My Avatar, Myself

If a picture tells a thousand words, your avatar logo can do it with open arms.

Successful small businesses these days understand how to market their services in a catchy way, represented by written content as well as visual images. These same companies are also linked in with various social networking websites in order to further promote their image and brand to a wider audience.

With an audience of thousands, maybe even millions, viewing their product, businesses have to decide what sort of picture will represent them as their avatar on online social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. An avatar is that tiny fingernail photo used as a visual representation for a company or individual. Depending on the sort of picture an entrepreneur decides to use, these photos can make or break a business.

A company will want to use a picture that catches the eye instantly, but doesn’t paint them in a bad light or misrepresent what they have to offer. For these reasons, most corporations use their company logo for their online avatars. Why not? If you’re going to build your web presence, it’s best to start with an image that does the talking for you. Interacting with customers in your line of business will go far in terms of building and establishing long-term customer relationships between consumers and companies.

When looking into creating their company logo, MyCorporation got involved with their customers and offered a contest on graphic design site crowdspring.com for one grand prize winner to design the logo for their company. This is a great way to get the customer involved, creating an image that they know others will instantly respond to positively and adding elements of design that others are sure to aesthetically embrace.

MyCorporation’s design is of four boxes arranged in a diamond pattern. Three of these boxes are dark blue and close together with one light blue one slightly detached. The thought process behind the design is to step and think “outside of the box”, both figuratively and literally. The light blue box, in its forward separation from the other three, represents forward thinking, essential for entrepreneurs.

When working to create an avatar design, one should look into the sorts of colors and shapes they might use to best convey their message with. Reading more about what these colors and shapes represent definitely helps in beginning to create a catchy image that corresponds with your company mission. For example, MyCorporation uses diamond shaped boxes. Diamonds typically represent promises and the future, both of which MyCorporation works with their customers to ensure positive long-term work with.

With colors, dark blue is a color used within corporate America for providing stability and serious expertise. Combining it with the light blue box that represents trust and understanding shows that MyCorporation’s logo stands out for being serious about the work they do, but understanding in best being able to reach out to their customers and their needs, welcoming them to the company with the tagline “entrepreneurs welcome.”

If you are looking into creating your own avatar and aren’t sure what sort of creative direction you want to go in, communicate with your customers. Offer a contest with a prize for the design that represents your business the best and Tweet it to your followers and Facebook fan page. Make sure the image you use makes you and the work that you provide, instantly distinguished both online and offline, as you’ll wind up using these logos for business cards, pens, and coffee mugs among many marketing manufactured products. When in doubt, keep your design simple and clutter-free as well as attractive to other industries. Seeing is believing, after all, and a successful avatar guarantees great first impressions.