Your logo design is the first impression that most new customers will encounter when considering buying from your company. Make it the most persuasive possible by following these tips from top branding experts.
A logo is a crucial part of an effective branding strategy, nevertheless designing one which is both representative of your brand and visually attractive needs a strategy. You want a logo that's capable of embodying your whole brand and highlights your business values without being too busy looking so it loses its visual appeal. Learn what not to do from the worst logos of all time.
Corporate brands such as Nike, Starbucks, and Apple have logos that lots of marketers would think about the "best of the best" due to how successful they've been. These logos may stand alone without a text or icon and immediately capture the interest of consumers and provide them the complete comprehension of precisely what the company products are about.
Whether you have an existing logos which requires a redesign or need a new logos for your startup here are guidelines for success.
1. Simple is Best
Maintaining your logo as simple as possible is key. Too many elements and colors can make it more difficult for both clients to understand. Too many flashy components in style can be distracting and take away from your objective of your logo -- to function as a representation of your brand.
Whether you are developing a new logo for a new business or redesigning a logo that's obsolete, a logo is meant to represent your brand, so it is ideal to keep them visually attractive while employing a clean layout. A fantastic guideline is to ensure all logos look great in black and white only. While you may ultimately use colors, if the design works well in black - it is powerful.
2. Where Is The Logo Being Used?
When you are in the process of a new logo design or are redesigning a present logo, you need to always consider where the logo is going to be used and how it may look. From business cards to poster boards, to web pages, it is important to consider how your logo will look both offline and online.
Uber recently redesigned their logo to accurately portray the "narrative" of the own brand. As nearly all of their clients use the program in their telephones, it is very likely that the brand needed to mostly concentrate on the way the logo would look on a cell phone icon screen.
Failing to look at the potential use of your logo could lead to a lot of difficulties in the future. If your logo will be painted on trucks, on big billboards, or even on little business cards, it is crucial that you consider how the layout will look on each these platforms. Something which looks great on a business card may not render well when put on a tall billboard, so always think of how your logo will appear on many different platforms before choosing the last design.
3. Update Your Logo Regularly
Regrettably, the best logos do not last forever. To be able to remain timely and up-to-date, it is important to think about modest tweaks to keep your logo current. That said, if your logo has been productive before, it is sometimes not the ideal option to perform a significantly drastic change from the design you've been using. Sometimes a simple shift in fonts or employing a cleaner icon may do a lot to create a logo that is more fitting with the times.
If you are looking for a new logo for your organization or are going through a period in which you are rebranding your company, concentrate on looking for a balance. If you are working with the ideal group of designers and new marketers you may discover a happy medium between the present emblem, an upgraded design that elicits a brand new look and texture.
Lately, Marriott resorts shifted their famous emblem design to something a little more up-to-date. This logo redesign is a good example of finding a balance between a new and aged appearance. They maintained the iconic "M" but made the remainder of the text black rather than the conventional red. The clean design isn't a radical shift out of their previous logo, but has an updated style and looks modern today.
4. Classics are Always in Style
As mentioned above, sometimes after a period, your logo design is overdue for an upgrade. A general principle to follow when redesigning your logo is to avoid anything that's trendy since it will not last forever. Too frequently brands pick a design which has a cool look and feel, and this can be an expensive mistake. If you decide on a logo that's super hip, rather than something with longevity, it is unlikely to remain present, and it may not be fitting with your brand core values. Watch this video of 8 Laws of Branding from Entrepreneur.com
5. The Right Process
Lastly, once you're starting the logo design procedure, it is vital that you take the required actions to make certain you're crafting a design which can effectively drive brand awareness for your business.
I used 99designs and I loved the easy intuitive process on their website - read my review of 99designs logo contests. The site is designed to walk you through your thought process of drafting a comprehensive Logo Design Brief. They make it easy - you select pictures you like and words that resonate with your brand - then the talent designers submit logos for your feedback.
BONUS TIP:
Logo Design Term - Look and Feel - Explained to Businesspeople
Did your picture designer ask you about the "Look and Feel", and you're stumped. Here is a explanation of this artsy term that's often used when discussing logos.
The LOOK of Style
This usually means the visual look of this logo, which encircles the design. Fortunately we do not have to compose which sort of style in words. Rather, I advise you to collect logo illustrations that draw you and to possess the sort of appearance you need in your business logo. Professional site design sites, like 99designs, offer a selection of sample logo images that you select and such as your design short to inform the picture artists to appear you want. It is simple to just indicate the images you would like, plus they are added to our logo design brief automatically.
The FEEL of Design
Here is where the logo speaks your organization's benefits to prospective customers. Are you currently proficient, friendly, more private or cheaper? These benefits can be conveyed with a good logo. Professional logo designers understand how to pick the words which you detail in your logo brief and interpret them into design that speaks to your clients. Consider the words you speak when explaining your your services and products and include those in your design brief. I love the sliders on the 99designs site. There are several options of which you can slide the handle to signify lesser or greater quantity of those feelings for example:
Vintage -- Modern
Mature -- Young
Girly -- Masculine
Play -- Complex
Cheap -- Luxury
Geometric -- Organic
Abstract -- Literal
About the Author:
Marsha Kelly sold her first business for more than a million dollars. She has shared hard-won experiences as a successful serial entrepreneur on her Best4Businesses blog best4businesses.com. Marsha also regularly posts business tips, ideas, and suggestions as well as product reviews for business readers. As a serial entrepreneur who has done “time” in corporate America, Marsha has learned what products and services really work well in business today. You can learn from her experiences from shopping the internet for tools, supplies, and information to build your businesses and improve lives financially.