Designing a Logo

In order to design a catchy logo, we need to take into consideration the following steps:

 Build a creative design brief – A helpful thing to do before sketching a logo is to gather as much
information about the project as possible, in order to understand the intended function of the
logo better. Some of the questions we can try to answer are: What are the beliefs and values
that are important to the project? What is the primary message we want to convey to our
customers?
 Conduct research – We should research the industry and find out more about the competition.
By checking out our competition, we will be able to see what works well with our audience,
what we should avoid, and how we can make our logo stand out.
 Find inspiration – We should look into successful designs of other businesses by checking out
famous logo design platforms such as Dribble, Behance, 99designs etc.
 Look into Design Elements – Since there is an endless possibility of shapes, fonts and colors, we
should look into which ones will be able to convey the project’s message best. We can look into
what messages certain design elements communicate subconsciously (e.g. squares and
rectangles - professionalism and capability, blue color – harmony and focus, etc.).
 Brainstorm and Sketch – We can organize information that we have collected so far into key
words and try to visualize them. Then, we can select shapes, fonts etc. and make quick sketches,
redraw, enlarge or refine our sketches with gridlines in order to align them.
 Produce Samples and Select a Design – We should choose several designs that seem most
appealing, create variations of them (swap colors, proportions etc.) and ask the clients for
feedback. After making revisions, we can select a design that seems to communicate the
project’s idea the best.

One of the most famous examples of a universally appealing logo design is the Starbucks logo. What
makes this logo stand out is the fact that it consists of very simple elements, yet it is completely unique.
The siren in the center of the logo makes it quite original and enigmatic. Even though the main product
of Starbucks is coffee, the mythological creature on the cup is bound to make people wonder who the
mermaid is and what her backstory is.

Writing a Slogan

In order to come up with a catchy slogan, we can go through some of these steps:

 Think about the target audience – We should think about what we want our audience to feel
when they read or hear our slogan. We can write down words and emotions that are in line
with our audience and our project (e.g. fun, lively etc.)
 Look through examples of great slogans and think about what makes them work
 Brainstorm – We should write down any words that pop into our head. It is a good idea to
make separate lists for nouns, adverbs, verbs etc.
  Edit the list – We can take words from the lists and check the thesaurus to see whether there
are any more appealing synonymous words. After that, we can combine them into phrases or
sentences.
 Narrow down best phrases and try to make them as short as possible

When it comes to slogans that immediately spark interest and enthusiasm in people, Nike’s worldwide
known “Just Do It” is definitely one of them. What makes this slogan successful is its simplicity and the
ability to spark an immediate emotional response in people. When hearing this slogan, we can
immediately visualize positive and motivating energy.

Improving Website Appearance

When it comes to checking how the appearance of a website can be improved, we should take into
consideration the following steps:

 Check whether the design is simple and unique – We should take into consideration out first
impression of the website, whether it is impressive and if it reflects the brand well. If the texts
on the page are too long, we should break them into larger subheadings and legible paragraphs.
We can check whether it is better to use icons or images instead of key words to communicate
out point.
 Check whether the products and services are showcased well – We should make edits if they are
not displayed well, e.g. if the front page seems too cluttered or if there is any ambiguous
terminology in descriptions of the products.
 Check the readability of the website – We should check whether the contrast between texts its
background is sufficient, e.g. if the colors are properly selected. We should also check whether
the size of the fonts, its types and combinations are appropriate.
 Ensure that the website is easy to navigate – We should check whether the logo is linked to the
homepage, if the menu is structured according to importance of each section etc.

A good example of a website with an interesting appearance and a user-friendly interface is

www.airbnb.com. It offers the users the service they are looking for the moment they enter the website.
Its front page includes the destination and date search form right up front and logically guides the users
to the next step of booking a room. The information about their services is clear, simple and without
unnecessary distractions. The design and the use of images is minimalist, but it clearly points out the
focus of their services.

Writing a Front Page Summary

In order to help customers understand the brand better, we can write a short summary about it by
including the following strategies:

 The category in which the brand operates – We should define the exact space in which we
operate to help focus our direction and describe our brand and how it functions in general.
  The target audience – We should think about who our main audience in order to give a clearer
message.
 The benefits to the customer
 How the brand will deliver its promise

One of the good examples of a front page brand summary can be found on the website for a to-do list
application called Evernote (www.evernote.com). Their brand summary is: Evernote was founded to
address a growing problem that technology helped to create: how to succeed in a world of an ever-
increasing volume and velocity of information. Our purpose is to give people the time and freedom to
focus on what matters by helping them to live more organized lives. What makes this summary great is
that it offers a brief explanation of what the purpose of the brand is and how it can benefit its
customers. The sentences are kept simple and unambiguous, and they provide explanation on how they
will deliver their promise.

Creating a Competitive Atmosphere on the Brand’s Facebook Page

In order to run a successful contest, we need to take into consideration the following steps:

 Set goals – Define what you want you marketing strategy to be, e.g. adding Facebook fans,
increasing brand awareness, learning more about customers’ preferences etc.
 Determine your ideal customers - Target specific demographics and look into what they might
find appealing
 Choose a prize – Offer a prize that is unique and relevant to the business.
 Decide on a type of contest – Some of the examples are photo contests, refer-a-friend
promotions, like-to-win or comment-to-win contests, Q&A contests etc.
 Decide how people will enter and write rules – Let people know how the winner will be chosen
and write a detailed list of rules.
 Set a time frame – Decide whether you want you contest to run for days, weeks, hours etc.
 Spend time choosing the right words and images - Write an attention-grabbing announcement,
include a call-for-action exclamation (e.g. “Enter Here” or Submit”) and use images that are
interesting and promote your brand well.

On interesting example of a Facebook competition was run by a brand called BrushBuddies. Since the
company sells singing toothbrushes, they ran a competition with a purpose of finding the best singer
that would be put on the singing toothbrushes. They asked people to upload a video of themselves
singing and other users could then vote to find the best singer. Users were also given the chance to
comment on the uploaded video and share it out to their social network. This competition turned out to
be extremely engaging as it had a general appeal and it was easy to enter. The company succeeded
easily in bringing attention to their brand and gaining new followers.

Organizing Facebook giveaways

In order to run a Facebook giveaway, we need to take the following steps:

  Define the goal of the giveaway – Define what you want to achieve through the contest and
then design your contest to achieve the goals.
 Choose a prize - Pick something that is tied to the business such as a a gift card, store credit, the
product itself, or a mix of related items.
 Build and publish the Facebook giveaway page – In order to make building and designing the
giveaway easier, we can rely on tools such as Wishpond or Canva. We should make sure that we
have an attention grabbing headline, visuals such as photos or videos, an entry form,
information about the prize and social share buttons.
 Promote and share the giveaway – We can do this by adding a banner or popup to our website
to alert all visitors about the giveaway, promote it on all social media platforms etc.

One of interesting examples of a successful Facebook giveaway was a simple entry contest run by My
Sport Clubs. The giveaway page had a very clear layout with black-red contrast and provided users with
high-resolution images. The prize was appealing and relevant to their fans, as the winner was given the
chance of getting a year of free personal training with My Sports Clubs, with 143 locations in the
Northeast of the US.

Sharing User-Generated Images on Facebook

In order to share a user-generated image so as to promote the brand better and motivate other users
into trying it out, we need to take the following steps:

 Ask users to send their own images connected to the brand – We need to ensure that users are
informed about how their images will be used and what their purpose will be
 Select an appealing image – We need to decide which image best represents the mood we want
to convey to our users.
 Share the image on Facebook – When we select the image, we can share it on the Facebook
page, give credit to the copyright owner or tag the person who took the image.
 Write a brief description – After sharing the photo, we can write a short description of it in order
to motivate users to use our product.