The Importance of Being Strategic

A while back, over at Co.EXIST, Heath Shackleford penned an interesting article highlighting the problems that many non-profits run into by focusing on design without focusing on the strategy behind that design.

Of course, this extends to everyone, not just non-profits. The market is always crowded and you want to stand out. So you get your accounts manager’s teenage cousin to design a new logo for you. It looks great and you got it for cheap because he’s got Creative Suite.

Done… Right?

Nope. A logo itself is not a brand and a pretty-yet-affordable design doesn’t hold up without strategic intent behind it. It’s hollow.

As Shackleford says, “smart strategy is what truly levels the playing field.”

Take some time (more than a weekend, as Yahoo notoriously did.) and think about what you want to accomplish with your brand.  And then work with professionals to set up some goals, objectives and tasks, all of which should link back to your desired accomplishment (in Yahoo’s case, stay relevant).

Your brand strategy should influence your logo, not vice versa. And it certainly shouldn’t be done in a weekend by anyone with a bit of Adobe knowledge (and especially not someone on Fiverr).

It’s not a quick process, but Rome wasn’t branded in a night.