Running a business can be incredibly expensive — especially if that business happens to be a new vape shop that needs to keep up with changing trends among e-cigarette users while trying to build a customer base. If you really want to build awareness in your community and gain new customers, though, a vape shop logo is an expense that you simply can’t avoid. Getting a logo for your vape shop is an investment that can pay great dividends in the long run as your customers begin to remember your brand and associate your company with an image.
A great logo is a single image that sums up your vape shop at a glance. It’s not something that’s likely to come out of Microsoft Word — and unless you understand design and psychology principles, creating a logo really isn’t something you should do on your own. Here’s why it’s important.
A Great Logo Grabs Attention
When you see this logo on the side of the road, do you notice it?
You probably do. The BP logo is bright, beautiful and designed to attract attention from a great distance.
Now, look at these logos.
If you added “VAPE SHOP” in big red letters to this strip mall, do you think that anyone would notice unless they happened to be shopping there already? Probably not. A great logo will make heads turn — and you have to get attention before you can get a customer.
A Logo Generates Brand Awareness and Recognition
Have you ever seen one of these things before?
If you live anywhere near an IKEA, chances are that you have. This bag — the IKEA Frakta — sells for just 99 cents. IKEA sells 3 million of them each year. It’s unlikely that IKEA makes any money at all on the sale. Here’s the genius part, though — the Frakta is actually a really good bag. It holds up to 30 pounds, which makes it useful for just about everything — and whenever someone uses the bag, people see the IKEA logo.
Why is it important that people see your vape shop’s logo? Again, it’s all about generating brand awareness and recognition. Putting your logo in front of people makes them aware that your vape shop exists. If people already know about your vape shop, your logo reminds them. The best logos are striking and instantly recognizable:
A Logo Evokes Emotion
A designer can use color when creating your vape shop’s logo to evoke a specific emotion. Look at this graphic:
Think about how companies use those colors to subtly alter public perception. The green BP logo makes the company appear in harmony with nature. The yellow Cheerios logo gives you a feeling of optimism in the morning. The purple Hallmark logo evokes a feeling of regality. Wouldn’t you like to convey an emotion through your vape shop’s logo?
A Logo Gives Your Vape Shop an Image of Professionalism
A company that invests in a great logo automatically creates a more professional image for itself in the minds of its customers — and appearances really do matter. If you select a timeless logo and avoid trendy design elements, you’ll give your vape shop an air of permanence and reliability.
A Logo Establishes a Brand’s Identity and Personality
Have you ever noticed the implied arrow between the “E” and “X” in the FedEx logo? The logo subtly conveys a sense of motion, establishing FedEx’s identity as a brand that keeps packages moving.
The Red Bull logo does an excellent job of establishing the brand’s personality, too. Imagine how your perception of the brand would change if Red Bull’s logo artist had worked with a different concept:
A great logo can establish the personality of your vape shop and help you attract your target audience. What audience would you like to attract?
Changing a Logo Later Is Difficult
When your vape shop first launches — and money is tight — it might be tempting to design your own logo for free or ask a friend to do it for you. Once you have a logo, though, people are going to associate it strongly with your company — and changing a logo is hard to do. Reportedly, BP’s new logo shown above — and the coinciding rebranding campaign — cost $211 million. There’s also the possibility that your customers will hate your new logo. In 2010, Gap attempted to change its logo. Customers hated the new logo so much that Gap reverted to the old logo only four days later. It’s far easier to choose the right logo first than it is to fix it later.
An Original Logo Minimizes the Possibility of Infringement
Legally speaking, you can’t necessarily fire up a word processor, choose your favorite font, type your company’s name and call it a logo. A font is an original work that someone owns. Do you have the legal right to use that font in a derivative commercial work? Likewise, attempting to draw an original logo from scratch can be dangerous — a possibility exists that you could infringe on an existing trademark, even without meaning to. Plagiarism is hardly new in logo design, but you don’t want to be the one who gets a letter from someone’s lawyer. A good logo designer should at least run a reverse image search and conduct a basic trademark search before handing your vape shop’s new logo over to you.
Jason Artman founded eCig One after switching from smoking to vaping in 2010 and has been a professional writer and SEO consultant since 2007. His work has been featured on television and in leading publications, and it has been referenced in numerous peer-reviewed journals. Jason works with leading vape brands around the world to generate targeted web traffic and increase their revenue.
