How much does a bad logo cost?

According to research made by Business Insider on the highest amount of dollars a company spent on designing a logo, it listed BP as the company with the most dollars spent on a logo. In 2008, the company paid an Ad Agency a whopping sum of $211 million to put together two letters and three colours.

The point is that companies spend a lot of money in designing their logos because logos are visual representatives. A representative, whether visual or human, infers perception on the public. When you have a good rep, people see your company in good light. If bad, then the reverse is obtainable. In essence, bad logos are detrimental. To what extent are they?

In 2010, when Gap (A clothing retailer) attempted to alter its logo, they had bad feedback from both the public and shareholders. A business review writer in particular, said this, “The logo seems like an object my hamster pet could cook up in PowerPoint.” The message here is that the logo is tacky.

The perceived value of a bad logo would translate to the kind of perception the company gets from potential shareholders and customers. Now this is highly detrimental.

Furthermore, in as much as companies do spend huge amounts to achieve the best logos, it’s however, a bad practice to have logos with multiple colours. These kinds of logos would cost double in printing & production than you would have with logos having minimal colours.

So, if you do think that BP wasn’t financially prudent enough to have spent $211 million on a logo, then also imagine the amount of damages it’d incur due to a bad logo.