Overview
What is a Logo?
A logo is a symbol, image, or design that represents a company, organisation, or product.
It helps people recognise who you are and what you stand for.
Logos can include:
- Text (like your company name)
- Shapes or icons
- Colours that match your brand style
Think of a logo as the face of your brand—it’s often the first thing people see and remember.
What is Branding?
Branding is everything that shapes how people see and feel about your organisation.
It includes your logo, colours, fonts, tone of voice, and the overall style of your communications.
Branding helps:
- Make your organisation look consistent and professional
- Build trust and recognition
- Show your values and personality
Naming your service
If you have not already established a name for your service or website, or you wish to change it, you will need to decide that in the early stages.
The name you choose for your service is important to its success.
Picking the right name means that users can:
- find your service more easily when they search online
- understand what your service does and easily decide whether to use it
When to name your service
You should try to name your service by the end of the discovery phase. By this stage you should have:
- defined the problem you’re trying to solve
- learned more about the context of the task your users are trying to do
How to name your service
Good service names:
- use the words users use
- are based on analytics and user research
- describe a task, not a technology
- do not need to change when policy or technology changes
- are verbs, not nouns
- do not include government department or agency names
- are not brand-driven or focused on marketing
Examples of service names
You can use these service names as good examples:
- Bins, Recycling and Waste
- Jobs in Somerset (previously DAS Dillington Advertising Service)
- Somerset Domestic Abuse Service (previously SIDAS Somerset Integrated Domestic Abuse Service)
- The register to vote service
Before the register to vote service was created, it was known internally as the Individual Electoral Registration System.
After doing research with users and staff, the service team found the name was confusing people. This made the service harder for users to understand and more expensive to deliver.
We also use this naming convention for our forms or ‘transactions’.
Somerset Council design services
Somerset Council’s small in-house design team is made up of graphic designers from the former district and county councils.
They offer a range of design services from graphics and posters to full rebranding. This includes the effective implementation of the new Somerset Council branding, which was delivered internally at a fraction of the cost of an external agency.
If you have a query, you can contact the design team by emailing design@somerset.gov.uk
Key principles
Anything using the Somerset Council brand and all marketing materials must meet the Council’s standards for accessibility, equality and branding, and represent good value for money, getting key points of information across in the most effective way.
Therefore, all design work and promotional materials must be delivered or signed off by the design team. This may carry a cost.
Cost
High-quality graphic design takes time to produce and can be expensive.
Previously, the five councils had different models of delivering graphic design with a mixture of in-house and outsourcing, and different approaches to charging.
The interim team is not fully funded, and so is currently operating using a cost-recovery model. This helps to protect standards and ensures all design is on brand and meets all accessibility standards. It is more cost-effective than outsourcing and ensures the delivery of high-quality design at below market rate.
Which design services are provided for free?
Advice
No charge for advice about any potential design project or use of branding.
Signing off
No charge for signing off materials created using templates, unless edits by our team are required.
Key council documents
No charge for designing key documents such as the Council Plan.
Signage
We have a separate LGR budget for rebranding old Council signage, unless it falls into one of the categories in the table below.
Out-of-date branding
Generally, no charge for replacing logos and simple edits to out-of-date branded materials, unless it falls into one of the categories below or substantial redesigns are required.
Design services, which usually carry a cost
Anything that doesn’t use the main corporate Somerset Council branding
Partnership work, development of sub-brands, and standalone campaigns
Campaigns and major projects
Design for all campaign or project materials, artwork and communications should be funded from the overall campaign or project budget
Traded services
Materials produced for traded services, even if these use corporate branding
Commissioned work
If you have a design requirement that we cannot fulfil, either because of capacity or because it requires a specialism, we can help you find an external designer. We will also need to sign off on materials and may charge a handling fee.
Anything where there are plans to print or purchase materials
Design costs should be considered as part of the total cost of delivery.
Can I commission design independently?
No. Although Somerset Council does commission external designers, this still needs oversight from the design team to ensure materials meet our branding and accessibility requirements. All design work should be discussed and approved by the design team before external agencies are approached.