The Importance of a Logo to a Startup or Small Business

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The Importance of a Company Logo

Small Businesses and Startups

New business logos are often designed in a hurry, just before launch, leaving the company with a mediocre design that they later need to change.

A company logo is the visual representation of your company. It is essential in building brand awareness and recognition and instantly provides a lot of information about the business.

Appearing on your company stationery, advertisements, business cards, office signage, website, and social media networks, your logo should accurately sum up the style and character of your business.

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Here are a few tips on designing a business logo that will make customers take your new business seriously, rather than writing you off as an amateur set-up.

Make your logo unique. Using clipart or other images that you find online is a bad idea. Not only will it look amateurish, you also run the risk that another company will be using the same image. Of course there are so many businesses in the world that your logo is bound to be similar to some of them, but do check that it doesn’t resemble the logos of your immediate competitors.


Link with your business name. Linking your name and your logo will help your customers to remember both of them more easily and will help to build your brand. Brainstorm shapes, images, and colours that reflect your business name when you start designing your logo.

Match the style of your business. Your logo should instantly tell people what kind of business you are. A square or angular logo is often used for a technology related company, whereas a more rounded logo will tend to be used for a business in the service industry.

Keep your logo simple. A complex logo might look great on your website, but don’t forget it needs to be used in a variety of other locations, and needs to look good in various sizes. Will it look as good when it has been downsized for business cards or your social media avatar? A simple logo is also less likely to become outdated than an intricately designed one.


Limit the use of colour. Unless your business name includes the word rainbow, you won’t want to use too many of them. The more colours you have the more expensive it will be to print your company logo and the more difficult it will be to use it in black and white. A maximum of three colours is recommended, but if possible try to get away with fewer. A single colour would be ideal.

Get plenty of feedback. It’s difficult to be objective about your own logo design, so get plenty of feedback from friends, colleagues, or even potential customers that are within your target audience. Ask them what comes to mind when they look at your logo, and give them various options to choose between.


Use your logo as an anchor. Your logo will only work if it is surrounded with co-ordinating content. The colours, fonts, and styles used in your logo should be used consistently throughout all your business stationery and online content, and possibly even in your workplace, so make sure you are completely happy with these before you commit to a logo.

Ideally start-up businesses should think about their logo at the same time as deciding on their company name as this will ensure that the two work well together.


A well designed and thoroughly thought out logo can be a very valuable asset to a new business, and can quickly help to build up brand awareness among your target audience.