Starting a company? Forget about the logo. | Hacker News Reader

Starting a company? Forget about the logo.

drawar.com

I disagree a lot with this (and with the summary of his previous post); my opinion is coming both from my own experience as well as from some of Guy Kawasaki's advice.

First, the author trotted out Craigslist and the RIAA as examples of prominent brands without memorable logos, but I think that it's far easier to come up with counter-examples: nearly everyone knows the Ford logo, the Pepsi logo, the Coke "dynamic ribbon device", the Nike "swoosh", and so on. Mega-companies like AT&T don't spend millions re-inventing their logo every once in a while for nothing.

As for my experience: I was just some guy who wanted to bootstrap a technology company by doing local consulting work. How in the hell was I going to stand out? What was going to be my message? My field is crowded, and I couldn't price-compete with the neighbor's kid.

The very first thing I did was come up with a name and a logo, and then I bought a batch of translucent plastic business cards from a company that took my naive logo design and turned it into something really professional.

Those stupid business cards, with their shiny, fancy red logo, are probably 100% responsible for getting my business off the ground. I've handed out hundreds -- almost a thousand now -- cards to people, and I can count on one hand the number of times that someone has put the card in their pocket without stopping to look at it, and when they stop to look at it, I've made an impression. All I have to do is not screw up the next 30 seconds, and I might have a new client.

And that's why your logo is such an important part of your brand: it makes you memorable. People have a lot on their mind now. They're being bombarded by names and products all the time. A great logo is your best bet at getting 30 seconds of their attention.

Yes, but the question is, would your cards have been just as effective had you only relied on a simple, but professional looking, logotype. The purpose of a logo is brand recognition. As someone who did the local consultant thing and built it to a comfortable income, I can say with confidence that the logo had little or nothing to do with it. I outperformed and outlasted several friends who jumped in the game at the same time with fancy logos and websites.

> Yes, but the question is, would your cards have been just as effective had you only relied on a simple, but professional looking, logotype.

I doubt it.

> The purpose of a logo is brand recognition.

That depends very much on the stage of your business, and still runs counter to the author's point.

> I outperformed and outlasted several friends who jumped in the game at the same time with fancy logos and websites.

"Fancy" doesn't necessarily mean professional or polished, and presentation is only one aspect of a business. It doesn't guarantee a business's survival, but it can help you get a head-start.

Logos are names are two things that are really easy to spin your wheels on. The treacherous thing about them is that they feel like company-building work, but are in fact nothing but wanking.

What is the logo for Craigslist? Hell if I know.

The lowercased word 'craigslist' in a serif font, optionally with '.org'.

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/epicenter/images/2008/04/3...

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