Design advice for your start up company and new business...

START UP COMPANIES AND NEW BUSINESSES.

So you have a BRILLIANT idea that just HAS to be done....I know that feeling very well. You've bounced the idea off of everyone you know and trust and they all agree that you have a winner? You've written your business plan and it still seems viable even after your marketing projections? You've secured the funding or have funded the idea yourself (it's that good an idea!)? Now what do you do?

WELL, LET'S START WITH A LOGO...

You're product needs a brand. Whether you're baking the best darned brownies Nigella will ever dream of, or built the next great social marketing site that will surpass Facebo..you know who; your product will need a brand. A visual representation of all that your company and product stand for and everything they hope to achieve. An instantly recognisable symbol emblazoned on every possible medium. Don't stop at just your business card. There's the letterhead, the company shirt, the car, the flyer, the back of the envelope, the website, brochure, billboard, aeroplane, cellular network, space travel...perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself.

Hire a professional designer who knows how to take your brief, understand your brief and interpret your brief correctly. A professional designer with tertiary education and years of experience in honing a fitting logo. A designer who has invested time and money on industry standard software that is accepted by all print houses. And lastly, a designer who is as excited about your product as you are.

AND THROW IN A BUSINESS CARD...

Using that logo as inspiration the same designer can create a unique and customised business card design for you. A business card is usually the first physical introduction to a company's corporate identity and brand. You want to be proud of that design. You also want to be able to take the artwork for the card and send it to any printer without any mishaps.

WE'RE GOING TO NEED A WEBSITE...

In this day and age can you afford not to be 'googled'? Websites are the easiest way to distribute your company's information too a large group of potential clients. Having a web presence exposes your company's services to anyone with internet access...and in this day and age that includes almost everone - mobile phones, internet cafes, work and ADSL at home. And the website is usually the first visual introduction to a company's identity. It lends credibility to your business and allows you a cost effective opportunity to update and share information about your company. If you don't already have an email address, the website will give you an opportunity to grab a few professional email addresses linked to your company (info@yourcompany.co.za)

And that's really what you need to get started. You can add on a letterhead, perhaps a flyer...