Put Your Brand Logo Through the One Color Test
June 25, 2010
Brand identity is an elusive subject for marketers and non-marketers alike. One of the most important tangible representations of your brand is its logo. These days, logos are getting more and more elaborate with half-tones, surface effects, and a myriad of design effects that look great online but can be a nightmare to reproduce offline – technically and financially.
While it’s nice to say, “logo design shouldn’t be restricted by future production budgets,” the truth of the matter is that an elaborate logo could become cost prohibitive every time you need to print it. From brochures to business cards, billboards to coffee mugs, and everything in between, your logo needs to reproduce well in a lot of sizes and on a lot of surfaces throughout the course of its life.
As you’re developing your brand logo, you need to use the Brand Logo One Color Test to ensure the logo you create to stand for your brand promise takes more into account then how cool it looks. While I’m not suggesting that you sacrifice “coolness” in an effort to save money, I am suggesting that you take the time to consider all applications of your logo before you commit to a design which will cost you a fortune every time you print it or a design which doesn’t translate well onto various media. I’m continually surprised by how even large corporations roll out logos that a design agency sold them on, knowing the production issues they’re likely to face down the road could be expensive and limiting.
With that in mind, here is the Brand Logo One Color Test
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Will my logo still stand out from the crowd in black and white?
- Will my logo design force me to print it in one color because it would be cost-prohibitive to print it in full-color?
Depending on your answers to the above questions in the Brand Logo One Color Test, you might want to reconsider your logo design. Remember, there is more to logo design and brand identity than meets the eye (sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun, but it’s very true).
Image: stock.xchng
This post was written by Susan Gunelius.
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