May23
3 Best Practices for Small Business Branding
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There’s a lot of contradictory advice when it comes to branding, but there’s no denying that small businesses need to create a clear-cut, identifiable brand to survive — especially in the online marketplace. Vector Logos invites you to consider the following three best practices when determining the best branding strategy for your company.
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Determine Your Audience
Reaching your target market may take some trial and error in the beginning. You may already know your demographic, but if you don’t, consider where your customers live, how old they are, and which social media they most frequently use to get a basic sense of what your marketing strategies should be. Choosing a branding strategy will depend heavily on whose attention you are trying to get. Use a demographic mapping tool — or hire a professional to do it for you — for fast analysis of your customers’ metrics.
It’s important that you (or whoever you hire) regularly check these metrics and key performance indicators to analyze how your customers are responding to your marketing tactics and see if they are meeting expectations. If they aren’t, it’s time to pivot and switch strategies. A professional branding marketer can help you if you tire of trying to figure out these details by yourself.
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Create a Narrative
According to numerous digital marketing experts, the best brands tell a story. Perhaps you’re running a family company that your grandfather founded, or maybe you lost your job and decided to bounce back by turning your hobby into a full-fledged online business. Whatever your background, you’ll see the most connection from customers and likely the best sales results if you connect with your audience by telling them a story.
As you think about what to include in this narrative, let your customers know more about your passions, hopes, and goals for your business. This helps your customers feel a sense of connection to you, which is crucial if the business you own is online-based. Shy away from obvious sales pitches, guilt appeals, or anything that doesn’t feel ethically right to you.
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Know When to Hire a Pro
While you may be able to build a simple website with a template platform such as WordPress, you may not have the skills (or the time) to create an appealing and functional site and run the site and your social media platforms by yourself. Consider working with a digital marketing agency who can optimize your website, handle SEO, and manage Google and Facebook ads.
When it comes to choosing a logo that represents your brand, try Vector Logos for ready-made options you can easily download and then customize with Adobe Illustrator software. Choose from many expertly designed logos that include your desired font, colors, and design elements.
If you’re new to marketing your business in the digital space, branding can be a tough concept to tackle. Before throwing yourself into the task, take some time to research what you need and reach out to other small business owners to learn how they branded their businesses. Get in touch with professionals with branding experience if you need help with the concept or the practicalities such as web design, logos, and social media engagement. The clearer the concept and the more engaging the narrative, the better identity your company has.
Work with consultant Brad Adams to scale your business and grow your sales and profits! Call (702) 583-6656
Text credit: Elena Stewart
Photo credit: Pexels
Hermes, the British delivery company, has a new name now: Evri. The new design was created by creative agencies Superunion and Monotype, as a multi-font logo with thousands of variations, in a comprehensive rebrand.
The new logo typeface was created with many different characters for each of the four letters of Evri, as well as a generative instrument to produce random combinations.
There are a total of 194,481 possible logo combinations – enough for every vehicle in the 5,000 – Evri trucks to have its own logo.
“If they wish to change a letter, for example because it is too expressive or too similar to the letter it sits next to, they can use the tool to choose another alternate. Each character has 20 OpenType alternate glyphs, while each number has four variants and punctuation is confined to a single set.”, said Mark Wood, Superunion senior creative director.
Superunion is a subsidiary of the advertising company WPP and is headquartered in London. The agency has worked also on the branding for Notpla, a company making biodegradable packaging.
Monotype‘s previous works include redesigns for digital era of the the popular font Helvetica and the London Underground’s Johnston typeface.
Dec30
Another car brand has revealed its new flat logo
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One of the most important rebrands at the end of 2021, which chose the flat design for its logo was that of Swedish car manufacturer Volvo.
According to Volvo, the new design is a modern reinterpretation of the logo, but retains its own essence. Volvo’s new logo is a simple black, flat design which keeps the same circular shape as both the male symbol and the scientific symbol for iron, first used by the brand in 1927.
Volvo joins other car manufacturers like Toyota, Renault, Kia and others who have decided to switch to flat design with their logos.
It is the only major change of the Volvo logo in the last 7 years.
Sep03
A 3D identity for London Design Festival 2021
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For the 15th time in a row, Pentagram is creating the identity of the London Design Festival, an event that aims to celebrate and promote London as the world design capital.
This year, Domenic Lippa, Pentagram partner and Creative Director of the festival, focuses around the “form” and launches a bold 3D typographic identity with strong contrasts.
This is the second major event in the field after the pandemic and will take place between 18-26 September 2021, in 10 districts of the London capital: Brompton Design District, Clerkenwell Design District, Islington Design District, King’s Cross Design District, Mayfair Design District, Shoreditch Design Triangle, William Morris Design Line, Design District at Greenwich Peninsula, Park Royal Design District and Southwark South Design District.
With so many locations, the attempt was to create an LDF identity that would work both on physical and digital platforms, but also in different moving environments.
“It’s always collaborative between myself, John Sorrell and Ben Evans. I try to challenge them each year, and they encourage me to surprise them. We collectively know what we want, so the ambition is to constantly reinvent ourselves, but with a recognisable DNA thread linking each year’s campaign with the brand.”, says Domenic Lippa.
The London Design Festival will take place during the period 18-26 September 2021.
Aug16
This Is How an Artist Can Make a Side Gig Profitable
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A staggering 63 percent of Americans admit to living paycheck to paycheck, so it’s no surprise that approximately one in three of them are working a side hustle to make ends meet. Many of them elect to do so through artistic endeavors, which not only helps pad your bank account, but as Forbes points out, that creative outlet offers the added benefit of boosting your mental and physical well-being.
If you dabble in artistic pursuits as a hobby, it may be time to consider pursuing a side gig. But before stretching a canvas, joining a jam session or throwing clay after your nine-to-five job, make sure you approach a second job the right way so you can ensure that it’s profitable. Vector Logos presents some ideas to help artists, graphic designers, and other creatives get their side gigs off the ground.
Secrets of performance
For starters, you need to figure out what you’re going to offer, whether that’s a service or a product. Some artistic gigs include, but are not limited to, animator, art teacher, graphic designer, makeup artist, industrial designer, fashion designer, motion graphics designer, painter, sculptor, jewelry designer, cake decorator, and illustrator. Getting going is easy these days, thanks to the internet. There are job platforms like Upwork which help you to market talents like graphic design services, where you can connect with clients, frame project details, and set your own freelance graphic design rates.
Do It Your Way
Whichever path you choose, Mic suggests thinking about how you can make your offering different. Before diving into your project, make sure you craft a detailed budget that includes all of your costs — from materials to home office to vehicle if applicable — so you can ensure you’ll actually be turning a profit from your gig.
It’s also crucial that you find a balance between your day job and side gig without feeling burned out or compromising one for the other — remember, for now, you need that nine-to-five job. You can’t risk losing a steady job, especially if you have a family or a pile of debt to pay down. Focus on one job at a time so you’re putting in 100 percent effort. Use a day planner or app to keep track of your schedule, make to-do lists, and set boundaries for both jobs. It’s also important to make time for self-care such as proper rest, exercise, healthy meals (try cooking them ahead and freezing to save time), and social time with friends and family.
The Perfect Creative Environment
Make sure you have the proper home workspace so that your side gig feels like a profitable job, not just a hobby. Choose a distraction-free space that’s either an independent room or at the very least is sectioned off by some form of partition. Find an organizational system that works best for you, but don’t neglect this detail as it’s liable to save you from having a few headaches.
A comfortable place to work will prevent stress on your neck and back, and with the right design you gain the added benefit of raising the value of your home. Since you already have an artistic eye, you should have no problem figuring out ways to decorate your workspace in order to feel inspired and focused while also being aesthetically pleasing.
If all goes well, there may come a time when you can turn your side gig into a full-time business — but just make sure you’re in the right place financially before giving your notice. If this is your goal, save — don’t spend — the profits from your side job so you can put together an emergency fund and support startup costs. This is also a good time to reconfigure your budget (to include all your financial responsibilities) to reflect the fact that you’re no longer generating a second income stream.
Is it time to take your creative talents to the next level? It can be scary to put your abilities out there, but it can also benefit you in important ways. Not only is it a meaningful chance to express yourself, but you can gain a much-needed income boost.
Vector Logos can help you find exclusive, ready-made graphics for your business logo. Check out our different designs today.
Photo Credit: Pexels
