Your logo is one of the most important aspects of your business. It can set the tone for your style and be the one feature that customers remember. That’s why it’s so essential to get the logo right.

But what makes a good logo? There isn’t just one element that makes a logo a winner. All good logos have multiple amazing elements that come together to create something memorable.

Then if there are so many contributors to a good logo, how do you create one? Here are eight tips to consider when designing a logo.

1. Consider Your Audience

Before you start your business or brand, you have to know who your target audience is. This will help you make all of the future decisions that will help grow your business or brand. But you also need to take your target audience into account with your logo.

That’s because your logo helps to create your brand identity. Your logo can help establish the service or product you offer and who that service or product is for.

Your brand logo will look different if you’re target audience is children than if your target audience is young adults. Your audience can determine all the other factors within your logo.

2. Trendy vs. Unique

Your logo should keep up with the trends so that it feels current and refreshing. But there is a fine line between following the trends and being too trendy. You don’t want your logo design to stand out in the wrong way.

But you do want your design to stand out in a unique way. To get ahead of competitors, you should get creative with your logo design. No matter what style you choose, your logo should relate to your product or services.

Choose images and elements that relate to your brand. Hardware tools don’t make much sense on a logo for a retreat and spa.

3. Lean Into Typography

Typography can make or break your design. The font within your logo is just as important as any other design element. Your typography should complement the other elements, be easy to read, and make sense for your brand.

If you have a lot of delicate strokes and thin lines, then a font with bold, heavy strokes may look out of place. Consider your product or service when choosing the typography as well. A hardware store will need a different font than a tech company.

Above all, your typography should be easy for your customers to read. If no one knows what your logo says, then how are they supposed to find your business?

4. Conversion is Everything

On the technical side, your logo should be able to convert to different file formats. JPG, GIF, PNG, WMP, and TIFF are only a few options you should explore. They allow for your logo to render as a single element rather than separate elements.

This allows you to scale your logo up or down and be used on the web and printing a logo. Whether you design or your own logo or have it professionally designed, you want to have as many file formats as possible.

This will allow you to effectively use your logo on various mediums while maintaining the design’s clarity.

5. The Logo Has to Look Good

It comes as no surprise that a logo has to look good. If a consumer is faced with a decision, more often than not, they will choose a business or brand with a better design. But your logo also has to look good on everything.

You won’t use your logo in just one format because you’ll want to use it for various purposes. The logo has to look just as good small on a business card as it does large, on a banner, and everything in between.

Consider also the material of promotional items. From cotton t-shirts to ceramic mugs to paper business cards, you want your logo to look good on all mediums. Allow your logo to be flexible enough to work on any medium at any size.

6. Don’t Over Complicate

When it comes to a logo, simplicity is better than complicated. It may seem tempting to add in a lot of elements to get your point across. But with a logo, less is always more.

Think of some of the most well-recognized logos. They utilize a few colors, have a memorable, or may even be only one image. A simple design looks best when sticker printing, letterheads, or on social media.

Avoid overcrowding your design and pare down your logo to the essential elements. A simple image or striking font can be more memorable and pleasing to the eye.

7. Think About Color

Color can be one of the most useful tools in your logo design. There are so many brands, large and small, that can be recognized by color alone. Your logo color can determine the entire feeling of your brand.

Choose shades that complement each other by using a color wheel. You should also look into the meaning behind color to help you make your decision. As important as color is, you also consider how your logo looks in black and white.

8. Do Your Research

This is one of the most vital steps you can take when considering a logo design. Do some research on your target audience as well as competitor brands and businesses.

Find out what kind of logos customers best respond to and utilize those elements in your own branding. You can also see the logos that your competitors are using to stay ahead of the trend.

Designing A Logo That’s Memorable

Have you ever scrolled through social media or browsed the internet and stumbled upon a business that had a great memorable logo? Doesn’t it make the brand and business feel more cohesive and trustworthy?

If you had a choice between two businesses, with one having a stunning logo and the other only having plain text, which are you more likely to purchase from? That’s the power of designing a logo that returning and potential customers can’t forget.

But there’s much more to creating the perfect logo than meets the eye. These eight tips are great to consider before you start designing a logo for your business or brand.

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Did you know: in 2020, 28% of online searches for local businesses led to a sale? With the internet playing such an unprecedented role in our lives, businesses simply cannot do without an effective website.

But, you might be wondering how to create a business website? Or what are the different elements your website needs to incorporate?

Keep reading for our guide to having a great website design for your business.

1. Get Interactive

The first of our web design tips is to include interactive elements on your website. These are useful for many reasons. First, they encourage the user to stay on your page for longer.

By including fun elements like a quiz, you create a stronger connection with your potential customer, and they are likely to increase their interest in making a purchase.

Next, interactive elements can also help with lead generation. By including options to sign up for a newsletter or filling in contact details to make an appointment, visitors to your website are providing you with their personal details which you can then target with your marketing strategy.

2. Consider Your Business Objectives

Next, when you’re considering how to make a business website, this process needs to be driven by your business objectives. Take a look at your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and explore how a website can help you meet these targets.

For example, younger businesses might be placing a greater focus on building brand awareness and brand recall. They will want to include regular blog content and focus on establishing consistent branding.

Meanwhile, a business with sales-driven objectives will want to ensure that the user journey from the website landing page to checkout is as simple as possible.

3. Don’t Forget Branding

One of our most important small business website tips is to focus on your branding. This includes the color scheme, font, images, logo, and tone of voice used in the website content.

Each of your webpages should be consistent in your branding, presenting your business in the way you wish to appear to customers. This might be as a friendly, family-run business, or as a professional consultant with vast experience.

You also need to include prominent links to your social media pages. This includes Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube, if possible. 

The branding across your digital presence and in email marketing should be consistent too. Remember to direct customers to your website in your social media posts and bios, as well as in your email campaigns.

4. Include a Blog

For those small-business owners wondering how to drive traffic to your website, a great way to improve your SEO is by including a blog section in your website. Try to publish articles that address common questions that might arise in relation to your products or services.

This way, someone might enter their question into a search engine, then come across your blog that provides the answer. It is likely that they will then remain on your website and explore whether you can meet their needs.

Make sure your blog is easy to find, and include a search function so that visitors can find exactly what they are looking for.

5. Make Navigation Simple

One of the worst mistakes a business can make is to set up a website with all the essential pages and features, but make it difficult for visitors to navigate. Avoid confusing layouts, and try to anticipate what the most popular pages of your website will be.

These can go at the top of drop-down lists, or in the center of your website to make them easy to find. Don’t forget that you can use analytics dashboards to find out exactly which of your website’s pages gets the most hits.

6. Review and Test

An essential element of web design is to continually review how your website is performing and to test different options to find out what works best. Many website managers and analytics programs offer the possibility of A/B testing. This allows you to compare like-for-like options, such as different images or landing pages, to see which performs better.

You also need to look into digital experience analytics to make sure your website is as effective as possible. This includes heat mapping, session replays, and other tools that let you optimize the user experience.  

7. Set Goals

A component of web design that goes hand in hand with reviewing your website’s performance is setting goals. You should set reasonable objectives for metrics you want your website to achieve.

This will help you determine whether you are increasing traffic and sales thanks to your website.

Some of the key numbers to look at are the number of site visits, the time spent on your site, the conversion rate for your visitors, and interactions per visit.

8. Don’t Forget Contact Details

If one of the purposes of a business website is to create leads, a common error business owners make is to make it difficult for potential customers to contact them. One of the ways around this is a footer across your website with your business’s information.

This should include your business address (if applicable), as well as a phone number and email address that are monitored regularly.

You could also consider an FAQ page that might divert users away from your support team, and allow them to help themselves. 

That’s How to Create a Business Website

Now that we’ve provided our top web design tips and tricks, it’s time to set up a website that will attract potential customers and help move them down the sales funnel until they become loyal, returning customers. Don’t forget that web design is a process of continual improvement and that the job is never truly ‘done’.

If you found this article about how to create a business website useful, be sure to check out our other business-related posts!

Are you designing a company logo, for yourself or someone else? As well as choosing from designs and colors, one of the most demanding decisions you will make will be selecting a font. To portray the right image to your customer, you must get this right. 

This big decision comes down to one determining factor, the serif and sans serif fonts. Below, we present a must-read guide on the serif vs sans-serif font debate and help you make a decision. 

What Is Serif?

Fonts are divided into two main categories. These are serif and sans-serif fonts. Each can give a different message and attract different types of customers.

A serif is a small stroke that is added to the end of characters in a font. These are added on the vertical and horizontal axis. Serifs can appear on uppercase, lowercase, numerals, and other characters. 

The size of the serif and level of ornamentation is dependent upon the designer. This is one of the main features that give a font its distinction. 

Serif fonts are generally regarded as being easier to read in large texts. Adding the serif makes it easier for the eye to distinguish between characters. For large blocks of text, serif fonts are often the preferred font choice. 

One example font is Times New Roman. It is the font of choice for many university and academic applications. This is because of the ease with which it can be read. 

What Is Sans Serif?

Sans simply means ‘without’. A sans serif font does not have the flick and ornamentation of the serif. This can make it look very sleek and clean. 

Many companies are choosing a sans serif font for their logo. This is because is they tend to be easier to read on digital displays, such as phones and computer screens. This has seen it adopted by large technology companies, which has enhanced its image as a modern, futuristic font choice. 

Google recently changed its logo from a serif font to a sans serif for this very reason. At first, it was believed that the logo was too simplistic. However, the logo has now been adopted and the previous one is mostly forgotten.

Famous Logos With Serif Fonts

Serif fonts have an element of classicism and elegance about them. They have been used throughout time, and carry with them this association. They were originally used in ancient roman carved inscriptions, and are still used today, so carry longevity in their design. 

Many brands that use them try to channel sophistication. Rolex, Dior, and Giorgio Armani are all high rolling fashion brands who trade on timelessness in their marketing. In automobiles, Honda and Volvo also use serif fonts. 

Famous Logos With Sans Serif Fonts

Sans serif fonts have an element of directness about them. They are modern and forward-thinking. Many logos that use them are digital businesses, purely because they are easier to read on a computer screen.

Many high fashion companies use sans serif fonts to channel these qualities. Calvin Klein and Chanel are two examples. In the field of digital business, Microsoft, Facebook, and Air Bnb also use these fonts. 

Serif vs Sans-Serif for Logo Design

When doing a logo design, the choice between a serif and sans serif font can come down to the image you want your company to convey. Part of this should tie into your mission statement. Bear in mind that the color you choose will also have a large impact. 

The type of logo you choose can also have an impact on if you should use a serif or not. Some types of logos benefit from a certain type of font, and we have outlined them below. 

Emblems and Wordmarks

The two main types of logo design are emblems and wordmarks. Emblems are larger, usually more ornate, and often with bent and curved fonts. Wordmarks are simple logos that use a font only. 

A classic example of an emblem is the Starbucks logo. As a fairly new company, it uses a sans serif font in its logo design. The font is simple and easy to read. 

Note that it is a sans serif font. This is because sans serif fonts tend to work better on emblems. The flick of a serif can often overcomplicate matters when designing an emblem, as so many other elements are also at play. 

A good example of a wordmark font is the Visa logo. The focus is on the font itself, and the serif is even accentuated on the V in the logo. This hammers homes the message of sophistication and reliability. 

The Visa logo also relies on a blue color scheme. This is a great example of color psychology. Blue is typically associated with reliability and stability, along with peace and tranquility. 

Matching Up Fonts

When designing text-based promotional materials or websites, you should aim to use two fonts. More than this can get messy. Ideally, the fonts will want to complement each other.

Finding complementary fonts is easier than ever, as there are a host of generators and articles on the internet that will give suggestions. Generally, san serif fonts will be used for headings and subheadings, with serif fonts being used for the body of the text. 

The hard part will be finding two fonts that complement the font used in your logo. For this, you will either have to experiment with some trial and error. If not, speed up the process by hiring a professional graphic designer to do the job. 

Making a Decision

The final decision in the serif vs sans-serif debate comes down to your goals. What image do you want your logo or text to convey? Once you have this, you can consider different font styles, colors, and emblems or wordmarks. 

If you enjoyed our handy guide, then visit the rest of our blog. We have a number of articles on everything from design to finance, to assist you in every facet of your business decision making. 

It’s no secret that managing a business isn’t easy. As a small business owner, you understand this better than most people.

In today’s business world, there’s more competition than ever before. This means you have to use every tool available in order to stand out from the crowd. One of the most indispensable tools is a great website.

But when did you last update your site?

This article takes a look at how to know it’s time for a website refresh. Keep reading to get the inside scoop!

1. It’s Been a Few Years Since Your Last Refresh

When it comes to deciding whether or not to refresh your website, the first thing to consider is how long it’s been since your last refresh. After all, technology moves quickly. Thus it doesn’t take long for older technology to start dragging to the point it becomes nearly obsolete.

It’s also important to remember that your business has likely changed and grown along with the speed of technology, making it necessary to keep your website up-to-date.

You will also likely notice that you’re not getting as many leads through your website as you used to, making it hard for users to find you or locate what they’re looking for.

2. Your Website Isn’t Mobile-Friendly

The simple truth is that the vast majority of visitors to your website will come from mobile devices. Thus you need to maximize the mobile user experience. 

It’s crucial to invest in a website refresh plan that will maximize responsiveness to mobile devices. Otherwise, you’ll risk alienating your customer base.

In fact, making your website mobile-friendly should be your top priority, especially if your goal is to drive as much online traffic to your site.

3. Pages Load Slowly

Take the time to look at your website. Try to navigate around the way a typical visitor would. How quickly do the pages load? Are the links fast and responsive, or does it take an extended period of time to perform as designed?

Very few things will kill your online business faster than a slow website. A refresh that speeds up performance is more than worth the website refresh cost. 

If your website video content is outdated and slowing down your site, Michigancreative.com can help you create quality videos that are optimized for site speed.

4. High Bounce Rate

Another factor to watch out for is a high bounce rate. Your bounce rate refers to the percentage of users that visit a page and then leave the website without doing anything on that page.

When your bounce rate is high, your search engine rankings will likely drop. A website refresh will switch things around and help keep the bounce rate low. 

A Businessowner’s Guide to the Benefits of a Website Refresh

Keeping your online business running smoothly should be a top priority. These tips for identifying the need for a website refresh will help keep your operation running as efficiently as possible. 

Explore our blog to find more business tips.