Consistency and Substance: Making Good Ideas Go Further

Attractive logos and website design are important visual tools for making a business memorable, we all know that. But how deep does your logo or your slogan go? How intertwined is the way your website looks with what it says and what your business actually does?

A logo shouldn't just be a cute design that you slap on your company and forget about. It should be something that really represents a crucial aspect of what you do and what you stand for. Likewise, your website shouldn't open with a catchy slogan that never gets mentioned again, or hinge on a design element that looks good but ultimately doesn't reflect anything about what you do.

Tying together all the visual aspects of your company can help make the whole entity more substantial, more organic, and ultimately more meaningful and memorable to your clients. If your logo represents a fundamental aspect of your business, which is then elaborated on and discussed in the text of your website, the end result is that your clients will have a far-reaching understanding of what you're all about, a comprehension that spans ideas as well as visual recognition.

Likewise, don't settle for design that looks simply "professional" in the most generic, cookie-cutter sense. If you catch yourself thinking, "I want my logo to look like X company's logo," you're probably going about it the wrong way. Aside from personal aesthetic considerations, an effective logo might rely on symbolism or reference something important (and specific) about your company. That way when people see your logo they won't only associate it with your name, but with those signature elements that make you who you are.

Overall, the key here is to create a business identity whose unique elements are so striking and pervasive that if one or several elements were taken away, your clients would still have a clear sense of who you are and what you stand for. In other words, if you were to remove your logo from your website, would the content still stand alone and clearly convey your identity and values to your readers? Or, conversely, presented with just your logo, would people still have a good, concise clue as to what makes your company special?

The message is simple: everything counts. Why spend money on a logo that means nothing? Why put the effort into making a beautiful website if it doesn't say anything important or set you apart from the herd? You've built a company with a unique outlook, or a service that responds to a specific need, or improves on the way everyone else does business. Good looks aren't enough. Make sure that every aspect of your visual and textual presence reflects the same quality and substance that your business does.