Designing an interface can be extremely difficult when you’ve got a subpar logo or lackluster brand to start with. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received a logo designed in Word or MS Paint and then been expected to “build upon” that with some incredible, unique interface that completely melts people’s faces off with amazingness.

Getting off on the wrong foot with a terrible logo or even just a poorly planned identity can cause a great deal of harm to an interface design project. It is extremely difficult to build a website or application on a cracked or unlevel foundation. Without purposeful, intentional brand development, that is exactly what you are asked to do. If you asked a homebuilder to build a house on top of the foundation you poured with your best friend’s cousin who has used a cement mixer before, odds are they wouldn’t touch your project with a ten-foot pole. Why should an interface designer be any different? Why should they be expected to work with a brand that can’t stand on its own, let alone hold up other components of a business?

How important is a company’s brand to you? Will you take on projects that require you to incorporate an ugly logo? How often do you hold your tongue in recommending a new logo or brand, even though you know it will be detrimental to the success of the company?