Thursday, June 14, 2012

Logo Fail (or You Get What You Pay For!)


Recently, I came across a new retail store that looks pretty neat. Though they describe themselves as, "a lifestyle company that brings you the latest trends in Action Sports and Lifestyle Apparel and Accessories" and they carry such trendy brands as Ugg, Hurley, Oakley, Billabong, Fox Apparel, Sanuk and, apparently, a whole bunch of unlicensed NBA and NCAA apparel, there's one little problem: Their logo sucks!



If they were a dollar store or discount store, that logo would be great. But no, this retailer is selling trendy, high end stuff at what I'm guessing is full retail price. Throw in the fact that these folks are also located in a town of around 30,000, less than an hour from a large city of over 700,000 and Houston, we have a problem.

If a true designer did this logo, he or she should be shot. My feeling is it was created by a "Build your own Logo" website, one of those "designers" you see advertising logos for $5 (and, if so, he or she was wildly overpaid), or someone who has absolutely no business in advertising. Why? Easy! To start, dollar signs are for dollar stores and discounters, not high end, boutique retailers. Not surprisingly, the top comment on their Facebook page right now is, "R U retail or an overstock kind of store?"



Oh, and the cute little NSN thing will only work if they manage to leverage this thing into a cable TV or etail operation (and only then, if the prices are as discount as their logo).

Your logo is the face of your brand. If your brand is the promise you make to your customer of what your business will deliver, your logo has to reflect that. That's why, if you want to build a business and, by extension, a brand, you need to start with the foundation of a solid logo. If your logo doesn't sell your business, your business won't be selling for long either.

See also: Dumb Disclaimer of the Day