Identify Your Brand With a Logo

Last month we talked about branding your law firm. We noted that each law firm has a brand, whether it is one you create and control or one imposed on you from the outside world. A logo or symbol representing your firm can be the cornerstone of your brand. A great logo comes to identify your firm to the world. Clients look for it and new clients searching on the web will be drawn to it.

Some products are known by a symbolic logo. Think McDonald’s golden arches, Macintosh apple, or the Nike swoosh. Most products, however, like law firms, are known by their name. The name is the basis of the logo. They use a particular color and font to distinguish their name and identify their brand. Coca-Cola (red), Ford (blue), Amazon (black, orange), or FedEx (red, blue) are examples.

A law firm generally uses the founding partners as the name of the firm regardless of adding partners. To turn that name into a logo, ask yourself:

What does your law firm stand for?
What separates your law firm from others?
Does the name say it all? If so, that’s the logo.
Could the logo benefit from a design treatment or color?
Do you need a tagline?

Fonts, Color, & Symbols

A font is a particular style of a typeface. The right font not only makes reading easier but also can create an emotional reaction. The font can be silly, old fashioned, modern, business-like, or traditional. You want to select a font that reflects your firm.

Color affects the reader also. If you add color to your logo, know that each color creates an emotion. For example:

Red—active, aggressive
Blue—trustworthy, wise
Yellow—energetic
Green—relaxed, hopeful
Orange—creative, joy
Black—serious, strong
Brown—reliable

For attorneys, the traditional symbols used in logos are usually gavels, scales of justice, and columns. They stand for justice and law and order and are powerful, however, if used be sure they reflect your practice. Don’t just use stock images, ask the designers to incorporate the symbol into your name.

Share your new logo with a good selection of people you trust. Pick lawyers and non-lawyers. Usually someone in the group will see any problems. Don’t try to design the logo yourself, select a designer. And don’t over-think it. Trust your intuition. You’ll know which logo reflects you and your practice.

Logos can evolve. As your firm grows and changes, the logo may have to change to reflect the newer firm. Handle the change wisely and your logo will continue to serve you well.

Once you have the logo, use it on your web page, social media accounts such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and every piece of correspondence that goes out of your office. And it should be included in your profile in the SBM Member Directory.

Roberta Gubbins has served as the editor of the Ingham County Legal News. Since leaving the paper, she provides services as a ghostwriter editing articles, blogs, and e-blasts for lawyers and law firms. She is the editor of Briefs, the Ingham County Bar Association e-newsletter, and The Mentor, SBM Master Lawyers Section newsletter.

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