Did you know that the best way to evaluate a new logo design is in black and white? At Go East, when we create new logos (or refine existing logos), we always, always, always start in black and white. And we ask our clients to evaluate the logo concepts in black and white.

We don’t start thinking about color until a logo design is selected. Can you guess why? There’s actually a very simple and logical explanation: Color is so subjective it’s nearly impossible to appreciate and accept the logo for the shape and aesthetic when color is incorporated.

That’s also why, when we create a logo concept, we present it in a large size and small size so our clients can evaluate the complexities of the shape in realistic size applications.

We also consider social spaces. What will your new logo look like in a social space?  Ready or not, it may end up there. Be prepared!

Of course, strategy and competitive research are key, but fundamental logo development best practices are just as important.

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Guidelines are the guidebook or owners manual for your new identity. They are critical to communicating what key players need to know in order to handle your new brand identity properly. The task of developing guidelines can seem overwhelming, though. So make it a little easier and consider these 10 questions; they should prepare you to go into the adventures of guideline development with confidence and ease.

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Traditional design processes dictate that logo design be undertaken in a pure, pared-down visual form — creating a logo in black and white. I was taught to design identities in black on white to ensure the mark communicated successfully at its core.  Traditional thinking has it that the mark has to work in black and white first. Also, clients may be unduly swayed to or from a logo if we showed them initial designs in color. If a client hates orange, then that logo, which might be the best at communicating the personality of their brand, has died an early, perhaps unnecessary, death. So, at Go East we continue to start all identity projects working with black on white.

However, I am beginning to question the wisdom of this approach.

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Changing a brand mark is not only a costly endeavor, but also one that can change your relationship with customers, key stakeholders and the general public dramatically, for the better or for the worse. So, it goes without saying that changing your brand has to be a strategic decision, rather than a reactionary one — but, how do you know when it’s time?

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Let’s face it, change can be scary.

Especially when it comes to a company’s brand mark. It is the single most visible aspect of a brand. It appears on everything — stationery, signage, marketing collateral, packaging, websites and more.

One of the single biggest concerns about changing a brand mark is the impact the change will have on existing brand equity. Make no mistake about it, changing a company’s brand mark will most definitely have an impact on brand equity. But that’s the point really, because the motivation behind a well thought-out and expertly executed brand mark update or change is to build brand equity. 

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Blake Whitman from online video host Vimeo recently had a seemingly unsolicited “fix” to their logo submitted to him:

Ha. How many times have you wanted to fix other people’s logos?

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