Colors and Logos

We were recently asked to produce a dimensional sign for a local business that had a really cool logo made up of letters and shapes.

They had previously used the logo online and for business cards. Upon inspection of their logo in Illustrator CS3, I found that the 4 spot colors in the logo were CMYK mixes rather than PMS colors. Since we were planning to produce the logo out of routed and painted acrylic, I needed to come up with a target to shoot at for the custom paint colors. Upon consulting with the client, I learned what has become a routine finding for us when working with small businesses; the client had no idea what the PMS colors were and said he trusted me to pick them out - no physical color match required. I know better than to take that decision into my own hands, and I have no desire to own one of their logos to put on my wall!

The point of all this is simply to say to all those small business owners out there, take a few minutes to sit with your sign designer to pick out the PMS colors if you have not previously done so. You can then provide that as a reference for whoever will print posters, banners, vehicle graphics, and even business cards for you. I can't say enough about how important it is to keep your branding consistent, that is if you wish to grow your business! Your logo sends a message about what kind of business you run, and you want that to be a positive message.

Scotty
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