holds your brand together.

As your brand’s visual signature, your logo should be as unique as you and your business are. In today’s marketplace, consumers are subconsciously bombarded with logos all the time—from the food packaging on your breakfast table, to the vehicle logos on the commute to the office, and a multitude of other touchpoints throughout the day—businesses are vying to make an impression on you every minute of every day.

It’s pretty common to hear the terms ‘brand’ and ‘logo’ interchanged. Just to clarify: a logo is the business’ primary visual identity, like a brand’s signature, and may consist of a wordmark, a graphic element (sometimes called a logomark) and a tagline all working together. A great logo speaks volumes without saying a word. On the other hand, ‘brand’ is how the world perceives the business—this includes all the tangible and intangible elements in the secret sauce that we touched on in Corporate Identity.

The better the logo, the stronger the brand, right?

You know who we are talking about—Apple, Google, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Disney—those super brands with the megabucks that you think you should be following in their footsteps. We know that your business’ advertising budget isn’t in the billions, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t afford to invest in a slick, appealing visual identity. Just ask Nike: it’s 1971, and a young graphic design student has just designed and sold Nike its “swoosh” logo. That year, Carolyn Davidson received $35 for the design.

Today, it’s estimated that Nike spends over $3B a year on advertising alone. Google it. It’s a great story. Awkwardly, it’s the only $35 logo design we would ever give a standing O to. For the record: Nike did eventually pass a little something-something along to Carolyn to acknowledge designing one of the greatest logos of our time. Thankfully.

Cookie-cutters are for baking, not for business assets.

In a marketplace where no two businesses are alike, why do so many logos look the same? We’ll chalk it up to the proliferation of online graphics services that promise a user-friendly, cost-affordable approach to developing logos. You’ll be left with a bland, templated, cookie-cutter design that’s nowhere near unique.

Here’s where we are coming from: entrepreneurs have spent months, maybe even years of sweat and tears to develop, hone, and bring a unique business to market. What we don’t get is why these same business leaders would even consider spending five minutes online to produce something so vital as the logo that represents all of that work.

We don’t prescribe to this flash-in-the-pan phenomenon—it would be kryptonite for your brand. Because your corporate visual identity is worth more than a one-size-fits-all logo solution.

“Initiate Marketing takes pride in our work to craft just the right identity for each client. I’ve always been incredibly proud of the logos we’ve created. Each is custom designed to carefully put a business’ best foot forward. As a team that cares about you, your customers, and your business, Initiate’s portfolio stands as a legacy of solid branding and timelessness. We’re ready to do the same for you.”

Michael Ball, Chief Creative Officer, initiate

Leave the designing to the professionals and no one will get hurt.

Your business plan, products, and services are unique to you — we get all of it.

Hiring an agency might seem like a significant leap, but it acknowledges the investment you’ve already made in your business. When you let us get to know you better, we’ll have a clearer understanding of where your business has come from, what motivates you, and where you want to go—we’ve been down this road with clients before.

We’ll start by asking you questions, a lot of them: like your favourite colours, what logos grab you, who your competitors are, and so on and so forth. Please don’t be shy—spill the beans and be as open-minded as you can. Since communication is a two-way street, we’ll work together with you and we promise to be open-minded too.

Good design takes time.

Once we get into your head about your needs, emotions, likes and dislikes, we will begin bringing life to those chicken-scratched notes with crystal-clear clarity. Using cutting-edge design tools, technologies, and good old-fashioned know-how, your logo will be ready to cross all mediums. No matter how small every design element will be polished to pixel perfection, wrapped up in a logo pack, complete with all the digital and print formats you’ll ever need, and outlined in your branding guidelines for designs to come.

Put your brand where it belongs; in our hands. After all, logos are our superpower.

In a world of mediocre fast design, stand out in the crowd.

You’ve got a business to run, so leave the logo designing to us. Initiate’s portfolio of corporate logos is a mix of the strong, the smart, and the inspiring. Have a look—our clients think our work is super too.