You hate your logo and I know why.

You have a logo. Maybe it was designed 5 years ago or maybe it was designed just a few weeks ago. Regardless, you hate it.

But you aren’t quite sure why you hate it. (I know why!)

I imagine the conversation between you and your graphic designer went something like this:

Graphic designer: “Hey, how can I help?”

You: “I need a logo ASAP! I want it to be serious but not stuffy, I kinda like the colour purple and here's the name of my business…”

Graphic designer:” Cool. I can work with that. Ummm... Give me a couple of weeks.”

A couple of weeks go by. Finally, the graphic designer delivers you six well-designed but wildly different logos to choose from. Immediately “analysis paralysis” kicks in and you start to lose sleep trying to decide between them all… weeks have already gone by, your business is ready to be marketed and you're at urgency stage. (Sounding familiar yet?)

Reluctantly (and without any clear reason why), you pick your favourite one of the bunch. You ask for a few tweaks — which the graphic designer gladly does — and off you go with your new logo.

So, what is the problem? Isn’t that the process everybody goes through to get a logo?

Unfortunately, that is exactly how it goes 90% of the time. But here's the thing. If the graphic designer doesn't do any brand strategy research with you BEFORE starting the design process, they're never going to truly understand your business’s goals and objectives.

The truth is, many graphic designers love to flex their skills with a blank canvas and create something that would look amazing in their portfolio — I’ll even admit to being guilty of that in the past. But if they don’t understand YOUR underlying brand strategy then they will never be able to hit the mark for you — and more importantly create the unique brand identity that will attract your ideal clients.

But wait… isn’t your logo your brand? Well, no, not exactly. Your business is your brand. You are your brand. Your logo and all the other elements (like business cards, brochures and advertising design) you use for marketing purposes make up your brand identity. They need to be created AFTER your brand strategy is in place.

But what exactly is brand strategy, then? Brand strategy is the process where you work through thoroughly understanding your business goals, objectives, target market and your overall brand values. Once you understand why you are in business and who you help with your products or services THEN you should work with a designer to create a brand identity that resonates with both your “why” and “who” equally.  

And when you really, truly, deeply understand your brand strategy, the design process will be so simple and so intuitive that a quality designer will be able to present you one final design and you will completely, head-over-heels fall in love with it.  

But I’m guessing like 90% of new business owners you skipped the brand strategy part of the process.

Which is exactly why you hate your logo.