As a website designer I get approached by all sorts of customers at various stages of developing an online business. While some have a pre-existing website, many are just starting out along the path to implementing a new business idea. It is in these situations that it pays dividends to consider the sequence of events in terms of the overall development cycle. Quite simply, it makes good business sense to do so.
Consider the following:
- In the end, the new business idea will need to be marketed, and for that a brand identity will be required. Perhaps paradoxically, this is the place to start. Over time the brand identity (visually expressed as a logo) tends to get embedded in many different media that become part of the marketing mix. To avoid costly reworks it makes good sense to embed it right at the outset. It also helps to avoid a diffusion of the brand’s identity through inconsistency.
- Secure the services of a competent graphic designer to create that all important logo. There are two main reasons for this:
- The first is that a graphic designer with particular experience in logo development will have a well developed ability to delve right into the essence of the brand and be able to give those often esoteric elements visual expression. If you would like to be put in contact with a graphic designer skilled in the art of logo development, contact me and I will be happy to provide a recommendation.
- The second is that a graphic artist will understand the requirements of all of the media in which the logo may ultimately be used and will design the logo to satisfy those technical requirements. As mentioned earlier, this can save costly reworks in the future.
- Having sorted out the logo it is now appropriate to move into discussions with a website designer. There are two possibilities here: either the web designer can build a graphical theme based on the logo design, or the web designer can integrate a theme developed by the graphic designer. Individual circumstances will dictate which is the best approach.
- Upon completion of the website it is normal to launch the new online business with some sort of marketing campaign. Often there is an offline component to this campaign such distributing fliers or 3-fold brochures to existing customers or prospects. Once again this will require the services of your graphic designer. And because they will have already set the key design elements in place at the logo development stage (including fonts and colours) the resultant brochures will be designed to support the brand.
