Though many of these have held true at some point in time they are greatly out-dated and require some light shed over their blemishes. The youth of web design has started to de-bunk many of the classics. Even though the information is out there, research these ideas for yourself to see how you should use the data.

The Exploding Browser Wars

Since the Internet started truly taking off we’ve had a war waging between software companies to develop the next best browser. Microsoft was the true powerhouse when Windows XP was first released and Internet Explorer showed the most promise.

We can all remember Internet Explorer 6 and the rendering issues it’s caused over the years. It’s the true hatred of this browser which shows just how poorly Microsoft performed during development. We’re now well into 2010 and I still see people talking about designing for IE6 as a crucial part of the web experience.

I’ve all but given up on this fact and don’t even pay any mind to those preaching. Microsoft has since released IE7 and IE8 with moderate success and much better processing engines. Perhaps 5 or 10 years ago many visitors would still be using IE6 having been scared to upgrade or change routine.

In today’s modern web sphere we’re seeing a much larger diversification in web browsers. Most commonly you’ll see visitors running Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera or Safari for Mac users. Any traffic you get running Internet Explorer is most likely using the latest version which has fixed mostly all of the rendering bugs from previous generations.

It is high time we stop testing for IE6 rendering bugs and applying patches and fixes for them. The percentage of visitors you’re getting who are actually using this browser are probably so slim, it’s actually a waste in productivity to develop for this.

Of course the scenario is a little different if you’re running a multimedia giant such as Digg or Facebook. But for the average website it’s well beyond unnecessary to spend time fixing bugs for IE6 or earlier.

Keep Layouts Small and Simple

When most visitors were running display resolutions on 800×600 it was common to develop websites to a much smaller scale. Today we’re seeing a huge expansion of this with the most common resolutions hovering around 1280×800. This is a massive change and truly shows how adaptive our current age is.

No longer should you set fixed widths on page content areas less than 800px. Even with visitors using mobile browsers to check out your site they shouldn’t notice any benefit by keeping content confined and selective. On the contrary, it’s actually much more efficient to let your page layouts breathe and expand.

Liquid layouts backed by min and max widths are some of the most common. The benefit with these styles is no matter how large your visitors’ resolution is your site won’t break or lose elements. There are also many JavaScript libraries available which can monitor what resolution your visitors are running and apply styles accordingly. This process may be a bit too extreme for most, but the option is there.

Never Utilize Tables. Ever!

This myth stems from a misunderstanding of why core CSS designers are against using tables. There’s certainly nothing wrong with the <table> tag or any of it’s corresponding properties and inner elements. Tables have a place in HTML for a reason – to build a table.

The problem is how tables were used heavily in early web development to build page structures and outline content areas. Pages can still be designed this way and use tables to render each content area, though it’s not recommended and gets very convoluted.

When building a landscape and framework for any website it’s best to use divisions. A <div> tag isn’t new but started gaining in popularity once CSS became the de-facto for building page styles. Divs are similar to blocks on a page which can expand and fit into any container available. This makes them much more fluid and reliable than tables could ever be.

Case in point: tables are not evil. They serve a great purpose in web development, and that purpose is to build tables of data. When structuring layouts it’s much easier to stick with divs and CSS.

The Broken 3-Second Rule

It’s been passed around through generations that most visitors reaching your page will only give you 3 seconds of their time before leaving. This data is based around information gathered in 2001 and clearly represents an older form of the World Wide Web.

Currently some visitors may not even give you 1 second of their time. This has nothing to do with a “rule of the web”, but more of the lacking attention span most Internet browsers will show. It’s your job as a web designer to build out a clean, captivating layout to keep these visitors interested. If you can master design trends and get these visitors “stuck” to your pages you’ll see much fewer bounce rates.

None of these studies relate to having a clean navigation, keeping certain information above the fold, or anything about the visitor’s time. All you need is a sleek design which offers your visitors some interesting information or value. Further analysis of traffic data will generally show where your visitors are sticking and where they aren’t. These are great stats to work with since you can apply design changes accordingly.

These are just a few myths which have been passed down from generations limiting and stifling design creativity. Keep these ideas in mind when working with design and code for the web. Also remember to check Google for more information if you’re further interested in any of these. Myths can only keep true design trends at bay until they’re debunked and knowledge is spread throughout the community.

How you create a brand is the difference between developing your point of distinction or mixing with the crowd;  showing a positive image or bringing out a negative one;  cultivating your business or merely existing;  successfully getting in touch with your target audience or missing the mark as a whole.

Think of Nike for instance.  What do you recall about Nike?  I guess you’ll say,  a check mark.  You positively remember what it looks like right?  They already push in their brand within you.  Whenever you talk about sport shoes, you instantly remember Nike.

Here are the essentials of having a brand and what it can do for your business:

1.  Branding Provides An Identity To Your Business Company

Your brand is the first opportunity to tell customers how you differ from the competition.  What does your business company do and provide?  How do you want the public to think of you?  When you speak about Nike,  you speak about sport shoes.  When you talk about coffee,  Starbucks will cross your mind.  For Volvo buyers,  safety has become synonymous.  Branding generates hot push buttons in the consumer.  By carefully selecting what words you use in your brand name,  you can convey a great deal about your company’s image.

2. Branding Makes Your Clients Remember You

A strong brand has an emotional impact on an audience.  If you have established a great brand,  people can easily identify.  Just like Mac.  Whenever we notice an apple,  we remember Apple computers and iPhones.  The more often a consumer sees your brand name,  the more recognizable it becomes to them.  People like what is familiar,  so they are apt to try your product because they recognize you as established in the industry

3. Branding Makes Viral Effect Execution Easy

According to Wikipedia:  Viral Marketing can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet.  Since people recognize your product,  and granted they believed and trusted it,  these people will simply talk about it when there’s an opportunity.  Obviously,  they are satisfied with the brand itself.

4. Branding Presents You A Better-Quality Name

In the corporate world,  quality of service and product is the name of the game.  Browse the web.  There are a bunch of webhosting companies out there.  Clients might ask others which one they would recommend.  Webmasters and bloggers definitely prefer the host that has a name of delivering quality service support and reliable hosting package.  It is just very similar to all other kinds of products.

5. Branding Adds Trust Of Your Clients

Granted that your brand is already known,  new  clients  simply trust you to deliver high-quality products.  They trust you to be reliable.  More trust,  mean more clients,  and more clients,  mean more money.

The Benefits of a Logo

Your logo is only one piece of your branding stratagem.  Your logo is a symbol that can provide consumers with instant brand recognition of your business and the services or products that you offer.

When people notice your logo,  they recognize right away that it is you.  They immediately see the brand that it represents.  By the way,  brand is the perception of people towards a particular product line,  while logo is the representation of that brand.

1. Brand Enhancement

Think of a famous name and what it would lose if their logo did not exist.  Imagine if McDonald’s didn’t have the ‘golden arches’ or Nike’s ‘check’ never existed?  Would those brands have the same “character” based on name alone?  Logo simply boosts the brand it represents.

2. Identity Creation

If you have a logo,  you can place it in your campaign materials and office stationaries. Logo makes it easier for you to establish the identity of your company. By combining a name and logo together, you’re next to getting that client to remember and call you again.

3. Advertising Plan Advantage

It is easier and simple to place a logo in corporate giveaways,  than placing and printing a paragraph of visions and goal statements or sentences of product descriptions that you created as an organization or business.

4. Looks Very Professional

Just imagine if you only have a plain white bond paper with the body of the letter on it and compare it to something that has a letter head that contains your logo,  sometimes accompanied by name of company,  address,  and contact information.  Which one looks more professional?  It really sounds like a corporation isn’t it?

You can make your own logo or you can hire people to do it.  But I would really advice you to hire a professional designers since logo is a representative of your brand,  business and organization.  And you should not be taking it lightly.

These are simple issues that can be addressed and resolved with the right attitude. First of all, going international should be automatic, and not even questioned because the minute a website is launched, it’s international. Second, finding the budget to hire a designer can be managed with a deal that has nothing to do with exchange of money. And third, a website is universal and global, so like it or not, it’s international.

This brings us to the question of designing an international logo. There are 8 steps to creating a logo design that appeals to a market without borders. These steps are: design concept, research, reference, conceptualization, feedback, revision, presentation, and launching.

It should also conform to logo design criteria like versatility, timelessness, simplicity, appropriateness, and recall factors. It should also be a work that can be used regardless of platform or application. This is because not everyone uses the same media and application. For instance, Asia has it own preferences, as does Europe and the United States.

One of the most important aspects of designing an international logo is being able to avoid offending anyone. With so many different cultures and ideals, it is possible to overlook one aspect of a logo design, and end up offending the very market you would be interested in targeting. For instance, a logo with sexual “suggestions” will not be taken lightly with a grain of salt in many Asian countries, especially a superpower country like China. You will alienate these countries and make it impossible for the business to get a foothold in any measure.

You can try to follow these set of principles in logo design that have been used by major international companies all across the globe.

First, avoid use of too many colors. This is distracting and a waste of logo design. A logo should be simple and memorable – but for the right reasons.

Second, no clutter means better market value. The logo design is the last place to incorporate everything about the company and its products. You don’t need to do this at all. It can come as part of a process when the product becomes associated with the logo.

Third, be as unique as possible, but make sure it is readable and recognizable. This means avoid twisting and turning your design any which way. People need to be able to relate to the logo, and if they can’t figure it out, then it has very low recall value.

Fourth, not everyone will like your logo design, so who should you listen to? Always design the logo with the client in mind. They are the ones who will approve your work, and even if your spouse or boss hates it, it is no indication of rejection. The queerest logo often find their way to the top because being unique without a hint of offensiveness sells. Of course, you should find a group of people, who objectively think your logo design is good, because if everyone is telling you your work is horrible, then there may be a need to go back to the drawing board.

Fifth, be sure to do your research on international logos. You have a lot of ground to cover, and it is possible that your design bears some similarity to an existing brand from a business halfway across the world.

Sixth, never, ever use clipart. This is logo design 101, and unacceptable for international standards.

Seventh, you need to focus on designing a timeless logo. This means it will look great as black and white, inverted, or resized. If you decide to go with existing trends, you might find the logo to be outdated in a few years. You should also never use a picture or photograph to be the logo. It’s cheap. It’s lazy, and it’s never going to work in the international arena.

Eighth, keep it simple. This means no special effects and too much details. It should also stay more on the side of conservative rather than being flashy and modern. A logo that tries to shock may be very successful in a specific community, but when you are dealing with people from all over the world, it is possible that the logo alone will either create interest or be a reason for rejecting a product.

Finally, a logo will never be perfect. Just look at Google. It constantly goes through changes and re-designs, wanted or unwanted. You can make different perspectives on your logo design which will increase your chances of having your work approved by the client.

Logo design is the first order of business when setting up the identity of any organization. As such, a designer must make it a point to use whatever tools are current, while instilling a sense of balance at the same time. One of the most effective designs is using illustrations. In fact, a logo is an illustration, not just a play on fonts or text.

Initially, the two advantages of using illustrations in logo design are the following:

Company Identity

By using unique illustrations, you are able to set the organization apart. In a sea of logos, a designer should aim to make the logo stand. Playing on text generally does not accomplish much, especially in the face of so much competition.

For instance, everyone is familiar with Google, the search engine. Their logo design has these letter Os right smack in the middle. One could imagine them as googly eyes which fits perfectly with their company.  Technically, you would not describe their logo as having an illustration, but it has the hint of something hidden. Thus, it is an excellent example of a company logo asserting its identity in a subtle manner.

Google also has a secondary logo design which it uses just like an abbreviation of its company name. In the business of logo design, this is known as a favorite icon, or favicon. It was started by Microsoft and soon caught on because of its simplistic manner of embedding the company image onto a website and creating higher awareness of the company among internet users.

Brand Recall

Do you know your toothpaste brand by heart?  You could probably copy the logo design  onto a piece of paper without looking at it one more time. This is the objective of an excellent logo. Since the market today demands more from a product, jazzing up the logo and having snazzy packaging is  part of a company’s marketing plan to pull ahead of the competition.  The logo design should inform – in an instant – what the company’s business is.  For popular toothpaste brand, Crest, the logo is stark simply with a glow in the middle that comprises the extent of its illustration.  It hints at shine and glow which is what one would want in a smile. The play on colors separates the word “rest” from the letter which implies that you can trust and lean on this product.

In the first instance, you have a relatively new company, Google using illustration and play on letters to create an impact. On the other, with the Crest toothpaste, a well-established, decades-old product also making a play on the brand name with a simple background illustration to add more emphasis on the purpose of the product.

There are other advantages why logo design should incorporate illustration such as:

First Impressions Count

The logo is always the first impression. This means if a potential client is not suitably attracted to the logo, the company loses brownie points without even opening its portfolio. In a competitive world, a point lost is a potential account down the drain. Logo designers  need to understand the intensity a logo carries with it and design it without cheapening it in any way.

Instant Association

An illustrative logo is extremely important for up and coming companies. It places them on the corporate map especially when competing for market share. It works best for these companies because when a person is looking for a particular product with no particular company in mind, what will attract this person will be the logo. It’s but human nature to zero in on a picture that depicts what you are looking for. This is the marketing edge logo designers need to focus on, if they want to make their mark as a valuable logo designer.

Often, logo designs that flop do so because it tries to put too much in the logo that the message becomes convoluted and messy. The general rule when using illustrations in logo design is to keep it simple, yet creative and striking. Also, the illustration should never overshadow the company name.  Thus, instead of being known as a tree company, this company makes sure everyone knows they specialize in holiday trees.

What’s The Story?

A company will always have a story to tell. Each business has a unique history unlike any other. If a logo can intrigue as well as inspire potential customers to click on a logo, then the job of the logo designer is well executed.

In the logo above, you get the inkling that there is an adventure at stake with a lot of action and intensity. The illustration does not take away emphasis from the text, rather, it enhances it and gives a hint of what you can expect. At any rate, gamers will want to click on this game logo and find out if it is something they would want to buy.

The Starbucks logo is something we all easily recognize, but when we first saw it, didn’t we wonder about the mermaid with two tails in the logo? The logo has spawned over 5 million posts on the internet alone, which means on merit of logo alone, this Seattle-based company has generated a ton of interest.

The Shock Factor or Hidden Messages

These are powerful tools any illustrator can use to get people out of their mental block. Often, when looking for a product or service, people are bombarded with so much marketing hype, they end up in some kind of stupor. As a result, they tend to glaze over most of the hype, and can only be prompted to take action with a shocking (translated to mean, extremely interesting) logo.

This advantage does not have to be lurid or too sexy in nature. An illustrator can take other routes like a comedic stance or an “out-of-the-box” kind of illustration such as a swan in the middle of a school of fish, that sort of thing.

If you look closely at this logo, you will notice a couple holding hands inside the white circle. The white circle also means unity and the sanctity of this religious sacrament behind a backdrop of the unknown which probably symbolizes their future.

Here are some examples of the best known illustrative logos of all time

Apple has a trademark logo of an apple with one bite, and no text. No one even bothers to question the bite anymore because they’re more concerned with the products and updates coming from the company.

The twin peaks of this popular fast food chain can usually be seen from miles away – literally and figuratively. What’s even more amazing is that our children from the past couple of generations have been growing up with this logo in their subconscious from the time they could talk.  They recognize it even before they learn their surname or postal address.

Finally, here is the simple elegance of the Mercedes Benz. You know the car is a Benz once you see its logo on the hood. This 1909 logo symbolizes a star over land, sea, and air, and exudes its own personality of superb auto engineering and luxurious style.

Using illustrations in your logo is a good way to promote your business but must be done with discretion and style. Don’t worry if the logo undergoes several changes, even after being launched – all businesses have gone down that route and come up with better logo designs.

The reason this was such a monumental change all around, was that most of the other industries out there had been relying on the growing popularity of the entertainment industry to market their own products and services through various means of advertising tie-ins. But as digital media changed and new technological advances were created to assist in the consumption of it, studies began to surface showing that the public was no longer being forced to endure the commercials that once accompanied their favorite shows and songs. Marketers began to scramble, looking for new and effective means to take their message to the public. Ways to grab their attention when they were unplugged from their virtual worlds through their digital accessories. And they turned those efforts, to the streets.

In Your Face Advertising

Viral marketing campaigns, also known as Guerrilla Advertising, started to flood the streets with some truly inspired and creative displays of imaginative advertising. All over the world, companies were taking their messages back into the real world for a way to reconnect with the audiences they were losing in the digital realm. And it worked. These new viral marketing campaigns were such a success, that they proved the people were still receptive to the marketers message, they simply needed to alter their approach. The public had grown tired of the same old advertising games that had been played to virtual death. So much so, that they clamored to tech advances that allowed them to brush these advertisements aside. So they adjusted.

The companies needed a fresh approach. Some marketing tactics that could hopefully reawaken the public’s excitement and receptability to their messages. And they found a way to invade the public’s space, so to speak, and get right in our faces so that we cannot ignore their advertising anymore. And this is the important lesson for any brand out there looking to still effectively market themselves to a public that has all but shut them out from the digital landscapes that we once relied so heavily upon to reach the masses. And while social media has given some ground back to advertisers in the online world, many businesses have found ways to employ the viral campaign approach offline and really grab the public’s attention.

Some Examples Before We Proceed

Below are just a couple of examples of ways that the big businesses have really stepped up to the plate, and knocked this concept out of the park. Raising the bar and expectations of the masses to be engaged in a whole new way. So many vibrant and inventive approaches being taken that they are sure to get your inspirational fires burning.

But What About the Little Fish?

We are not all big fish swimming around in the full open market, some of us are smaller fish trying to make our impressions in smaller bodies of water. We are not competitors, vying for a piece of the proverbial global pie, so how can we effectively employ these kinds of tactics for our business on a much more modestly budgeted approach? Well, in that case, you have to look at the ideas behind the viral ad campaigns that make them successful, and scale them to fit your needs accordingly. It is not just the cash that makes the splash, and we have to realize this to .

Us little fish could use the benefit of the ingenuity that gave rise to this in your space and in your face approach, too. We just don’t have the means to necessarily pull off the same level of the campaigns featured so far. But again, that does not mean that we have to be left out in the cold. Given that our pond is so much more refined when working more locally, we simply need to distill the ideas into their simplest form in order for them to transfer to our range of play so that we can go viral in our own markets.

Imagination is Key

When you begin dissecting this approach, the first element that immediately screams out at you, is the overflow of imagination that exudes from this brand marketing strategy. Creativity is not something that is by any means absent from the advertising field, but these campaigns to elevate the market into new heights for sure. So as you opt for this route for your own business, you have to acknowledge that this playing field is something a little different from the other landscapes through which you have carried your brand. Here, imagination is paramount, so forget the box. The box is no longer your friend. You must operate outside it from this moment forward.

What you have here is a chance for you to essentially rewrite the rules of your own marketing approach. Using the creative efforts that paved this way as a virtual launching pad for your own creative insights and inspirations to take off from, you can let your imagination soar to new avenues of public accessibility for your brand. The streets open up a whole new world at which to artistically approach the marketing matter at hand. No longer being held back by the limits or confines of the page or billboard’s restricted reach when dealing with the public on the streets. So look around at new and exciting ways that you can reach out to your public for this viral ad brand approach.

Changing Perspectives

As your dissection of marketing means continues, another element of these viral marketing campaigns that your brand can find ways to harness in more subdued manners is the altered perspective. Brands have taken years establishing their marketing reach into the public, and in doing so, have created an impression among the masses on how this relationship works. Expectations have been built up on both sides as to how this interaction is supposed to unfold, and where it is supposed to lead. Expectations that were not being met en mass by the public, which is what led to this revised marketing approach. Which means, that it is time for our brands to add the proverbial spice to this relationship.

This offers you a chance to change how the public sees your brand. As we mentioned before you are essentially rewriting the rules here, which means that you are also rewriting the rules of engagement. Out with the old and in with the new. The way you were perceived by the public, was largely sold through the passivity of the past, and now you have an opportunity to shift that perception as well. Through these new marketing campaigns you can change your own perspective to see this relationship in a whole new light. Once you see the relationship differently, your altered perspective will become contagious and the public will adopt one as well. Engage them in a whole new way, and their view of the relationship will shift also becoming more involved in the process and relationship once again.

Beyond the Fourth Wall

Speaking of this new engagement of the public, the next element of the viral marketing campaigns under the virtual microscope, deals with this new way to reach out to the masses. Going beyond the fourth wall, breaking the traditional marketing rules and getting into the public’s spaces. Like actors working with no fourth wall, the public is directly engaged without the traditional barriers that are in place with standard marketing approaches. No more passive ads waiting to be viewed, businesses are wanting to reach beyond the billboard and interact with the audience. These ads are to be experienced.

Now that you have distilled the idea, you need to find ways to break the fourth wall with your slice of the public. Get out there and into their spaces to interact and become an unforgettable part of their day. Implanting the seeds that you once relied on more traditional means to make their way into the fertile fields of the public’s minds. Taking to the streets with these new approaches, effectively breaks this fourth wall for you, but there are still ways to continue pushing forward with this direct engagement of the masses. The response so far is indicative that the public is receptive to this new development in the marketing field, so if they are embracing it, then the businesses all need to reach beyond the fourth wall and not look back.

The Captive Audience

As the dissection continues of the viral ad approach, one element that comes as no surprise, mainly because it has been a media constant for generations throughout the various mediums, is that must never fail to capture the public’s attention. The captive audience is the audience who consumes. The rule has been heard in journalism classes across the globe and on blog posts offering advice to bloggers all over, you need a headline that grabs the reader, essentially forcing them to continue reading onward beyond the titillating title to see what more the article or blog post holds. The same rule applies here, just the headlines are not as clearly defined.

In this case, the headlines are more of an abstract, a means to the end, if you will. And it is up to you to know enough about your audience, or the audience you are attempting to reach to make this connection with them through this new ad route. You want to hold your audience as captive with your ad as possible, or take it more literally and simply expose them to your logo or brand slogan as they linger in the pauses that fill so much of their days. The streets offer you so many new opportunities to reach out to the public with your marketing campaign and hold their attention there in your ad as their day unfolds.

The Power of Print

Another stop along this route to finding more budgeted and reasonable ways to make this viral marketing campaign work on a smaller scale, is to honor the power of print. The roots that this expanded market grew from, are still the means by which this approach can be achieved effectively given that you are taking this beyond the digital realm and into the streets. These campaigns are simply the evolution of the printed ads brought into a more interactive and physical realm, and so we have to continue to think of them in terms of their printed roots. Even in so far as bringing those stagnant ads to life off of the page in more abstract and imaginative ways.

Especially in the smaller markets where a lot of brands exist or are looking to start up, there are some return to basics kinds of solutions to these new market questions. As overwhelming as it may seem to get this sort of marketing campaign going, the power of print can really be the spark you need to fall back on to light the fires and get them burning. Stickers, flyers, postcards, etc all work well for initially getting your message in the public’s spaces and in their faces. Granted it is not as grand as some of the approaches featured here, but stickers are still interactive, and add an element of tagging. Just like some of the more graphic graffiti being crafted in this vein. These smaller ad approaches can quickly spread through a small area, ending up all over the streets. Taking and tagging your logo throughout your local markets.

A Whole New World

With this imaginative trend on the rise, businesses looking to keep their brand effective and visible are adopting this approach. Turning to graphic graffiti, leaving their logos on the streets to keep ahead of the marketing game. And with the some of the driving ideas distilled from these approaches, even smaller businesses can get into the game and effectively market themselves once more.

A Few More Examples For the Road

Below we have a few more examples for you to look at on ways that some companies have tackled this graphic graffiti issue for their own brands, in hopes that they will plant a few seeds in your imagination. Most of the examples were gotten at a great site called Creative Guerrilla Marketing, where you should go for even more fantastic examples of this marketing technique in action. So many brilliant applications to learn from and grow your own brand’s approach.

The very basic aspect for a logo designer to learn is to understand how a visual image work for the community to process and comprehend. How will they interpret what they see from a certain images or shapes. Visual perception help designers in the logo making process to determine people interpretations on:

- How the viewer perceives the imagery, the perceptual organization done by the viewer,
- How the arrangement of elements is perceived as a whole,
- Perception is based on our desire to separate the figure from the ground.

To understand the visual perception, there are 5 properties as to direct a person’s perception of the image based on Gestalt law. Below are the 5 properties of the Gestalt law:

1. Similarity

Similar elements can be grouped together to be perceived as either figure or as ground. It creates a redundancy and predictability of visual information.

2. Proximity

The proximity of these lines creates a shape of a cow, without adding detail or compromising the simplicity of the design.

3. Symmetry

Symmetric arrangements are often used in logo design. Again, symmetry creates a redundancy and predictability of visual information. This increases simplicity and clarity.

4. Closure

People complete the visual organization in a predictable way. Designers exploit this to simplify the logo. The viewer will fill in details, so the logo can exclude usually important elements, like a face, hands, or others.

5. Continuity

Paths, directions and shapes are more easily perceived as being continuous. Continuity can direct viewer’s visual path over
imagery. As shown on the logos above, the Water Drop logo lead us to focus on the big W first, then move down to the water drop under it. While on the CityCliq, it lead us from seeing the logo as a city then continues showing as a hand cursor.

Once a designer understand what visual perception will the logo achieved by the audience, there are bigger chances that the logo they have designed is a strong, unique and appropriate identity. To support this, there must be an excellent communication between the logo designer and his client which will help both side to achieve a successful logo when:

- It allows the immediate recognition of the company,
- It express the company’s character or attitude,
- It conveys a feeling of familiarity and credibility,
- It becomes a guarantee marker.

Conclusion

To achieve a strong and appropriate identity of a company, a basic aspect that logo designers need to fully understand is the visual perception and the Gestalt law. In addition to support it to be a successful one, both logo designers and his client must incorporate a good communication.

What’s your opinion of visual perception on logo design? Feel free to let us know your thoughts on the comment section.

The Google Doodle team has created over 1000 designs. Being one of the most popular search engines today, Google has successfully reminded millions of people about people and events that made their marks in history. Not only does Google Doodle celebrate holidays with us, it also gives us history lessons without having to bring out those boring history books.

Let’s go through some of the most interesting Google Doodles created over the years.

Burning Man – Aug. 30, 1998

This is the doodle that started it all. While this is just a very simple logo with a stick figure drawing in the middle, it has paved way for a very innovative project that is Google Doodle over 10 years ago.

US Elections – Nov. 7, 2000

Not only does Google Doodle help us celebrate holidays and events, it also is an effective way of making a statement. This particular Google logo encouraged the American people to vote and make a difference.

Piet Mondrian’s Birthday – Mar. 7, 2002

Pieter Cornelis “Piet” Mondrian was the Dutch abstract painter who left a mark in the art community through his famous paintings of simple cubes and lines.  He painted in a precise, geometric manner using mostly just primary colors. He called his style of painting “neoplasticism”, a style that is still very popular in the art community today.

Dilbert – May 24, 2002

This logo was one of the 5 Google Doodle logos created as a tribute to the Dilbert worldwide comic phenomenon. Dilbert embodies all the white-collar office workers out there, and its satirical office humor has made it so popular since it was first published in April 1989.

Albert Einstein’s Birthday – Mar 14, 2003

Albert Einstein did it all in his lifetime; he was a theoretical physicist, philosopher, and author. His contribution in theoretical physics, particularly his discovery of the photoelectric effect has earned him a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.

50^th Anniversary of Understanding DNA – April 25, 2003

There have been several advanced developments in the field of genetics in the past couple of years, but nothing compares to the achievement of James Watson and Francis Crick in April 1953: their Nobel Prize winning description of the DNA double helix.

Vincent Van Gogh’s Birthday – March 30, 2005

Vincent Van Gogh is one of the most famous painters known today. However, Van Gogh lived a rather sad and lonely life and his works were only recognized after he died. Some of his most famous paintings are “Starry Night”, and “Sunflowers”.

Anniversary of Lunar Landing – July 20, 2005

“One small step for man, one giant step for mankind,” was astronaut’s Neil Armstrong’s first words as he stepped into the moon. Millions of people worldwide watched the historic event of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and it was considered to have the largest television audience for a live broadcast at that time.

Doodle 4 Google Competition – Nov. 17, 2005

Google Doodle does not only use logos created by its expert Doodle team, they also host competitions where young adults are invited to send in their best doodles for a specific theme. This particular logo by Lisa Wainaina won the honor for the theme “Day of the Child”.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day – Jan. 16, 2006

Martin Luther King, Jr. was and is still an iconic figure in the United States. He was an activist during his time, who conquered the world though his powerful words and passion for justice. He championed the advancement of civil rights in the United States and globally as well.

Mozart’s Birthday – Jan. 27, 2006

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an influencial composer during the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, some of which are still played by pianists worldwide.

Louis Braille’s Birthday – Jan. 04, 2006

Louis Braille was the inventor of the Braille system, a phenomenal system that allowed the blind and visually-impaired to read and write using the sense of touch.

Earth Day – April 22, 2006

Google participates in the fight to save electricity and energy through this logo. Earth Day is a worldwide awareness and appreciation day for Mother Earth.

Halloween – Oct. 31, 2006

Of course, the year would not be complete without celebrating Halloween. Kids look forward to trick-or-treating, teenagers look forward to playing pranks, and adults prepare to be pranked and give out candies. There’s always something for everyone on Halloween.

Doodle for Google Competition – Nov. 7, 2006

This winning piece by Katherine Chisnall for the theme “Five Wonders of Britain”. Britain is certainly one of the must-see places in the world with its rich history, unique architecture, and hundreds of unique landmarks ranging from the pre-historic Stone Henge to the regal Buckingham Palace.

Countdown to the 2008 Olympics – Aug. 8, 2007

2007 was certainly a big year for China as it hosted the highly-anticipated 2008 Olympic Games.

50^th Anniversary of the LEGO Brick – Jan. 28, 2008

Kids and adults alike love to play with these colorful interlocking bricks that fulfill our hidden architectural ambitions. A fact that most people don’t know is that the Lego Group began in the workshop of a carpenter in Denmark, who sold wooden toys. His products evolved into plastic toys and eventually into the Lego bricks we all know today.

Invention of the Radio – May 7, 2009

Before the internet, even before television, there was the radio.

Invention of the Laser – May 16, 2008

Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation or LASER was a product of a US Air Force experiment in 1960. Since then, the laser technology has had several innovations that has improved the technology and created specialized laser types for a variety of uses.

Josef Frank’s 125^th Birthday – July 15, 2010

Josef Frank was a famous architect, artist, and designer who was known throught Europe in the 1920s because of his unique and modernist designs. Today, his furniture and fabric is still being produced and used to decorate homes all over the world.

Now in the design game, time is not always on our side. No, that seems to only apply to Mr. Mick Jagger and the Stones, or so the song would have you believe. In fact, with deadlines, oft times unproductive meetings, and things of that nature, time is not always a designer’s best friend. Especially if said designer is seeking to create a logo design that is essentially, and for all intents and purposes, timeless. Now having a design be timeless is talked about quite often online, but often as a mere throw-away section, without really digging deep into this timeless zone where so few logos exist.

In this article today, we are going to look at this aspect of logo design, that so many of the online design collective impress upon us that we should always strive towards with our logo design. Article after article, post on top of post, the community comes at us with this idea of timeless designs, but there are not many who take the time to fully explain just what they are really talking about, and some ways in which you can achieve this ever so important design element. So how do we go about removing this dated feel and approach for our work and secure that timeless impression that our work will carry with it, hopefully weathering the storms ahead? Read on for more…

Capturing Time

Now at first we need to look a little more at just what everyone is talking about when they mention making their designs timeless. We have to determine if it is possible to make a design timeless. Some might argue that no design can truly be timeless in this day and age, of newly developing technological advances and presentations. Some might argue that seeking out this sort of design aspect could ultimately serve to lessen your design’s impact rather than improve or sustain it. Which could be true. If you went about it the wrong way.

But if we look at the question from the other side, we are perhaps given a glance at the possibility of our new time-elusive design being able to be instilled. We see it all the time. People so-called ‘dating’ their designs through the use of popular styles, trends or techniques from a given era that they believed would encapsulate the brand they are building for. They reach back a few generations to capture the time and the feel of those years in our history and they find the ideas that were making the popular design rounds, and they lock in. Effectively bringing that era through to us with their logo.

So it would seem that if we can go in the direction of capturing time for our work and essentially crafting our logos from that period, then we could certainly, with a solid dedicated effort, achieve the opposite. There are examples across the cyberspace landscape of effective logos that have done just that. They are not dated by any stretch of the imagination, they are dateless. From the Coca-Cola logo (one of the most popular examples of timeless logo designs that exists today) to a handful of others, we have seen this elusive element in play, so we have an idea that it can be done. We may just not know where to start.

Elemental Interference

As we look to make this timeless aspect stick in our logos, one of the best ways to approach this, is by briefly examining some designs that have lasted through the torrential trend storms and have come out on the other side, still feeling fresh and unaffected. Also, we will take a look at some logos that do not achieve this feel and reasons why they might be missing the timeless train. And the first thing that we will talk about getting in our way, is what we are calling elemental interference. For example, take a look the logo below for the World Wildlife Fund.

Now we can see the simple approach that was taken with the design, going for a very minimalistic approach, while employing some negative space to assist in the creation and conveyance that the logo makes. Now with a design this simple, you would think that timelessness would easily be wrought from its grips, however this is an instance where the image element can actually interfere with that sustaining look. Because they use an image of a panda, which today is easily recognizable, they do hang on the verge of extinction. If that were to happen, how long before the younger generations would no longer readily recognize this image?

So we can see that even though the logo works wonderfully in many ways for the World Wildlife Fund and their mission, that could unexpectedly change given the environmental factors that heavily weigh on this impactful imagery. Which could possibly instigate a search for a future logo, rather than merely an updated version of the one they have today. And though these kinds of future changes both to the design world and the world beyond are not necessarily predictable, it does point us in a direction that can lead us to timeless places for our logos. But do not think that images are simply out of bounds in this pursuit, just look below.

Now the Families logo brilliantly blends the subtle imagery into the wording of the logo for a simple and effectively timeless feel to the design. The members of the family all standing together in symbology that seemingly will hold out through the years and trend storms that pass through the design community. This simple approach is powerfully effective, and maintains a harmonious balance between all the included elements of the logo. The balance is important, but the more important focus is choosing the right imagery if you want to use some in your logo.

Now again, we are not meant to all be prognosticators of the world, to know exactly what changes the future may bring about that will impact the effectiveness of the logo imagery that you have used. So when seeking out a more timeless approach, the imagery needs to be as generic as possible so that it does not create any unintentional interference at a later date. Now this may require us to do a couple of things to our design that we maybe normally would think is counterproductive to the idea encapsulation that the logo is supposed to achieve.

Say Less

One of the things that may go against our usual logo design approach, that we may have to concede to do in the cases where we want a more timeless feel to our logo, is to actually have the logo convey less than we normally would have it transfer to the viewer. The more simplistic an approach that we take to creating the logo initially, will put the design in more of a position to withstand the dated elements and techniques that could interfere with the timeless nature we are hoping to instill in our work.

The more that we charge the design with saying, generally the more that we have to work into the design to achieve the desired outcome. By doing this we are risking the timelessness, as each inclusion has to work in a completely unnattached way from the dated styles and imagery that we think the design needs to be effective. So we need to keep in mind on this track, each element that we include in the design is going to have to be able to withstand the torrential downpour of dating that can weigh in on every one of said elements. Take the logo below for an example of effectively saying less.

The CBS logo has long weathered the test of time, and has remained as ever simple and as elegant as it was the day that it was created. This ever-seeing Eye logo has been with the Columbia Broadcast System for generations, and is proof, that saying less is not always a recipe for branding disaster. The CBS logo may not have conveyed much, especially in the beginning, but as time wore on and it persisted, it began to embody more and carry more meaning along with it. This is something that we have to remember, is that even though it may start off saying less, the more timeless it is, and the longer it stays on the scene, the more it will pick up.

And while we may not always like the idea of saying less in the beginning, and hoping that we have achieved the correct balance and compostion of elements and techniques to carry it through in a timeless fashion, it can be a gamble that pays off in the long run. The client may not be appreciative of the approach either, something that we will have to address with each individual case, but if you can pull this off, the client will see many benefits from this brand as they launch themselves into their markets. But that puts a lot of the work and pressure, on us to deliver.

Theory over Trends

The second adjustment to our logo design process that we may have to make in order to work in this vein, is to put more focus on the basics of design theory throughout the creation of the logo, rather than focusing on the trends that are moving through the design community. Design theory is something that every designer should not only have a bit of a background in, but also is something that should always be lingering in the backs of our minds, guiding us subconciously as we create. The theories are the essentially the basic building blocks of design, and tends to work within the trends that we are fans of or are familiar with.

Trends in design have always been a powerful instigator in the directions that the design community moves in year after year. You see the articles popping up all over the blogosphere, highlighting these current trends and even projecting the possible trends that will steer the industry. It is not always easy to avoid the trends when designing, especially for clients who may have locked in on a certain trend that resonated with them someplace, and now they want you to follow this same path when you are working with them. The logo below is a fine example of sticking to theory over trends.

The logo for the London Underground is a wonderfully simplistic design, where we see less trendiness, and more focus on the basics of composition and color. Using basic geometric shapes and a simple font, the logo came to life in a raod sign kind of presentation that really fits well with its mission. And all the while it has been able to maintain a very timeless nature exuding from it since its inception. This has become such a widely recognized symbol in the UK, that it has even been adopted by a local bar here in Colorado Springs, to try and capture some of its trusted, timeless nature for their business.

By avoiding the not only current design trends, but also those that are seen as indicative of another era, and putting most of our design efforts into crafting the logo from a place of theory, we can enhance our chances of achieving this dateless design. The theories of design have been consistent and remained valid for this long, because they are important guides for the industry as a whole. Oft times we follow in suit with them, almost unconsciously, they have just become that much a part of our design natures that we can feel if they have not been followed often just at a glance.

Logo Weatherproofing

Now one thing that is important to remember when you are attempting a timeless design, is that timeless does not relegate the design to a place where certain elements cannot be slightly altered or updated to keep it fresh and still relatable in new ways to new audiences. Even though we talked about the addition of excess elements can remove the dateless feel that we have worked to instill in the logo. This virtual weatherproofing of your logo, does not change the overall logo, it simply adds details to enhance it as new generations come into contact with it.

The Apple logo is a good example of keeping the main design the same, while altering elements within it that keep it evolving in a somewhat timeless way. Again this evolution, has to be subtle and not drastically stray from the original construct. As you can see above the Apple logo has received some tweaks over the years to keep the logo on the forefront of the design community, without losing the basics that made the design feel simple and timeless to begin with. The added shimmering gradient is one of the most notable evolutions that the logo has received over the years. Giving the design a sense of endurance.

The Endurance Test

Now naturally when we first create a logo, testing its endurance is not something that we can just readily dive into. Testing the endurance of a design that has just been birthed into creation, is not necessarily testing as you would expect. When you are testing the work’s ability to sustain in the market, one way that you can do so, without waiting for years to see if it lasts, is by comparing it to other models that are generally accepted as being timeless. Through this side-by-side comparison, you may see elements in your logo that stands out from the dateless example you have pitted it against.

These elements may be ones that you need to examine more in your own work to see if they are completely necessary. And more importantly, if they are dating your work instead of conveying that ageless appeal we had hoped to garner. And while this may not always be a workable solution for you, if you can use a more discerning eye to pick apart the logos element by element, then you may be able to simplify your logo down into this arena after all. Though another endurance test that you can give it, is to test the various ways that the logo can be presented to the viewer.

Basically, this is the same as testing the logo’s transference into the various mediums through which it will engage and interact with the public viewing it. In this fast paced digital age, we see new marketing mediums come to life, while others slowly wither and die (like print media is rumored to be doing right now). So it is important that we test the logo among these various mediums to ensure that it continues to work across formats. Another reason, simplicity of design is a bonus.

That’s All, Folks!

Well, that does it on this end, and we hope that this has been a helpful dissection of the process for making your logos feel timeless and always fresh. If there is anything that you would add to the discussion, then please feel free to leave your thoughts below in the comment section.

You want those positive seeds to be sewn throughout, because it is through your solid reputation that you will be able to build trust in your brand. A trust that can help to carry your business to the very forefront of the populated landscape you are hoping to thrive in. A trust that can also provide secure and solid anchors for the overall sustainability of your branded business, providing a longevity that could possibly outlast the dreamed potential of your company. But how do you get to there from here? Well that takes a bit of dedicated effort on your part, and below is a discussion of some various ways that you can improve your chances of landing this lasting plot on the professional landscape where you hang your hat.

Go through the advice and see how many of these seeds you could plant for your brand. Then once you have the structures and support in place, just add water so to speak, and watch them grow. Water is the effort in this analogy. You got that right? Well, if you didn’t, now you know. The effort is important, for in this current economic climate, we often cannot afford to passively approach this issue and hope that our business grows on its own. We have to take the reigns and steer it through the terrain ahead to garner that brand longevity and trust. Here are a few ways you can do that:

Be Sure you Have a Relatable Logo

As has been previously discussed on the blog here before in Hilde’s post back in July, Logo vs. Brand – Definition And Tips, which if you haven’t read is worth a look, your logo is not the same as your brand. So one of the first things that you can do to build trust is have a relatable logo attached to your business. You want something that is going to connect with the viewer so as to have your logo leave what will hopefully be a lasting impression in their mind. If your logo does not register a connection of any kind, then it is less likely to stick, and will therefore more often than not simply fade from memory.

Know Your Audience

One major way to ensure that your logo will have that connection with your audience, is to actually have researched and know just who you are dealing with in terms of the people you are trying to reach. Is this an international business that needs to have universal mass appeal, or is it more of a smaller niche focused business venture with a much more refined crowd and narrower field of approach? You need to be aware of who you are reaching out to, in order to know the best ways to actually connect. This way you are not just destined to be forever blindly scrambling in the emptiness for somewhere for your reach to land.

Once you have your core audience identified, then you can move forward on finding the right logo to fit the focus you require. Now whether you are designing the logo yourself or having it designed for you, you need to be sure that you still know your audience and the ways you wish to approach them. It is after all your responsibility to make sure the connection happens and is fostered correctly, so even if you do not think you need this for choosing the right logo, you will as you attempt to establish your brand. So you might as well get to know them from the beginning. This way, you have more insight as to what will relate to your audience and what will not as you decide on a logo that will for some effectively be your business’ first impression.

Remember the Power of Color

As with any design project, you do not want add any unnecessary limitations on yourself when going for a relatable logo given that your audience may have already limited those options enough as it is. Abstract imaging can still be implemented in a flawless way, without completely losing that familiar factor that will connect with your audience. That is where your choice of color can come in handy to help maintain that important connectivity with the masses. Freelance Logo has posted a helpful post along these lines in the past, with Hilde’s post Colors In Logo Design – Basic Tips, and it is important to bare in mind.

Color association is a key element in design, and with your logo it may the way you opt for making that connection with the viewer. Rather than relying on the image to make the impression for your logo, you can find associative colors to convey the brunt of the brand’s purpose. Again, however you choose to go about making the connection, it is near vital for your company’s ability to thrive in the open market that your audience be able to relate to your business, and color association is a great way to help instill comfort and familiarity through your logo. Something your brand will appreciate in the long run.

Be Consistent

When you are on a quest to build trust in your brand, one of the main additions to your arsenal that will always play in your favor is consistency. Remember that you are building a reputation for your business, and what better element to have on your side than a consistent performance of excellence. You need to find your mission, embrace it, and charge confidently forward maintaining as focused a path as possible varying from this mission as few times as possible. It’s fine to grow into your role in the beginning, taking time to let this settling into your niche occur somewhat organically as you begin to respond to your audience and more. But the more consistently you maintain your path without deviation, the more people will trust that you are determined and prepared.

Always Deliver

Now in this realm of consistency one thing to remember is that reliability is not necessarily synonymous with constancy. You can just as easily be consistent in failure as you can in success, so being consistent in the right way is also something you want to look after. One way to achieve this positive equilibrium for your branded business is to always, always deliver on your promises and projects. Over-deliver if you must, just be sure that you do not let the proverbial ball drop on your side of the project fence or the repercussions could be farther reaching than you might think. And certainly farther than you would prefer.

Keep in contact with your clients and be sure that you put forth every effort to maintain your lead, far ahead of the game so that you do not fall behind. Therein lies the recipe for chaotic decline into the depths of potential client and project loss. Be sure that you do not go into the project promising more than you know that you can reasonably deliver on also. It is always better to over-deliver on a project than it is to under-deliver for sure. You are wanting to build trust, not instilling the sense in your clients that their trust would be better placed elsewhere. So not only should you strive for consistent achievement, but you always address and deal with any and all failures that fall on you.

Respect the Deadline

Another way to remain consistently ahead of the game, is to always respect each and every project deadline, either self or client imposed. Though many in the design and development community have attested time and again to the fact that they are constantly negligent when it comes to the clients deadlines to no detriment whatsoever, this screams of an unprofessional and unorganized business. And though they maintain that they are able to keep their client base firm, even with these deadline disappointments in their track record, you can bet that some of their clientele are shopping around for more reliable businesses.

No matter how you may perceive them, deadlines are not useless, they are in place to allow the clients to be able to plan for the project to be done. Your clients have a timetable that they are working with, and usually altering said timetable can have costly consequences. So we need to respect that, and not treat the deadlines with this blatant disregard. It basically translates as a lack of respect overall, not just for the project deadlines in place. Doing so with consistency will do wonders to help with the trust that you are building for your brand, not to mention with its stability. Meeting deadlines with regularity also assists in keeping your work calendar progressing rather than stagnating.

Be Social

Now another major way that you can assist the trust being instilled in your brand from your clients and the community in which you are operating, is to be social. The internet has added a social aspect to nearly every professional arena, and successfully navigating this expansive media market really gives your branded business a leg up in the trust building department. These are social times, and like it or not, more and more businesses are finding the need to take their company into the various social media markets to gain consumer trust and accessibility to their audience that they previously have not had. There are some things to keep in mind as you get social, however.

Remember You Get Out What You Put In

Just like so many aspects of your social life, all that you can expect to get out of the experience is what you put into to it. Social media does closely follow this same rule of thumb, and when you venture down this path with your business, be sure that you know what you are committing to. Because it is a commitment, and the sooner you realize this, the sooner you can correctly set your brand’s bearings for smoother sailing. Social media sailing that actually yields some benefit for your business, always remembering that this is a system of give and take.

Returning to the seed metaphor, you cannot expect to not have to exert any effort to sustain the growth of the plant as it grows. It is never as simple as burying the seed under the dirt and walking away, and the same is true of the social media outreach for your company. This requires constant care and attention in order to make and strengthen your brand’s ties within the active online community, and the more you work at it the more it will work with you. From others in the market sharing tips and advice on how to advance your own enterprises, to potential and actual clients who are looking to increase their access to your brand, being efficiently social is a dynamic way to keep your business growing and ahead of the curve.

Remember to Share and Interact

Another important thing to keep in mind as you take on this social challenge is that you have to both share and interact, it is not just one or the other. You need to actively partake in both avenues in order to make the most of these online social engagements. This is not just about dropping in here and there to assist with the moving of facts and figures along this off-ramp of the information superhighway. This is about building trust and relationships for your business, and sharing links is not the way to guarantee that will happen in these networks. You have to connect with people.

The social interaction element is key to a sustainable trust for your brand as your online audience is granted an extended access to the behind the scenes of the business. Being able to assign a virtual face and personality to your brand is not only appreciated by most who populate the online forums, but when it comes to building trust in your brand, it is a near bankable commodity these days. As long as you are willing to dive in to this somewhat vulnerable position and open the floodgates in both directions, then these social media networks can highly increase your visibility and longevity in your professional market.

Mind your Marketing

Another consideration that must be made as you seek to build trust for your brand, is that your business needs to be marketed. Not just marketed, but marketed well. The internet has opened so many avenues for marketing your brand, that you would be denying your company so much access for growth by not harnessing the full force of this marketing tool. From websites to blogs to social media and more, the internet has a connected audience that is just eager for content, and if you can set yourself up to fill that need for them on a regular basis, then the online masses will respond with dedicated appreciation. Soon your brand could potentially become a daily go-to stop in people’s online lives. That is, if you do things right.

Contests & Giveaways

Like with social media, there are some give and takes in this marketing arena, but nothing that should come as too big a shock for someone building a brand. One of those gives, is that you can host giveaways and contests from your website to generate some buzz around your brand, and to help solidify your reputation with your online audience as a trusted source giving back to the community. This kind of outreach into the virtual collective to collaborate with others and together bring the users the opportunity to benefit from following your business is typically proven to generate a healthy amount of traffic for your site.

Though it is important to realize, this is not a sure fire recipe for successful throngs of loyal followers, it does get the ball rolling steadily in that direction for sure. Whether you opt to hold contests for goods or services from within the niche in which you operate, or giveaway resources or goods for a limited time or as a regular part of your operation, turn to your social media networks to help get the word out about your online goings-ons. Collaborate with others in your online circle to present these events and your brand will begin to be seen as a trusted partner in the community also. Possibly extending both your reputation and reach into previously untapped audiences.

Don’t Sell Yourself Short

Now as mentioned, the internet provides so many various outlets for giving your audience access to your business and you want to take advantage of as many of them as you can reasonably manage, but remember you do not want to sell yourself short. This can mean many things actually. From not letting some of these accessible avenues pass you by because you do not understand them, to only going into them halfhearted there are several opportunities to let the balls drop and not meet the full potential you have for your business via these marketing routes. You have to meet this challenge with as much dedication and determination as you have in getting your business put together.

This is not the time to let your initiative take a nose dive, because you will certainly come up short. Instead tap into that confidence that got you where you are at today, because you are still going to need it, especially in this open market. And by open, I mean exposed. With this access and this marketing approach, you have to remember that your company is not the only thing that you have to sell to the audience. You have to sell yourself too. The face behind the business can often times be just as important as the business itself, with regards to building brand trust. So as you take on these new marketing paths, tread cautiously. Find ways to be edgy and engaging without crossing the line and becoming offensive. You have to sell yourself and your business respectfully to get respected and gain that trust.

Be Patient

Another lesson that you need to learn as you set out on this journey for brand longevity and trust, even though the internet is a remarkable space of inter-connectivity, and though you may tap into the heart of it, this is still a process. And processes take time. Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither will your virtual empire be. You are in this for the long haul supposedly, so playing a bit of the long game in the beginning should not be much of a problem. If brand longevity is your ultimate goal, then you should expect that you will have to give this process time to flourish.

Don’t Be Discouraged By a Slow Start

One thing that could potentially push against your patience in the beginning is that slow climb to visibility that so many often face when they first take their brand to the web. Especially as most online professional markets are growing by leaps and bounds as more and more flock to the interwebs to set up their plot in this virtual environment, gaining visibility is not always the easiest thing to garner. This may be a bit discouraging, but you must not let it dissuade you or impede on your determination. Building a trusted following takes time, and getting things going is not always just going to take off.

That is one unfortunate misconception that a lot of people bring into the online landscape with them wen they come. Like the gold rush stories from the old days, people have come filing to the web looking to launch a golden idea that is unlike anything the internet has seen and make their fortunes. But given the vastness of the internet and the sheer number of brands out there, most of us, do not have that idea. So we have to settle for a slow start. Be patient and dig ourselves in, prepared to wait out the slow roll towards something greater. That is just the way things tend to play out in these saturated markets, it is not indicative that your brand is not going to make it.

Allow For Organic Growth

Another element to play into your patience and not getting discouraged is the mindset of allowing for organic growth of your brand via the web. Which may seem like it contradicts what was said in the beginning of the post about playing a passive role, but that is not what is meant here. What this essentially means is that you need to be active and at times like discussed interactive, but you need to let the growth happen naturally without you trying desperately to force it. It may be tempting in the face of uncertain times and uninspiring growth to begin over-engaging your audience, or any number of other things you might do that would easily cross the line of comfort and decorum. Or worse, you might set yourself up in a place where you are unknowingly committing to always being that engaged with your audience. Even when you no longer have time.

It is all about striking a comfortable balance both for you and your audience. Once you have that balance, your audience will find you patiently waiting for them. You will at times see spikes in your growth, and while this may demonstrate trends from the online masses that you may want to take note of, be leery of altering your mission to chase after these trends, for that can often be a recipe for having your growth slow, and even possibly decline. Hold to your course, and simply look for ways to appeal to your core, meanwhile incorporating methods for extending your reach beyond them to new, relevant places as well. Once again, allowing for things to happen more naturally than by you attempting to force them along.

That Wraps Up the Discussion On This End

That just about does it for now, from this end, but please feel free to keep the dialog and discussion going in the comment section below. You can offer your words of wisdom or even question some of those offered through out the discussion. Either way, let us know what you think helps make for a solid foundation beneath your brand that will help you attain the longevity and trust you desire for your business.