Just as your individual signature identifies who you are as a person, your logo should accurately identify your business.  It's the visual tool that customers will use to make their first impression of your company and you definitely want that first impression to be a good one.   In order to successfully promote your business, you can not afford to overlook the importance of a well designed logo. A professional designer has the artistic ability to create a unique image specific to your company. 

A simple approach is usually the best approach, but it is imperative to have the proper balance of colors and/or shapes.  Your logo is a very important statement of who you are, because it will become your identity. It's how your customers will recognize and characterize you.  Equally important as the design of your logo, is the use of your logo.  Are you fun or serious?  Are you innovative or traditional? Do you wear boxers or briefs?

Your logo is more than just ink on paper, it's the signature of your business.

To advertise is to inform.  To inform is to increase interest.  And with interest, you can persuade and influence an action, like making a purchase.

Whether your advertising space is small or large, there are several key elements to keep in mind in order to create a powerful design.  It's no secret that advertising space is valuable, but it will be useless until you gain the attention of your readers.

The first step is to create contrast.  It's best to use a minimal amount of fonts, otherwise, you'll distract your reader.  And don't crowd your space.  While most companies think it's important to cram everything about their company into their advertising space, this will usually have an adverse effect.  Although white space seems like empty space, it's an important graphic element that should be used.  You must realize that you really aren't wasting space, but instead, are actually creating a cleaner space.  It will catch the eye of your reader, where a solid block of text won't even be read.

Secondly, it has been proven that when ads contain graphics or illustrations, it will be read more than an ad that only contains text.  Believe it or not, using graphics or illustrations that are large and interesting do get the best results!  Who doesn't remember the 'Got Milk' ads? At least one-quarter of your ad space should be dedicated to this vital element.  Smaller graphics will often distract your readers and rarely contain enough interest to draw any attention.

Balancing your advertisement space is another vital element.  By placing certain elements of your ad to be aligned all the way to the right or the left is often more interesting, so don't think that you must center everything.  Logos, graphics and text should be placed in a way that produce a well-flowing ad and is completely balanced across the space.

Lastly, do not forget the main purpose of your ad is to sell your product or service. Use a bold headline and make sure your contact information is displayed in a prominent place.

The most common mistakes made when designing an ad are unclear messages, typos, too much clutter and a lack of contact information.  The power is yours, so use is wisely.