Over the Rainbow

When creating a logo for your business there are so many color options, design choices and overall theme varieties the task can be daunting. In fact when creating our logo we went through several (and by several I mean A LOT!) of designs before we were able to make our final decision. Let’s face it, your logo is going to be the single most important representation of your business to a potential customer (no pressure or anything!).  So to accomplish an iconic and memorable logo, you must ask yourself, what feeling do I want to evoke from my customer through my logo? And to do so, you have to understand a little bit about the psychology of color. Why?  Because just like design, color plays a crucial role in how your logo is perceived. Here is quick crash course on the psychology of color.

The psychology of color means that each color is characterized by certain emotions. The emotions associated with color have been created through a long history of art, culture, history and social norms. It is important to note, various cultures view colors entirely different.  For example in the U.S. traditionally a bride wears white on her wedding day.  In the U.S. wearing white symbolizes purity; however in India a bride traditionally wears red.  In fact, in India white is customarily worn at funerals. So you can see that colors don’t always translate cross-culturally.  My point is this; if you are planning on globally expanding your company you must research what color means to that culture or region.  Below are a  few iconic U.S. logos, color psychologies and explanations of how there colors repersent there brand.

Red: Excitement, Passion, Energy, Love and Intensity

Coke is one of the most recognizable brands in the world.  Red is a perfectly suited color for this brand because red emotionally connects us to excitement and coke plays on that by exciting the senses with a caffeine energy boost.  Red is also commonly used in fast food restaurants because it sets the mood for people to grab'n'go. (If they wanted you to stay they would have used cool blues and greens.)

Pink: Femininity, Fun, Delicate, Pretty, Sweet and Energetic

Could you ever imagine the Barbie logo being black?  Pink was chosen for its softness and girly qualities. Pink plays into the femininity of this brand.  You see a lot of pink in businesses dedicated to women's products, bakeries and lines targeted towards little girls.  Pink is a great accent color and can add just the right pop of color.

Orange: Bright, Cheerful, Daring, Playful, Exuberant and Youthful

AT&T transformed its brand image by introducing its new logo in 2007.  Personnel at AT&T said they wanted to appeal to a younger demographic who can be extremely fickle when it comes to branding.  Orange was the perfect color to appeal to youth because of its daring and youthful emotional draw.  Orange can add the right burst of color to any logo. Bright orange has a playful exuberance and burnt orange shades can add a touch of warmth.

Yellow: Luminous, Happiness, Positivity, Warmth, Awareness and Caution

 Yellow is a primary color that typical exudes happiness.  In-N-Out used yellow as an accent color which played into its branding as an upbeat burger restaurant.  Yellow is a highly visible color which can create attention and awareness.

Green: Earth Friendly, Environmental, Crisp, Harmonious, Pleasant and Lush

John Deere is well known for lawn equipment and it is perfectly fitting that there logo is predominately green. Green is often associated with environmentally friendly businesses and lawn care companies. Green is a cool color that is created from a cool blue and a warm yellow. Lighter shades of green are considered soothing and brighter hues of green are considered more crisp.

Blue: Calm, Confident, Tranquil, Reliable, Soothing and Strength

It is no surprise Kleenex used blue as its color of choice for two reasons, one being the strength associated with the color and two being the calmness blue exudes.  Kleenex is a brand that has single handedly transformed the name of tissue.  I mean when reaching for a tissue most likely you are going to ask for a Kleenex regardless of the brand.  For its confidence darker blues are used often in logos for fortune 500 companies and the government.  Lighter shades of blue are soothing and used to relax the senses in spas.

Purple: Cool, Regal, Majestic, Spiritual and Whimsical

Purple is a cool color which is created by mixing blue and red. Yahoo recently revised its logo from red to purple. Purple is a whimsical color and with the explanation mark at the end of the yahoo logo I think it ties perfectly into this brand. Purple is often used for luxury brands because it exudes a regal quality. Purple is associated with nobility because only the wealthy and royalty could afford the purple dye to color their robes. “Tyrian” purple, as it was called, was used to dye royals’ robes up until the collapse of the eastern Roman Empire in 1453.

Brown: Woodsy, Natural, Richness and Organic

Brown is a natural warm color. I like brown for its neutral appeal and contrast it provides to brighter shades. Hershey’s not only plays on the color of its candy but cocoa is a natural ingredient which plays into the emotinal appeal of brown.  Try brown with a brighter hue like red or hot pink for a striking contrast.

Black: Bold, Classic, Chic, Formal and Authoritative

Haven't you heard that the number one essential in every woman’s closet is a LBD (little black dress)?  It's because black is chic and sophisticated and this logo is no exception.  This brand was first created in 1910 and is still as stylish as it was 100 years ago!

White: Pure, Clean, Fresh and Straightforward

White is used in almost every logo out there.  For white any color compliments it so you can't go wrong. White is used to fill negative space, as a backdrop of many logos and with some logos used for text if the backdrop is too dark to support black.

Gray: Subtle, Practical, Impartial, and Modern

Gray is a color that embodies simplistic modern elegance. It is a neutral between black and white that ties into any color scheme. The Audi 4 ring logo symbolizes the merger that took place in 1932, of four independent motor-vehicle manufactures. This new logo was created in 2009 and differs from the previous logos because of the increase in the 3-dimensional aspects of the rings. From its shiny hues of silver to its duller gunmetal grays this color you can create a subtle yet impactful logo.  

Typically, when creating a logo, you want to stick to 2-4 colors, as not to confuse the consumer.  Simple yet creative is the best course of action when creating a logo.  You also want your companies name legible in the logo, so as much as you want to use that crazy cool font, less is more!  The psychology of color is ever evolving and when choosing a color combo just be mindful of the implications your colors may have. 

Lastly, if you need help, Marketing Mix Studio is just a click or phone call away :)

-Vanessa



Logo Credits:
(Red Logo) Registered Tradmark of Coca-Cola Bottle Company
(Pink Logo) Registered Tradmark of Mattel
(Orange Logo) Registered Tradmark of AT&T Cingular Wireless
(Yellow Logo) Registered Tradmark of In-N-Out Burger
(Green Logo) Registered Tradmark of John Deere 
(Blue Logo) Registered Tradmark of Kleenex-Kimberly-Clark Worlwide, Inc.
(Purple Logo) Registered Tradmark of Yahoo!
(Black Logo) Registered Tradmark of Chanel
(Gray Logo) Registered Tradmark of Audi

Sources:
History of the Cingular Logo
History of the Color Purple
History of Audi

Organic Search Engine Optimization, no artificial fillers or additives!

Most people associate the word “organic” with fruits and vegetables. Well I’m here to relate it to something entirely different, the internet. Specifically search engine optimization (SEO for short). But before your eyes start glazing over and I loose you, I want to explain what SEO is, how it works and most importantly why it is imperative to your business. To get technical, SEO by definition is the method of improving the quantity and/or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines. SEO has become increasingly important due to the popularity of Google, Yahoo and Bing search engine usage. I mean if you ask anyone, I’m sure they Google on a daily bases things, places or if going on a first date, maybe a prescreen search of a person (oh come on admit it!)                                                                                   

                              Paid SEO                                                 

But one may wonder how do search engines pick the top spots for what comes up when something is searched? Well to begin, there are two types of SEO, paid and organic. Paid SEO is when a company pays Google, Yahoo or Bing to be the top listed when someone searches a word pertaining to their business. For example, when you Google “boots” two paid advertisements come up at the top of the page and are highlighted in yellow. You also have paid advertisements listed on the far right column of the page. Those boot businesses are paying Google to be on the first page and the company is usually charged on a per click bases by Google for being able to advertise on the first page of a search. However, the “meat” of the content which is listed in white on the left hand side are non-paid or organic SEO. That means the little spiders that read through the content of every website in the internet universe picked these sites as the best pertaining to the keyword “boots” and they were not paid for. So if little spiders read through everyone’s website to pick the best ones and it’s free, why would you want to pay to come up on the top of a search? Well in using organic SEO, there are specific things your site has to contain in order to be picked out by the spiders as the top website for certain keywords. If you don’t understand or know what the spiders are looking for it is easy for them to skip over your website or not pick up on the keywords you were intending. It is also challenging (but not impossible) to compete with all of the thousands of websites on boots for yours to come up on top, unless you know how many keywords to use, where to put them and how to effectively use them.

Organic SEO

Now let's go back to the boots example. In order to organically SEO, you have to list boots enough on your site to be spotted by the spiders but not too often to where they think it's spam. Over the years, the spiders have gotten smarter and are now able to spot trickery. A few years ago companies picked up on the organic keys to SEO success and were hiding keywords underneath the wallpaper of a site. This meant that you and I couldn’t see them but the spiders could which in turn boosted the company to the top of search engines. Now, if you do that, those spiders will detect that as spam. You will then move so far down the search engines rankings you might as well call it quits towards being found by an actual person, unless that person prefers looking at page 956,701 of a search.

So why am I telling you all this? Well the reason organic SEO is more important to your business than paid SEO is because 4 out of 5 people report they never click on a paid search engine site! So not only would your business be wasting money for paid per click SEO but most people won’t click on it anyway. Look, you know and I know what it looks like when you search for something and it is a paid link. In fact, 80% of search engine users report clicking on an organic listing rather than a paid listing.

Now this is where I shamelessly plug my company :) Marketing Mix Studio offers ORGANIC Search Engine Optimization! So if you are a small business and need notoriety, and who doesn’t need that, contact our team and we can help boost you to the top of those search engines, organically!

-Vanessa

Tanette's Tasty Treats Client Review

Feedback from Tanette about her new Facebook fan page that Marketing Mix Studio created for her: 

"I'm very happy with it, thank you SO much. I've been wanting one forever, but haven't had the time, so I truly appreciate you doing this for me. I also think it really helped posting my Alice in Wonderland cake to it right away, as I got a lot of response regarding that cake. I've also gotten a few immediate cake orders after the page went live, so thank you So much!!"

Inspirational Blogging

One thing I love to do is travel. I love seeing new places, trying new food and meeting new people. One way travel can inspire your blog is through pictures. By taking pictures of what you find beautiful in your travels you can than translate that into a new color palate, texture or theme. However, don’t think you have to travel to far distant places, you can find inspiration all around you. People, scenary of everyday life and things are also great muses to get your creative juices flowing. Here are a few picture/blog translations I created.

I call this one Venetian Church.  This is a nod to the beautiful church's we saw in Venice, Italy.

This one is inspired by the flowers of Fiji. 

And lastly taking your favorite picture of someone special can inspire.  I called this one L-O-V-E.

Don't know where to begin? Colourlovers.com is a fantastic place to start!  Whether you are a novice or an expert you can create custom wallpapers for your blog, twitter or myspace. 

Happy coloring!

-Vanessa

Spotlight on Tanette's Tasty Treats- New Client!

After trying one of Tanette's cake creations I was hooked! She created a truly custom Boston Red Sox's birthday cake for my husband.  Not only was this cake amazing to look at, it tasted wonderful!  After realizing she didn't have a Facebook fan page I insisted Marketing Mix Studio make one for her! If you live in Colorado and need a custom cake, cupcakes or cheesecake you can find her on Facebook and at her webpage: http://www.tanettestastytreats.com/ 

Tanette's Tasty Treats Facebook Fan Page  Become a Fan of her new Facebook fan page that Marketing Mix Studio created!

Useful Articles On Marketing, Small Business and the Entrepreneurial Spirit!

If your embarking on starting a new business or are struggling with marketing in a down economy, you must read these articles! They offer great tips and insight into what marketing strategies work and how to increase business. In the article titled "59 ways to grow your business credibility and experience" the top 10 tips are services offered by Marketing Mix Studio!


59 Ways To Grow Your Business Credibility and Experience 

Marketing Strategies In A Weak Economy

10 Tips To Starting A Small Business

Who, What, Why, How and Where?

WHO: Marketing Mix Studio

WHAT: Marketing Mix Studio is a creative print design, website design and social networking management agency dedicated to helping small businesses and non-profits create strong presence through a mixture of dynamic branding avenues. Whether you are a new company looking to separate yourself from the competition or a more established company looking to expand your customer reach, we can help you!

WHY: At Marketing Mix Studio we understand the need to think outside the box when it comes to creating a marketing strategy. That is why we offer print design services, website design and social networking management all under one roof. We want to be a one stop shop for small businesses when it comes to hiring a marketing agency. We understand the market is tough and that is why it has become increasingly important to take advantage of every marketing opportunity. Through print, web and social networking, Marketing Mix Studio, will use the digital platform to raise awareness amongst the clientele most targeted for your business.

HOW: We want to understand what your needs are, who your clientele is and what your business philosophy is all about. We take the time to understand your business by offering a free consultation. Once we better understand your wants and needs we then create a marketing plan tailored to your business. We want to be an extension of what makes your company successful.

WHERE: We are a home grown company based out of Douglas County, Colorado. However, through our digital platform we can help create strategic brand marketing all across the US.

Who's behind Marketing Mix Studio?

Vanessa Daigle is Vice President of Marketing for Marketing Mix Studio. She is originally from Texas, but has lived in Colorado for the past 13 years. She loves Colorado and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else! Vanessa attended the University of Colorado at Denver, earning her bachelors degree in communications with a minor in public relations. She has always had a passion for marketing and it is through that passion that drives her enthusiasm for the business. For the past 3 years she has been working in field marketing, managing strategic accounts for Samsung Electronics throughout Denver and Salt Lake City. It was through working with larger marketing operations that she realized there was a need for marketing services targeted specifically towards small businesses and so hatched the idea for Marketing Mix Studio. In her free time she loves yoga, traveling and spending quality time with her husband and two dogs.

JeNae Montague is Vice President of Technology for Marketing Mix Studio. She is originally from Utah but has made Colorado her home for the last 15 years. She is a jack of all trades with 13 years of extensive knowledge and expertise in marketing, sales and management. She was the owner and operator of JeNae boutique which opened in 2004. Through that experience she created, designed and managed the entire marketing campaign for her store. She soon came to realize marketing and creative design were her true passions. She closed the doors to her boutique in 2006 and became a sales executive for HS3 technologies, which helped to increase her knowledge in all aspects of marketing. Most recently she has been the marketing director and web designer for Price A. Building, a steel company, located in Centennial, Colorado. In her off time you will find her designing beaded jewelry, painting and doting on her 3 beautiful children.

Together the creative duo of Marketing Mix Studio has the experience and expertise to create dynamic marketing strategies for any small business or non-profit. Whether you are a new company looking to separate yourself from the competition or a more established company looking to expand your customer reach, we can help you!