I hear this a lot: “Why don’t you have sample logos up on your website so I can see your work?” Well, it’s true, I’m just not one of those designers who puts up a bunch of logos in my online portfolio. But, I have good reason not to. Here’s why…
Take a look at the logos I’ve posted here.
What do these logos tell you about these companies when they’re slapped up on the site in a bunch? Well, not a lot. And therein lies the problem – when you look at a bunch of logos, you’re not getting the full story.
Telling A Unique Story
When I set to work on a great brand, I work with the company to produce not just a logo, but a complete set of brand components that work together to tell the one-of-a-kind story of a particular business.
It’s all about working together to creatively showcase your unique company through your unique brand:
“[Nora’s] creative, outside the box thinking results in truly original concepts and she’s able to process those ideas to a finely-honed end product…She truly cares about me and my business…We love the branding and logo!”
-Chris Sherburne, Weddings by Chris Sherburne
Creating a great brand requires more than just a company name and generic industry information. A logo created or viewed online with this limited info doesn’t touch anyone, and it doesn’t sell your unique product or service to your specific target market – which leads me to my next point…
Target Market, Not Ambiguous Tastes
Everyone has particular tastes; it’s a fact of life. A great brand appeals to both the company for which it was created and that company’s particular target market. If you look at a logo without knowing the target market or the message behind it, then you’re likely to judge or “grade” that logo based on your personal preferences, including color, font, style and icon placement – regardless of whether you’re included in that particular target market.
An Integrated Brand, From Start to Finish
A great brand is the whole picture: not just a logo, but a complete, invigorated look and feel that integrates into all business elements, including a wide variety of marketing materials. A logo can appear naked without the backing of a fully fleshed out brand. This means, as a responsible graphic designer, it is my job to research both the business and the target market in order to smoothly incorporate all necessary brand elements:
“She managed to harness all our ideas and bring to life everything we discussed at one meeting. Nora’s gift of listening to others, researching the project and creating a brand that everyone will recognize, is outstanding…Thank you Nora so much for your talent and insight.”
– Elyn Rahman, Giving Back Cheer
Great branding requires a designer who understands a specific business situation and who also understands what needs to happen to realize results – and real results mean business and brand success!
The big picture: Logos in themselves just aren’t adequate samples of a branding expert’s true portfolio and they’re just too important to stick together and slap online in a portfolio. Testimonials and case studies are much more effective as samples – so watch for more case studies in upcoming posts on The Branding Spot!
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Hi Nora,
“I hear this a lot: “Why don’t you have sample logos up on your website so I can see your work?” Well, it’s true, I’m just not one of those designers who puts up a bunch of logos in my online portfolio. But, I have good reason not to. Here’s why…”
This is a great blog… but, you didn’t really answer the question. Where is your portfolio?
“Logos in themselves just aren’t adequate samples of a branding expert’s true portfolio and they’re just too important to stick together and slap online in a portfolio.”
Isn’t it important for a true branding expert not have a true professional portfolio?
Thanks,
Dee
Thank you Dee, for the great questions.
I will start with your second question. There is an extra negative in your second question, but I think you mean that question to ask “Isn’t it important for a true branding expert to have a professional portfolio?” Simply put, yes.
I never said I didn’t HAVE a portfolio. I just don’t like to put samples on a website for the reasons I gave in the article. It just lacks the background story…the reason the client and I came up with the whole idea. Logos, colors, and fonts can evoke emotion in people and without knowing the target and all the “bits,” you as a viewer can’t possibly make an educated decision on whether the branding expert has executed the job well. All you can do is say, “yes I like it” or “no, it doesn’t do anything for me.” That is so limiting considering every business is different and has it’s own unique circumstances. Yes I like it or No I don’t doesn’t sit well with me. I would rather you like my philosophy and come to me and ask, “Here are my unique circumstances and do you think you can help me?” and “Could you show me some examples of your work?”
Which gets me to your first question: Where is my portfolio? If I can meet my clients in person, I bring with me samples of my work in print and we discuss the pieces of interest to them. If I cannot meet my clients in person, I send them a wonderful digital document with samples that I feel will be of interest to them along with short case studies. I am more about the whole experience than just slapping up my ideas on a website.
Now to give people an idea of what I do, in this article, I do show samples of some logos and branded collateral pieces.
I hope this answered your questions. I do thank you so much for bring this to my attention. I did not realize that I didn’t make it clear. If you had this question, then I am sure many others did as well.
Cheers,
NDR