Why does your logo look like THAT? Reclaiming Your Logo's Integrity!

Why does your logo look like THAT?

Why does the size seem off?

Is the logo a little squished?

Does that color seem right?

What is the exact color of your logo?

Why is there always a white box behind your logo?

Should you put the logo on this background?

Why is your logo jagged on this piece?

Imagine this scenario; It is getting late, and you have been driving for hours. You are hungry and need to find someplace to stop and eat. You pull off the expressway and see the McDonald’s golden arches on the horizon, you head toward the land of warm golden french-fries. Your mouth starts to water, and you can almost taste them.

You get closer and notice something strange about the sign, the golden M is a bit… off. The color is more of a mustard yellow than a golden french-fry. The M itself is a bit squatty, and as you get to the sign, you realize that is not the home of the warm golden french-fries, it is an IMPOSTER!

How did you figure out it was not a McDonald’s? Because the logo wasn’t right. You now will not be stopping because you are a bit afraid of the weird imposter restaurant.

Let GMCI help you harness the power of branding,

by creating great brand standards and logos.

Even if you are not the internationally known brand McDonald’s, your brand should be just as important. At GMCI Creative, we have been creating logos and brand standards for over 30 years for small companies, and large corporations. Today I want to make sure you have a brand standard book and style guide, so nobody ever mistakes your delicious golden French-fries for an imposter!

Brand Recognition

A well-crafted logo aids in brand recognition. Customers identify your business by your logo, the more consistently it is applied across all marketing material, the more powerful it becomes as a symbol of your brand. Creating a strong logo is just the beginning. To ensure your brand identity remains consistent, you need brand standards or brand guidelines.

We have been creating logo and brand guides for over 30 years. Our style and brand guides and logos are still in use by the Chicago Cubs baseball team 30 years after we created the brand. The “new” 1994 Cub and C were created by Kim Gilmore, for The Tribune Company and Major League Baseball and are still in use to this day. She created the logo mark, all uniform styles, alternative use logos and brand standards for the Chicago Cubs logo. In the same year, she was tasked with creating the Major League Baseball 125th Anniversary logo, the Chicago Cubs Convention and Cubs Care logos. All

of these logos are in use to this day, and following the brand standard she wrote

and designed.

Brand Standards

All logos require a brand standards document. This important document states the rules of your logo, the colors, the styles, and types of logos your company uses and how they are to be used. Many times, these documents also state fonts that are approved, additional sub colors and additional graphic elements your brand identity can apply. These are not just for internal use; they also serve as a communication tool for anyone who works with your brand. Whether it is an in-house team member, a marketing agency like GMCI Creative or external vendors, these guidelines ensure that everyone understands how to represent your brand visually and verbally. The consistency in messaging and design is crucial for maintaining a unified brand image.

Let GMCI help you create full brand standards and organized files for your logo.

Even if your logo is 50 years old, if you do not have a brand guide and brand standards documents, GMCI can help. We can create the rules for your logo and all of the file types you will need in order to not have bitmapped, squished, white square backgrounds and off-color versions of your logo floating around and out there in the public realm.

Give us a call today to help you get your logo back on track. We will even serve French-fries at our kickoff meeting if you would like! ;)

Nothing grates on the nerves of a brand specialist and logo designer more than seeing a logo in digital or print format that is obviously incorrect. We can help!

GMCI worked in concert with Kane County to create these important logos for signage along the protected farmlands of the County. This logo signifies the land and where protections are awarded and the proclamations and resolutions guarding these acres.

Last fall GMCI completed a full branding of District U-46’s Educational Pathways branding and marketing campaign. Culminating in a 20,000 student in-person career expo in tandem with the Alignment Collaborative for Education.

GMCI Creative | www.gmcicreative.com

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