Tek Tip: Is your logo still effective?

Some very well designed logos can stand the test of time.  Classic fonts and simple iconic structure may keep the design fresh for years.  However, times change and this may leave your once trendy logo behind the competition.  How do you know when you need an update?  Here are a few things to consider when evaluating your logo.

1. Simply put, does your logo look dated or tired?  Take a look at your competition and notice larger companies that have updated their logo recently and see how they have evolved their logos to fit the times.  Sometimes it is just a case of color.  Apple is a great example, from the original multi-colored logo to the simple solid apple of today.  Same shape, more modern.

2. Is it flexible enough for your use?  Make sure your logo works well on dark and light backgrounds.  Also, view it in black and white or gray-scale and see if it is still as strong.  Was your logo designed professionally?  Do you have flexible files for any size project, or are you constantly trying to make your logo fit?

3. How strong is the typography?  Does it send the right message?  Do a little research into the font(s) or ask a professional for advice.  Does it give off a professional feeling?  Are your findings in line with the message you are trying to send?

4. Is it simple and clean?  Some of the most well known logos are very simple, either an iconic design or a specific typeface that speaks perfectly to the brand.  How many fonts does your logo use?  A good rule of thumb is not to use over 2 per logo.

5. Has your company gone through a big change recently like a merge or expansion?  This would be a perfect time to update the image of your brand, starting with a new logo design.

Updating your company’s logo is a big decision.  If your logo is outdated, a fresh look may bring excitement to the business as a whole.  Overall, seek professional advice and do your research.  For advice on branding and corporate identity, our team would be more than happy to discuss our services and your logo with you.  Contact us today!

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5 Quick Tips to Optimize Load Time on your Website

Make sure your load time is low and test your website’s performance often.  The last thing you want is to lose viewers to your website because it is taking too long to load and they get impatient!

1. Use external CSS and JS files.  Using inline files increases the rendering time of a web page.  Browsers will cache external files, making page loading much faster.

2.  Format images properly.  Resize your images to the exact size your site needs.  Using html width and height properties to reduce an image.  Larger file sizes take longer to load, so this will help minimize load time.  Also, make sure you use the appropriate file format.  If you don’t need transparency, save images as JPG.  Learn which file format would be best for your images and then use them accordingly.

3. Use text instead of images.  Not only is using images instead of text (for custom fonts) useless for SEO, but it also increases loading time.  Learn about web fonts instead.

4. Write clean, efficient code.  Make sure your site doesn’t have unused scripts or tags.  Also, minimize your html with more detailed CSS.  When you are finished with your CSS, compress it by removing line breaks, commas, comments, etc.

5. Keep everything up to date.  Are you using WordPress for your website?  Running updates often will keep your site smooth with the latest and greatest code.  Developers add more efficient code into these updates that may save you loading time.

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Tek Tip: An Invaluable Network Tool

I want to recommend an invaluable tool that will save loads of time determining security structure in your Microsoft network. The tool is Security Explorer. Security Explorer delivers a unified solution for complete access control and security management across your entire Windows network. You can back up, recover, manage, search, migrate and report on permissions for Windows Server, Exchange Server, SharePoint Server and SQL Server from a common, graphical user interface. Please download the free trial (www.quest.com) to discover how much you need this tool if you’re a network administrator.

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