How Do I Not Offend My Boss

6 replies
Hi,

Its been a long time since I've posted here hope everyone is doing well I've missed this place.

Well anyway I am in charge of the Web Design / social media for the company that I currently work for. The company is a small record label, but also donates a large sum of its proceeds to veterans of the united states military.

Basically what I am having trouble with is the logo that my boss created. It is basically the ugliest / most unprofessional logo I have ever seen, but my boss likes it because she says " its not perfect just like the veterans we help". Now of course that is a nice thought, but business wise I just feel like it is a horrible decision. I feel like the logo is such a big part of a business because its what people remember the business by and from the reading i have done a logo alone can turn people on or off to a business very quickly.

So I wanted to try to explain to her the importance of having a more professional logo without offending her in the process.

Warriors how would you recommend I go about doing this and what are some things I can say to show her how important it is to have a nicer logo.

- Eric
#boss #offend
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Freeman
    What you are trying to do is not an easy task. Things are even harder if it is your boss.

    Sometimes people fall in love with their idea or design even if it the worst thing in the world. I have found it is sometimes easier for a neutral third party to say something.

    You can show your boss all the statics of how a logo influences potential clients, but at the end of the day if they love it there may be little you can do.
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    • Profile picture of the author Eric Land
      You hit the nail on the head unfortunately she has fallen in love with her idea which is just not a great one. She has had plenty of other great ideas, but I just do not agree with this one. I feel like it is part of my job just to say something to her even if maybe I do offend her because my job is to make the website look as good as possible.

      I like the third party Idea, but I feel like that would be asking someone to throw themselves under the bus.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Tandan
    I think the best way to 'sway' your boss may be by showing her examples of logos of similar companies, in similar industries.
    If she's in love with her idea you need to feed her ego by saying you feel the concept is awesome, but in order to do the best for the business and the people it helps perhaps something that is more readily accepted by the mainstream would be an option. And to do this you need examples.
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  • Profile picture of the author lotsofsnow
    Basing a logo decision on one person's opinion could be wrong.

    I know from experience that you can have the best ideas but
    unless you survey your market you are more likely to fail than win.

    On the other hand:

    There are examples of really bad logo decisions out there that
    did not immediately kill the company (Pepsi) and there are
    examples of bad logo decisions that almost killed the company (Gap)
    and had to be reversed.

    Now, if the logo is so bad that it kills the company, hopefully almost,
    then your boss hopefully sees it before the funeral.

    If you tell your boss before it might avoid the companies funeral
    but you might not be there to witness.

    So, I guess your best bet might be to (carefully) suggest to do a survey
    "just to be sure" and to "maybe get some ideas that might even improve the logo
    design to perfection".


    HP

    PS:
    "ugliest / most unprofessional" can prove to be the wisest decision.

    What is ugly is a matter of opinion.
    A torn jeans for example can look ugly and unprofessional. The same
    jeans worn by the right person might be sexy as hell and the whole
    appearance could be far from ugly or unprofessional.

    So, a survey might uncover that your boss is the genius and you
    are [insert adjective]. LOL
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  • Profile picture of the author WordpressManiac
    Maybe you can redesign the ugly Logo in a more professional way. This would mean to use her idea but your design skill...
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  • Profile picture of the author lukeblower
    I agree with Mark, show other logos to your boss, gently persuade that a change might be good.
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