Does the company's success determine whether or not we made a great logo.

uhhh no! This is a logo not a record deal you get royalties from

 

If the company you designed for grows, you might promote that you did their logo as part of your portfolio. If they fail, well you can just remove the logo from your portfolio and it will be forgotten about.

I know a great logo doesn't hurt, but it has little or nothing to do with the success of a company in most cases.

 

I would tend to think if someone designed a logo for some company... and that company eventually went through the roof, you wouldn't be able to hang on to their coattails. Their success weill be their own and you would most likely be forgotten.

If a surgeon performed brain surgery on someone at a young age.... the person survived and went on to become an important individual, the surgeon won' get the credit for anything other than saving this guy's life.... not his accomplishments.

 

No. Whomever did that Nike thing is lost in obscurity.

A company's success is determined by providing goods and services that others want to buy, not by having a spiffy symbol. A successful company could use the image of a baboon's a$$ and it would still be successful. Contrariwise an unsuccessful company will not be made successful by unveiling a breathtaking logo. No one cares.

Yes, if you've got a ridiculously inflated opinion of your abilities and balls the size of watermelons.

What would the above say if it were written in simple English?

 

$200-$500 for a simple logo, you keep all the originals and dole them out .jpegs and uneditable .pdfs as they need them and keep getting paid every time. Write yourself into a contract for letterheads, flyers, etc if you want all that work.

 

Really? Someone who created a logo of such power that people started buying goods and services that they did not want or need in sufficient numbers to make an otherwise unsuccessful company successful?

While it's a certainty that there are egos that would hold that that's exactly what they have done, they are confused and have little understanding of The Way Things Are. The stories that they tell are always, ALWAYS, example of the Cogent Explanation After The Fact. Not one of them put forth any sort of predictive claim. Something in the form "If you adopt this logo, everything will be better for you."

Not only has no one done that, even if they did, they would be claiming knowledge of the unknowable.

 

Logo is nothing more than a symbol.
It has no value. No not even if some talented designer says so.
The people in the company behind the logo has the value.

 

well put techman

 

While Bob and Techman have valid points, I will say that a good brand (not just the logo symbol) can elevate a company in several ways.

1. Perception - In the same way we tell clients that a nicer sign will HELP them, a well thought out logo and brand implimentation will do the same thing.

2. Consistency - Having an actual logo with brand standards will allow for a consistent use of said logo, helping to reinforce the idea that you know WTF you are doing.

3. Self-Image - This is one that often gets overlooked. Much like wearing a nice suit, or driving a nice car, having a great logo and brand will increase YOUR confidence in what you are selling.

 

Playing 'Devil's Advocate'.... I think there are may logos which might be a symbol or not, but really do have bearing on using their product or not.... whether for good or for bad.......

• Anything marked with an American Flag gets my immediate attention, military on non.
• BMW has good results and gets my attention.
• Anything with an A V E R Y stamp on it gets my immediate attention.
• Coca-Cola products.
• Alfred E. Neuman... I know it's gonna be funny as all get out.
• To some, the 'Golden Arches' has great meaning and to some... upset stomachs.
• Or something as simple as three circles can put a smile on your face everytime...... but still ultimately recognizable.

However, the creator of these logos for the most part [other than Walt Disney].....have/has nothing to do with the product.

 

Just because you come up with a great logo for your customer doesn't mean they know how to run a business. How many times has a customer walked into the shop with grand ideas, we knock it out of the park and 6 months later he is shutting the doors.

 

there are logos that people put on their stuff as a status symbol or just because they express something about the person. people will put a huge Chevy logo on their back window of their Chevy truck or something like that as it means something to them. seems like that would make it sucessful but is it more the product or the actual logo that is sucessful? there are some really horrid logos like Pepsi that if posted here as a "What do you think" thread would have been bashed to death for being awful. has that made a differnce to Pepsi or the idiot who came up with that pile of crap? not so much. I guess if you designed some logos that are well known and connected to companies that peole respect and like, then I guess you could get something out of that. if you design a really great logo for a company that fails, that should go against you either.

 

The company makes the logo recognizable not the designer. A good design might create a memory of the logo, but does not impact the company's success, only its instant identification and whom the owner is, hence the term branding. Instead of cattle, we're doing it to other products.

That being said, if I created something that skyrocketed, I would be proud of my work in that accomplishment, but that doesn't mean that I deserve more. I actually kind of like watching the TV Show "The Pitch" and hearing how all these marketing firms did such and such, but are on the verge of closing doors. I'm sure some of it was for dramatic purposes, but I'm also sure some companies just got a bit fat and happy, then they can't compete anymore.

 

Your last statement Marlene reminded me of some signs we made many years ago.


Got a contract to make about 6pcs 4' x 8's for on the walls of a building and some 'No Parking' signs for the various parking areas for the building.

The guy said to make them vandal-proof and such. The signs on the building we put about 10' in the air, which he didn't like, so he had us lower them. We put a graffiti-proof film over the top. We did the same to the parking signs and then double bolted them and used one way nuts. Cemented the posts into the ground with re-bar.

A day or two after putting everything up, the guy called me and said I had to replace all the signs, as they were all spray painted and the parking signs were missing. I told him I warned him against lowering the main signs and the other signs.... well, someone hack-sawed them off at ground level.

He refused to pay, cause we didn't give him what he wanted. I asked politely if he was nuts or just stoopid ?? This was all before computers, it was all hand painted stuff. So, when he refused to pay me until I put something else back up, I just took them all down.... coated them out and used them for the next customer and told him to find another sucker. That's the same week by golly, we came up with vandal retardant and not proof.

So, yeah....... when things go wrong, they sure do expect to blame your butt for it. :ROFLMAO:​

 

Gee Bob, that's a question you should be asking yourself every time you're about to click the "Submit Reply" button.

Dan

 

Really? Damn, there goes my whole business.

 

Name one business that was snatched from the jaws of receivership and made profitable because of a symbol that you designed.

Show the necessary and sufficient conditions that unequivocally confirm that this symbol alone was the cause of this success. Not some fine new marketing program, just the symbol.

 

Bob out of the 700+ brands we created, 92% are still in business. Since the failure rate for most small businesses is around 50%, I'd say we help slant the odds in their favor by advocating marketing and advertising solutions which all begin with a polished brand and image. The logo is just a part of it - for sure. But it all starts from there.

I don't think anyone can predict if they would have been AS successful in spite of a poor brand, but I think its safe to say they'd have had a harder time.

I can say with certainty though, that our clients get more money for their work, and have higher close ratios, then they did before we did their branding.