When my wife worked for Marchon Eyewear she would pick up business cards of many of the optometry practices that she visited. I knew that one day our office would have to update our office name and redesign the logo at the same time. These business cards that my wife picked up were great examples of what other ODs were doing in regards to name and logo. It was during this exercise that I realized how important a name and logo are for the communication of who you are as a practice.
Recently, the growth of OptometryCEO has required me to look further into designing a logo that would communicate a company that is leading the next generation of eye doctors. In my research I found many companies have used a place online called crowdSPRING. You post the needs that you have for a logo and a dollar figure that rewards the winning designer, I chose $350 (w/ fees, etc. = $440). After this you wait for the designs to come into your crowdSPRING account and give feedback of what you like and don’t like. The designers make changes according to your requests. This experience has been fantastic and the sticker price is under $500 which is great considering most design companies have a small pool of designers for that kind of price. This of course assumes you can find someone to design the logo under $500. I continue to be in the process so the final designer has not been chosen, however, my experience thus far dictates the necessity to use this service when the office redesigns our name and logo.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a new logo for your eye care practice….
- Professionalism
- I have most recently viewed a logo where the design looks like my 2-year-old came up with it. Unfortunately, when patients view this they form and subconscious opinion about the professionalism of your practice. If the logo has eyeglasses only and you focus on eye medicine your practice may get looked over when potential patients see your logo on the banner of your website.
- Simplicity
- When you see an apple what do you think?
Simple keeps it memorable and you want patients to remember you. You also do not want them to be confused with multiple images and colors.
- When you see an apple what do you think?
- Color
- Pick a color that communicates who you are and what you want patients to feel when they see your logo. Red is the color of passion and fire which strikes emotional responses that are dynamic and responsive. Blue is a color of tranquility and peace with a sense of trust. I would recommend researching the colors of communication.
- Core Values
- When you communicate to the designers what you are looking for don’t forget to mention your core values.
- Timeless
- Unless you want to redesign your logo every 3 years, choose a logo that does not have trendy shapes, colors or images. One of my designs submitted in crowdSPRING had an image that looked like the old Partridge family bird. With retro images being the new normal this creates a trendy logo that will fade with fashions of the time.
I enjoy the design aspect and have worked with our website in designing various pages so outsourcing the logo was difficult for me. Too often my sense of know how can cloud my judgement in deciding when someone more talented, better trained, and experienced, should take the role. Wisdom has taught me that hiring those trained in their respective field, such as design, allows me the freedom to focus on being a CEO and not a graphic designer. Follow OptometryCEO to find out the winning design.