Choices. Give Me Lots of Choices.

Remember the old Wendy's commercial that showed a Soviet fashion show? The "model," a middle aged woman wore the same drab outfit each time she appeared on the cat walk. The only thing that changed was the accessory she carried. When she modeled the swimwear, she carried a beach ball. For evening wear, she carried a flashlight. The clothing never changed. The commercial brilliantly illustrated a point—we value choices.

How interested would you be in a television that showed only one channel (or a channel programmed with only one show, or a program with only one episode)? Would you buy a box of crayons that only came with the color green? Would you shop at a grocery store that offered only one product?

The same principle applies to your design projects. The best designers will offer you a variety of concepts when they present your next post card, brochure, or logo design, not just two or three executions of the same idea. Why is this important to you? Because the best design solution may not be the first design idea you see. The first solution you get back may be good, even good enough. But the next solution may be better. And the concept after that may be better still.

Most of us learn at an early age that there is one right answer. 2 + 3 is always five. Book is always spelled B-O-O-K. Oxygen is always the eighth element on the periodic table. Once we learn to think this way, we tend to only look for the right answer. When we find it, we stop, not realizing that there may be lots of right answers for our problem. The best creative people (and good designers are among them) never forget to keep looking for other "right" answers. So when you are working on your next design project, push your designer for more than one solution. Chances are the next idea will be even better.

Logo Design—7 Important Things to Consider

I've outlined seven of the "Critical Mistakes" that small business owners make when they need to create a logo. But, if you're a positive thinker, you may prefer seven things to keep in mind when you set out to design a new logo for your business:

1. Hire a designer or design firm to help you create your logo. Yes, I'm serious. Here's why.
2. Know your customer and design a logo for him or her, not you. More.
3. Know your competitors, and design something different. More.
4. Use colors to communicate your message. More.
5. Choose a font that helps tell your brand story. More.
6. Keep it simple. This one is tough, but very important if you want your logo to stand out. More.
7. Leave out the legal words (okay, maybe this one isn't quite positive, but it's still important. Learn why, here.

It's been said that design is too important to be left to designers. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use and trust a professional designer (see #1). It does mean that you should be very involved in the decisions you make about your logo (or any other design project you undertake).

Critical Mistake #7—Adding Taglines, LLC, Corp. or Inc.

Occasionally business owners will add legal terms like Inc., Corp. and LLC to their logos because they want to look official, or because they believe it’s required by law. It isn’t. And it doesn’t make a company look bigger or more official. It just makes the logo harder to read and remember.

Have you ever seen the following logos: Nike Inc., Dell Corp., or Target, LLC? That’s just not how customers think about businesses. Chances are, when you see logos that include terms like Inc., they belong to very small businesses.

Same goes for taglines. Your tagline is an important part of your marketing message. Use it in your yellow pages ad. Use it on hand-outs, flyers, and brochures. You can even print it above or below your logo. But don’t make it part of your official logo artwork.

Note: When I mention legal designations above, I am not talking about trademark symbols like TM and ®. These are not only appropriate for your logo, but will help you protect your intellectual property.

Critical Mistake #6—Saying Too Much with Your Logo

As a business owner, you want your logo to tell your story. You hope that potential customers will see your logo (or the sign in front of your shop) and immediately know what you do. But this may be asking your logo to do too much.

As customers experience your business, products, and service, they’ll come to associate your logo with those experiences. Unfortunately, the process doesn’t work as well in reverse.

Most successful companies don’t expect their logos to tell their entire story. McDonald’s uses a red and yellow M, not a hamburger, shake, and fries. Prudential uses the Rock of Gibraltar, not a picture of an insurance policy. And thousands of companies like Borders don’t use an icon at all—the logo is simply type, rather than a book, magazine, or DVD.

McDonald’s M reminds you of the name of the business, not the product. After all, this isn’t just a burger, it’s McDonalds. The Rock of Gibraltar represents stability over time, an important value to customers seeking financial services from Prudential. And the Borders logo, applied consistently to store signage, packaging, and advertising, represents the Border’s book business well.

Think like a successful company. Keep it simple. Develop a logo that can represent the values and ideas your business stands for.