“Is Your Logo Stuck in the 90s”
Sep 8, 2015
In branding and logo design being cheap isn’t always bad. But being stuck in the past is.
OK, full disclosure here. I do not work for BlueHost, and they are not even one of my main hosting services. In fact, they are my competition. But I’m always willing to learn something from my competition.
Recently I received a marketing email from BlueHost in which the subject line read “Does your logo look like it’s stuck in the 90s?” Ironically, the sample logos of what I presume is their work, look like they’re stuck in the 90s (or maybe the early 2,000s). But it’s much better than the designs at Fiver and other cheap logo sites. At least BlueHost is using contemporary typefaces, colors and simple shapes along with well balanced proportions. There are a few mathematical alignment issues making words not looked visually aligned, which is a common issue when web-focused designers work with typography. Also, there are some issues with secondary word sizing with many of the designs that would render them illegible at small sizes on the web. But all-in-all (and more sadly) they are better than many logos I see produced by professional design studios that charge much more. (See the complete BlueHost email at the bottom.)
I’ll admit I’m being a bit snarky here, but I seriously do like the BlueHost logo design campaign. I know it’s easy me to be a “design snob” when I work with clients like Adult Swim and other entertainment companies that allow my studio to push boundaries and set trends in design. We have worked hard overt the past 20 years to be able to do that type of work and it’s much of what we’re known for. It’s our expertise, but honestly most companies don’t need that type of design.
But even if most companies don’t need our specialty, the internet has raised the design expectations of visitors and the design possibilities for companies. Today clients and companies need to constantly maintain their visual front-end identity just like the backend portion of their online presence. Gone are the days of engineers at start-ups throwing together an animated rainbow or 3-D CAD logo for their website and marketing materials to wow possible investors (except at Adult Swim).
Most companies and start-ups just need a quality, professionally designed logo that can be taken seriously and that is not embarrassing. Many others just need an “evolutionary” update to their existing logo to maximize today’s multitude of media and content streams. It’s not really branding or rebranding, which folks often mistakenly call it. And it does not need the large budget typically associated with a branding project. But a logo is one component of a brand that needs to be kept relevant with a vigilance more than ever today. It needs to be on message for its market. It needs to stay up-to-date with modern visual trends on a regular basis for both aesthetic and functional reasons.
So yeah, BlueHost’s starting price of $199 is a good value. (My studio has on occasion designed logos for that much, even for Fortune 50 companies.) But the value of a good, effective, professionally designed logo is worth much more than that. A logo is the visual ambassador for a company working 24/7 without making mistakes. It’s usually the flagship image in the header on every page of a website, and generally the first thing visitors see when they visit you online. Consciously and subconsciously it makes a huge impression on customers. It needs to send the right message, because the competition is only one-click away.
BTW, we also help more traditional companies stay on top of it. Really we do. Check us out at scottbanksdesign.com
