One of the best parts about working with businesses to design their logo, brand and identity is taking part in the big picture. Often many people are pretty short sighted and think that getting an awesome logo will fix their issues and it is all up hill from there. But that is often, as many of us know, just not the case.
Something that as creatives, we often struggle with finishing. I published a blog earlier about why perfectionism is killing you. But this theme often has big implications in the quality of the product. We struggle with completing a job and saying that it is indeed "finished". This constant fear is what keeps us back from growing and essentially getting more (and important) work.
The constant need to nitpick, change kerning, colors, types, adjustments here and there in order to make it perfect. But this over-analyzation is not what is important.
One of the most recognizable logos on the planet is the Nike Swoosh. That icon can be seen around the world and even if some pretty far off corners and everyone still knows what it stands for. But the question I often ask is. "Can I (or you) make that?"
Am I able to make a logo like that. Now there is nothing incredible special about the check mark. Is the check mark so good that it helps Nike sell billions of dollars of product? Sure, a solid logo always helps. But is it the only reason they are so successful? Surely not.
Many designers are perfectly capable of drawing the swoosh or coming to a similar solution. It is not, technically speaking, a difficult logo to create. Nothing that makes the mark inherently impossible at a skill level for someone to come up with it.
The power of a mark is often found on the other end of things. The business and marketing aspect of what makes the company great. Does the company tell amazing stories? Offer incredible value? Impeccable customer service? Top of the line products? Etc etc. These are the things that make a company great and in turn make the logo have value.
This is why I encourage many designers to finish. If you have any chops you are able to make a good logo. Now, will it become as powerful and well known as the swoosh? That is up to the company and how they use the mark. Plenty of businesses are started every day and have fantastic logos. But poor execution and a million other reasons dooms them for failure.
This type of thinking leaves us designers open to be more valuable if we have the know how to help those companies get the most usage out of their identity. This valuable relationship helps us become more then just pixel pushers.
It doesn't need to be perfect, don't overthink something that just needs to be good enough.