Have you ever seen a brand without a logotype? No?
That’s because there is no such thing out there.
Branding and logo, in particular, have a significant impact on your customers’ perception of your brand. So, naturally, you would want your logo to be outstanding. But how will you get that point?
Photo by Austin Distel
Let’s explore some aspects one needs to know about the perfect logo for you and your business. They say there are more designers than ever before offering their service, but even if you are not the one doing it – it helps a lot to understand the underlying principles.
Why your business needs a logo and why it has to be great
It’s safe to say that business is similar dating – one tries to attract the right customers and make them fall in love until their world turns upside down.
So imagine your logo as a picture on your dating profile. That is something that will make people show swipe right.
So you want to look better than anyone else, huh?
Since your logo is an integral part of your brand, you want to make sure that it will be implemented correctly. All your branded materials will have your logo on them. The logo will be facing customers from your website packaging as well as from your business cards.
Make it count!
An excellent, professional logo design should not only be able to convey what you stand for but should also make an excellent first impression and help you stand out from your competition.
Define your brand identity
You want your logo to reflect your brand identity. To do this, first of all, you need to understand, in essence, the personality of your brand. Once you form a clear idea of your Unique Selling Proposition (unless you have a commodity service or product), it will be much easier for you to choose a design that compliments and best suits your brand identity.
Find inspiration for your design
The most challenging part of the process might be to find inspiration. Luckily, we have a few tips for you that will make it easier for you.
Start by brainstorming
Here are three steps to get things going
- Brainstorm. Pull out all the ideas (even the worst ones) and writing them down. Even a terrible idea can ignite a conversation that could lead to a brilliant decision.
- Think about how your audience feels: Make a list of words that describe your brand and how you want it to be perceived. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes, and always consider what is important to them.
- Involve everyone: A brainstorming session with one person is a good thing, but only diversity will convert magic into a reality. Involve people from any department or even friends and business partners. The more ideas, the better.
When it comes to brainstorming for your logo, do not be afraid to think outside the box and be a little different. Ideas don’t have to be overly interconnected. An original choice of your logo helps the business express its character and stand out from the crowd.
Check out your competition
Where is the best place to get inspirational ideas from? Your competition! Check what already exists, what works well with your audience, and what you should avoid. When following other companies, think about how they differ from you and how to highlight these differences in your logo design.
If all the other enterprises in your industry become monochrome, you may want to choose different colors to stand out more. If all the others are traditional, perhaps a funny or even modern logo will attract more attention.
Choose your design style
Now that you have a clear vision and (I hope so) feel inspired, it’s time to start translating this all into a design.
There are many different aspects to consider – from colors, shapes, and graphics to printing. The isolation of each component and what it can do for your logo will help you to find different things step by step, rather than overloading the entire design process.
By the way, here is a directory of logo designs I like to look at for inspiration when dealing with commodity services and products.
Pay attention to color
Colors can carry tons of different meanings. The psychology underlying color is complicated. However, in brief, colors have certain emotions and ideas associated with them. Learn more about color theory.
- Red means excitement, passion, and anger; a great choice if your brand is loud, young, and eager to stand out.
- Orange is not as widely used as red, but it is just as energetic. It is a bright and playful color.
- Yellow – to look accessible and friendly; it is the right color choice. It gives a joyful, convenient, and youthful energy.
- Green – is extremely versatile and is especially ideal for those who want to connect with nature or just ride the green marketing wave 🙂
- Blue – a very classic and common choice. It is soothing and refreshing, symbolizing reliability and maturity.
- Purple – can be your ticket for a luxurious view. Depending on the shade, purple might feel mysterious, eclectic, or feminine.
- Pink – with shades such as pastel rose, thousand-year-old pink, or neon purple, pink can give your logo a fresh and adult look but remain young and feminine.
- Brown – at first, brown may seem like a strange choice of color, but it is perfect for manly and robust vintage logos. It can give your brand a masculine, unique, and bold look.
- Black – if you’re looking for an elegant, modern, and luxurious look, black is a great choice. The minimalist black and white logo is the best option if you want to make it easy to use.
- White – do you want your logo to look clean, modern, and minimalistic? Use much white in your logo. As a neutral color, it works well with all other colors but adds purity and youthfulness.
- Grey – is the ideal color if you want to achieve a sophisticated, classic, and severe look. Darker shades look mysterious.
Pick the right typography
You should choose a font that compliments and best suits your logo. There are four basic types of fonts it’s possible to work with:
Serif fonts
That font family makes your logo classic and upscale. Serif fonts are small “legs” at the end of the letter, making them a little more old-fashioned.
While versatile and working great with any design, they work exceptionally well with vintage, elegant, or classic looks.
Sans serif fonts
Sans-serif fonts are ideal for a modern and clean design. They do not have small legs with serrated fonts, which makes them look very smooth and straightforward. That works great for your more modern brands.
Script fonts
Writing fonts are like handwriting. From elegant calligraphic fonts to casual and simple fonts, there is an excellent variety of them. Use them to make your logo more original and unique.
Display fonts
These are fonts that are decorative fonts, which are very stylish and appealing. Your logo print can become powerful when you combine different fonts of the logo.
What makes an excellent logo?
A good logo is immediately recognizable. It reflects the idea of your brand and highlights who you and your business are. An effective logo looks professional and fits perfectly into the individuality of the brand.
A great logo also needs to work in any size, and anywhere you want to use your logo.
A good logo:
- unique and distinctive
- is memorable.
- works in any size and anywhere.
- Reflects your brand identity
- Is timeless
Ask yourself these questions when evaluating your logo options:
- Can you tell us what is happening in 2 seconds? Will people immediately know what your business is doing and what it is all about?
- Is it simple and memorable?
- Is it universal?
- Is it timeless, or will you have to redesign it in a couple of years?
- Is it unique and set you apart from your competitors?
- Does it attract your target audience?
Your brand’s logo needs and expectations will be very different. For example, if you sell children’s clothing, you might need a simple logo that can be sewn to the fabric rather than if you are making sophisticated wines with an intricate label, or a high-tech application that runs on people’s phones.
That is not about personal preferences but is about what is best suited to your brand.
To sum it up
As soon as you have a logo, you have created an ideal basis for all the branding materials needed for your business, whether it be business cards, packaging design, or web design.
Setting the right tone for style, color palette, font, general look, as well as the feel of the logo is the starting point for promoting your brand.
By following this ultimate guide, you or your designer should be able to create a logo that is flawless and adequately represents you and your business.
That is how your business will be ready to show the world its brand new face!
