Content needs to be SEO-friendly. At the same time, it needs to adhere to a certain word limit. For the designing team, here’s how to maintain both:

• Use tabs to keep the page ‘tight’ and make information easily available to visitors. You can actually hide chunks of content using tabs. Visitors will read the entire content, in various tabs  and here will be no room for boredom.
• SEO content should be ‘below the fold’. Keep in mind that a site’s traffic flow increases when visitors see attractive design, not when they find a chunk of text. There’s also a possibility of a conflict between SEO and content team here because according to SEO strategies, ‘above the fold’ is the place where optimized content should appear.
• The pages where SEO is not that important, such as the ‘about’ page, should be adorned with appealing designs. So, if you are a designer, let your creativity loose on these pages.

Navigation

Be clear when it comes to site navigation. Keep your website navigation buttons as clear as possible. You do not want to mislead your visitors. This does not mean you have to curb your creative desire. You can design the labels as you wish, but in order to offer a better user-experience, you need to position the text and the labels as clearly as you can.

Home Page Header Design

Animations and rotating images in the header are an effective way to present the good things about your company along with your value proposition. While content must be informative, the header must connect with the visitors emotionally in order to be effective. There are several ways to establish a connection between a website and its visitors. Try telling a story with the website design, logo design and content writing rather than talking about the products/services that your company offers.

Call-to-action

Needless to say, call-to-action is what takes visitors to the next level after they have browsed a website fully. Call-to-action can be simple as well as elaborated. But similar to the landing page, the call-to-action text should be simple, short and most importantly, clear. It also needs to be relevant to where it leads the visitors. Interesting content alone can’t help. You need attractive design in the call-to-action and the design should be done is such a way that it can be read with ease.

There are a few more things to be taken care of regarding the call-to-action. These things can arouse conflict between content writing and web design again. Below you will find how to resolve the conflict.

• Communicate with all the team members of content and design team clearly.
• Communicate with the client clearly.
• Choose a project manager who has excellent communication skills.
• Do not deviate from the purpose of the design.

Now, let me tell you that there are writers who cannot shorten information and designers who cannot but create elaborate designs. Trust me, they are quite common and both of them do not contribute anything to a site’s effectiveness.

These conflicting tendencies of content writing services and web design make the actual work very challenging. A good way to sort things out here is to have a discussion as a whole team. Another, quite effective way, though not followed very frequently, is to request feedback from clients. Just show your web page to people and take their opinions. This will give you an idea as to how successful your website is going to be.

Bear in mind that everyone is subjective about their own creations because there’s an emotional bond between a creator and his creation that overshadows any flaws that might be in the creation.

For creating corporate identity design of a company, paying attention to logo design, visual vocabulary, colors, and fonts is important. Unfortunately, most articles offer information about logo, colors, and visual vocabulary, ignoring fonts. For this reason, we have decided to offer crucial information about fonts in today’s article.

Basic Information about Fonts

Font refers to text characters, available in various sizes and styles. These styles can include bold, italic, regular, and light. Fonts can also be classified into various groups, such as serif, sans serif, display, and script fonts. Read on to know more.

• Serif Fonts- These fonts usually assume an upright, narrow shape, with prominent serifs at bottom of the lines that create the letters. Examples of serif fonts can include Times and Garamond.
• Sans-Serif Fonts- Fonts that do not include serifs are known as sans-serif fonts. Examples can include Verdana, Arial, and Tahoma. As compared to serif fonts, they are neater and modern. They are usually used, while developing website design and content.
• Display Fonts- These fonts possess a decorative element. They are usually used in headers or logos.
• Script Fonts- These refer to cursive fonts. Examples can include Nuptial Script and Brush Script.

Apart from these four fonts, other fonts exist as well. However, these four fonts are extensively used in business branding activities.

We have discussed main types of fonts. Now, we will offer you few guidelines that will help you to utilize fonts correctly.

Guidelines for Utilizing Fonts

• Printed Materials- If you are planning to incorporate long blocks of text in printed materials, opt for serif fonts. It will increase readability of the materials.
• Websites/Blogs- Serif-fonts can be your best option for creating website/blog. They are clean, simple, and easy to read. Additionally, remember that you need to pick out an online font that is automatically installed on PCs of most people. Otherwise, your site will appear in the default font chosen by the browser.

Many people complain that it is difficult to control the size of online fonts. Font tags in HTML do not come with sizing control. This means that you need to use them various times throughout every HTML. This is a time consuming affair.

The best way to deal with this situation is to opt for CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) for modifying the font size.

• Word Documents- For word documents, stick to fonts that are commonly installed in PCs. These can include Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana, and Georgia.

A good way of retaining appearance of information is to convert all the documents into PDF files. They embed fonts into respective documents, and one can view them in their original fonts in any PC.

Technical Information regarding Font File Types

If you are planning to purchase fonts for incorporating in your computer, you may be provided with few options. These can include True Types, Open Type, and Post Script fonts. We discuss each of these options in brief.

• Most professional printers opt for Post Script fonts. One format of Post Script font is available in Windows PC and another available for Macintosh PCs.
• True Types fonts are available in Windows PCs. As compared to Post Script fonts, their print quality is poor.
• Open Type fonts are the latest fonts. Limited fonts are available in this particular format. However, these fonts are cross-platform compatible.

Hope you liked our discussion about fonts!

In the 21st century, most businesses face the critical challenge of distinguishing themselves from their competitors. This is especially true for new businesses. New businesses have greater pressure of establishing themselves and creating a positive impression on the target audience. If you own a small business and want to know about the strategies that will help you to create a unique personality of your company, read on.

Create a detailed business plan

Most owners of small businesses think that creating a plan indicates wastage of time. However, if you are serious about establishing uniqueness of your company, opting for this strategy is critical. Furthermore, this step will help you to understand potential problems and act accordingly.

For creating a business plan, you have to figure out issues, such as structure of your company, its products/services, goals, and values. Furthermore, you should come up with innovative marketing strategies that will help you to capture attention of the target audience.

Find out uniqueness of your business

What are the special features of your company? Why should people choose products of your company and not that of your competitor? Answering these questions will help you to establish a unique personality of your company.

If you are still confused about uniqueness of your company, compare it with your rivals. Figure out a feature that is central to your company, but lacking in your competitor. Alternatively, you can ask a friend to try out your products. Thereafter, you can ask the person about his/her evaluation of your products.

Avoid mixing up your personality with that of your business in every situation

Separating your personality from that of your business is critical. The reason is that if you only highlight your special features, people will perceive it as vanity. Remember that people are hardly interested in knowing your unique features. Rather, they want to know those special features of your company that can solve their problem.

Of course, in certain situations you can incorporate uniqueness of your personality in the business. However, you should do this in the right way. Do not allow people to think that you are bragging about yourself. Rather, convince them that this is where the uniqueness of your business lies.

Let us assume that you love telling stories. If you highlight features of your products in a story-like way, people would find it unique.

Pay attention to branding

When it comes to creating a distinctive personality, branding plays a crucial role. Branding helps a company to create a positive image amongst the target audience.

Many think that by introducing logo design, one can establish brand image of a company. This idea is partially right. It is true that corporate identity design includes logos. However, it also includes brochures, taglines, and advertisements. Every element needs to work together to create brand image of a company.

Additionally, consider the fact that branding of your company should complement its goals. If you want to sell toys, for example, you can include bright colors and energetic shapes in your logo and advertising campaigns. However, if you own a company that helps debt-ridden people, opting for a traditional color scheme and circular shapes would be a good idea.

Implementing these 4 steps will help you to create a distinctive personality of your business.

The logo design business has become a fiercely competitive industry in the past couple of years. Several designers are fighting with each other for a handful of clients. If you study the logo design business, you will realize that only a few designers have become successful while many designers have failed to grab market attention.

The successful logo designers are no doubt talented, but the main reason behind their success is their managerial skills, not designing expertise. To be successful in any kind of business, you have to learn some business strategies and here I will discuss the 5 most important tactics that will help you to boost your business profits:

1. Promote Your Business Continuously- Unless you tell people that you exist, nobody is going to notice you in this crowded market. You have to promote your designing services to your potential clients on a regular basis and highlight the reasons that will interest them to hire you. Tell them how your design can establish their corporate identity and improve their brand value. You should use the social media websites to promote your service and give online advertisements as well.
2. Prioritize Your Clients- According to a business principle named Pareto Principle, 80% of your total income comes from the 20% of your clients. You may have total 20 clients and out of them only 10 clients may give you regular assignments. You have to identify those 10 clients and give a special treatment to their projects. However, that does not mean you should neglect other clients. When you pay more attention to regular clients you can earn more profits without spending a lot of money on business promotion.
3. Request for Referral- Whenever you complete a design project, request your client for a referral. If you are an efficient designer and the client is satisfied with your design, he will happily recommend you to his friend and business associates. Give your business card to him so that he can hand it over to his friend who is looking for an expert designer. Compared to all marketing techniques, recommendation is the most effective one. We give more importance to our friend’s suggestions than a paid advertisement.
4. Check Your Balance Sheets- Logo designers often get so busy with their work schedule that they don’t keep track of their accounts. You need to check your balance sheets regularly to know how much you are earning and how much you are spending every month. This practice will also help you to identify the places where you are wasting your hard earned money and cut the expenditures.
5. Hire Marketing Expert and Accountant- As a logo designer, your main duty is to design attractive and meaningful logos, but if you try to be the jack of all trades and handle all the marketing and accounting works alone, you won’t get enough time to concentrate on your main work. Thus, you should employ marketing and accounting experts and let them handle market promotion and the accounting department.

You should follow the aforementioned guidelines to make your logo design business successful. Design memorable logos and promote your services to stay above your competitors.

For as long as any of us can remember, we have been sipping on Pepsi. Some of us love the fizz and taste and some call it just caffeinated sugar water, greatly falling short of Thumbs Up’s spicy tang or Coke’s zingy flavor. Whatever be the case of personal taste, not many of us can claim to have paid much attention to Pepsi’s changing logo, or at least consciously analyzed it.

Until I took up logo design as a career, I confess, logos did not warrant a critical glance. Today however, I cannot look at a logo and not dissect its design, font, color, layout, etc. Right now, the Pepsi logo falls prey to my analytic tendencies.

In 2008, Pepsi’s $1 million design team produced a new logo that provoked a mixed social response spanning the entire it-rocks-it-sucks spectrum. The logo sparked a heated discussion across the social web, especially the design community.

Somewhere between vigorous marketing via a Flickr contest inviting know-it-all-smartass designers to better Pepsi’s design team, a YouTube video on Pepsi’s design history, and a web room on FriendFeed inviting ‘commoners’ to share in Pepsi’s media future, Pepsi’s logo managed to draw in enough criticism and praise.

My 2 cents on the Pepsi logo:

Font – I am guilty of liking it. Notice the ‘p’ and the ‘e’. The ‘p’ shapes up like the round of the logo and the ‘e’ is clearly reminiscent of Pepsi’s earlier logos. The font is simple, clear and unlike the earlier fonts’ bold, in-your-face look, which is just as good because Pepsi’s new font certainly looks funky yet formal. Comparatively, it makes the logo look neater and uncluttered.

Color – Pepsi’s blue, red and white scheme remains as it were introduced in 1950. Although I liked the 2003 gradient’s light and shadow play better, so far as complimenting the font is concerned, solid colors are perfect. A more glossy texture would not have harmed however.

Design – The design is a disappointment and makes me question every time…if redesigning was on the cards, why did Pepsi not come up with something a little more creative and intelligent? Why did they change the logo at all, if all that were planned to accomplish was but a little perspective tweak and color bleed?

The logo is only a slight modification of the old logo, completely devoid of 2003’s gloss appeal or 1998’s classic look, both of which in my opinion, looked great on packaging. Without either, Pepsi’s new logo is just another color, font and design composition without much style to reckon with.

But maybe all is not lost. The good thing is…Pepsi’s logo will still be identifiable at a glance even as people continue to suffer from logo ‘blindness’. Pepsi’s logo has been around for so long, the majority of consumers now bypass the logo completely without really noticing it. This is great because Pepsi is very obviously targeting its bank of already dedicated drinkers and thus, steers clear of any drastic changes to its logo.

Personally, I would not mind a change in color scheme, or even something completely different from a geometric logo. If Pepsi is to follow vigorous advertising as it did for its 2008 launch, there is little chance people will miss identifying Pepsi when they next see it on the stands.

Which brings me to question…is Pepsi afraid of experimentation?

What do you think?

The business owners need to resort to the services of a logo design company for various reasons. It could be required for doing the logo design or providing the designs for the new website of a company. Some web design firms also have the resource and workforce to offer web design solution for the clients. When it comes to selecting the right logo design firm for his company, a business owner needs to consider several aspects before making a choice.

• The first thing a company owner should decide before getting the logo or site of his company designed is the type of logo design firm. It depends on the budget and need in most cases. Some freelance logo designers can provide logo design services at affordable rates compared with a large logo design firm. If the professionalism and quality of work of a freelance designer is top notch then a company owner can definitely opt for his services. However, if a business owner needs an overhaul of his website along with a through product endorsement campaign, taking the services of a large design firm seems more viable.
• The professionalism of a logo design firm should be evaluated by a client before he opts for its service. A professional design firm should always be prompt and responsive to the client queries. Such a design firm should not hesitate to clarify the queries of a prospective client, irrespective of the type of his projects. The site of such a design firm should have contact section and a provision to ask for quotes online.
• A professional logo design firm should have the adequate infrastructure and technology to meet the various needs of the clients. It should have experienced workers to take care of the various aspects of designing including visualization, storyboarding, script writing, and logo designing and so on. The business owners approaching such a firm needs to clarify their queries regarding service agreement and allied terms and conditions.

The purpose of a logo is to build your company’s corporate identity. Your logo design should be such that it leaves a lasting impression on the viewers. Logos give your viewers, customers and competitors a positive and strong message. Your company’s logo is what your business is known by. Hence, a smart, attractive and creative logo is desired to etch your company’s image in the global market.

To understand the qualities and effectiveness of a good logo design, we have analyzed the BBC logo for our readers.
The British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC, brings to mind authority and authenticity and an undeniable British ardor. BBC’s logo design is an exact replication of what its followers feel and what its makers wants them to feel. As an emblem of an internationally acclaimed corporate house, BBC’s logo wears its attitude proud. As a specimen of creative design, it has much to enunciate:

• Shape: A simple set of three squares with initials ‘BBC’ inscribed independently, BBC’s logo translates the company’s goals, production pace and authority. Additionally, the straight line structures outline the company’s principles and methodology of work.
• Color: Black, with white inscribed company initials, the logo is in stark contrast, is visually crisp and highly precise. Traditional colors make the logo stand out among many bright and colorful logos in its relevant market, and otherwise.
• Font: The simple but bold Gill Sans is easy to read and distinctly speaks of BBC’s superiority.

From the point of view of a non-critical viewer, the BBC logo is just right for a broadcasting medium. It’s smart and very very corporate. When viewed with a creative eye however, it appears lacking in certain aspects, one that begins with visual appeal.
Let’s face it, visually, the BBC logo has very little of any attractive quality. The very colors that makes it stand out in a sea of corporate identities also makes it the least attractive of logo designs in comparison. Agreed, the logo is simple and authoritative, but it does lack intelligent conceptualization, or creativity at the least.
BBC is an established entity and it’s logo has been around for many years. When you see the BBC logo, it holds your attention. However, try comparing with the likes of CNN, NBC, etc, and you know
where it fails miserably. Absolutely devoid of color, BBC’s logo is often the morose and bored bystander while colorful logos parade past.
Of course, that works to BBC’s advantage but as viewers, we’d like to see a little more color, wouldn’t we? Besides, who likes to deal with British ire every day, (something that BBC has perfected over the years)?

Man is a visual being. Nothing pleases us more than what we can behold with our own eyes. Technically, a visual is the primary way through which we gather information about everything. And, where touch and feel is ruled out, visuals become the dominant factor in how we perceive objects. Especially in our present day context, visual appeal is of utmost importance so far as the competitive market is concerned.
A good graphic can give your business the branding it needs to retain prominence in its niche market. A good design will be remembered for ages and can be a powerful medium to etch your company’s name in the minds of consumers and competitors. Little surprise therefore, businesses spend millions to develop logos and other corporate identity material to cement their brand in the market. A good logo design, it seems, can not only create an immediate, solid visual impact, but also leave a lasting impression.
There are several companies available across the real and virtual markets that offer logo design solutions for companies seeking to create a brand identity. Powerful logos are at once capable of grabbing viewer attention as well as providing a comprehensive idea of what a company/product is about.
Of course, what passes as a ‘powerful logo’ is a matter of continual debate, as is the measure of simplicity, color, graphics and innovation in concept that can and should be used. To better understand what should or should not be included in a ‘good’ logo design, let us analyze the following well-known brand image:

Cable News Network, or CNN, has one of the simplest logos for a company that is so widely popular and famed. Is that a bad thing? Not remotely, especially if you take in certain ruling factors that make a logo effective:

• Simplicity
• Bold , solid color that is not too flashy.
• Interlinked font style that is innovative and easily understandable.
• Logo uses abbreviation that makes the company’s name easily comprehendible.
• An exclusive look.

On a scale of attractiveness however, CNN logo probably scores a 2/10. As a company which has over a score years presence in the media market, the CNN logo is easily recognizable and therefore attention grabbing. However, let’s set aside personal prejudices (perhaps CNN is your favorite news channel) and analyze its logo design for what it’s worth.
As web designers, we cannot help but conclude that CNN logo’s attention grabbing quality is simply because of its long term presence in the market. Picture the logo when it was first introduced in 1999; it is not hard to guess the excitement across the media market because CNN had suddenly introduced a new, bold look. Perhaps aesthetically right too, but CNN’s logo is completely devoid of any intelligent conceptualization of design. Look close and the logo may just as well appear an interlinked ‘aM’, or a ‘CWI’, often bordering on optical illusion.
Probably as doodles of an ideal mind, the CNN logo is a brilliant concept. However, as a conscious effort to establish brand identity, it seems a half-hearted effort to come up with any real, smart logo design solution.
The CNN logo is highly effective and our aim is not to demean the creative minds that have worked to make it, (over several frustrating trials and errors no doubt). However, in the best interest of creatives who will work on logo designs in future, we sincerely urge them to avoid coming up with such starkly obvious and simplistic concepts. Keep it comprehendible but just enough to tease the viewer’s think buds. Let them stare that much longer and leave with a satisfied smirk at having deciphered the concept before others did.
If you don’t believe the aforesaid works at better branding, take a look at few of these popular logos:

]]> http://www.quality-web-solutions.com/blog/what-makes-a-smart-logo-smart/feed/ 0 http://www.quality-web-solutions.com/blog/designing-a-logo-types-you-can-try-out/ http://www.quality-web-solutions.com/blog/designing-a-logo-types-you-can-try-out/#comments Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:06:52 +0000 QWS http://www.quality-web-solutions.com/blog/?p=460

To survive in today’s cut throat competitive market of globalization, majority of companies, be it big or small, depend largely on logo design to reach out to potential customers. Marketing being the mantra of the age, logo makes the graphic representation of a company’s values and principle that is a must need in creating a brand identity for the organization.

If you also plan to create a logo that is effective enough to draw recognition and communication, a professional help is the best option to bank on. But before that, it is important to know which type of logo design will suit your need the best.

Broadly speaking, there are three types of logo designs that are used by designers in accordance to client’s requirement:

Iconic or symbolic logo: In this type of logo design, uncomplicated yet compelling images are used that stand for a company and its products literally or through abstract representation. To create a truly effective iconic logo, maintain to abide by the following characteristics:

• Memorable and instantly recognizable
• Clarity even in small size
• Explanatory in nature whether concrete or abstract

Logotype or Word mark logo: Popularly known as “word mark” in the industry of logo design, this type of logo is uniquely styled with help of fonts and characters that are of different size, shapes and approach. To achieve its prime objective of creating a positive impression on the targeted audience, it is important that all the elements of logo designing are rendered and integrated in such as way so that it displays a great visual effect.

Combination Marks Logo: Most popularly used in modern day logo design, combination mark logo uses both graphic symbolic image as well as text so that it provides supplemental clarity about a company. It also makes the logo easily understandable and memorable to viewers so that they can relate to it later also.

We come across numerous company logos everyday and we are also aware of their importance in marketing. But the secret of success lies in the effectiveness of its design. With proper steps you can build up successful branding with your logo design. You can use your business logo on different stationeries, your business card designs as well as on your company website. This way you will be able to brand your business and attract attention of your potential customers.

Here are some of the basic steps which you may find useful while designing your own business logo:

• First of all make the logo memorable. You need to choose a logo design which one can easily remember and recollect later. It should neither be too complex or just too simple that it will go un-noticed.
• Secondly, it is important to make your business logo meaningful. If you are to choose a graphical logo then try to convey the message you want to reach out to your potential customers. Make sure that your company logo speaks about your services or products.
• Thirdly, you have to be very particular about the uniqueness of your logo. If you want to stand out from the crowd then you need to design something outrageous. This would help in build your business branding in the long run.
• Fourthly, you need to be very careful while choosing a graphic designer or a graphic designing company. Make sure they provide customer satisfactory service and check whether they can add professional touch to your company logo.
• Fifthly, you can start with free online business logo designs. You can also check out the various logos that have become quite famous over the years. To keep up with the time choose a logo that has long lasting effect on the minds of potential customers.
• Sixthly, choose the colors for your business logo wisely. You should also visualize it in black and white combination as you may have to use the logo for printed materials.
• Seventhly, while choosing a logo design for your company, make sure that all its elements are balanced. A consistent approach is very much required to reflect a corporate outlook.