When you think of big-name brands, what is the first thing that usually pops into your head? Their logo!
Logos play a very important role in the perception customers have of your brand. They are the most common way customers identify your business or brand. But did you know logos can also tell a story and create connections with your audience? This is why designing a logo for your business is a very important task.
How to Get Started Designing a Logo
Designing a logo can be an intimidating task, but it doesn’t have to be. To get started there are a few questions that you should ask yourself such as:
Why do I need a logo?
What is my brand identity?
What do similar brand logos look like?
What style logo am I going for?
What colors best represent my brand?
What font or typography styles fit my brand?
What shouldn't I do or incorporate into my logo?
Keep reading as we go more in-depth on these questions.
Why Do I Need a Logo?
There are many reasons brands need a logo; understanding why you need a logo is the first step to designing a logo that will work well for your business. Logos create a first impression, separate you from your competitors, and create a visual identity for your business or brand. Your logo will be everywhere your brand is: from your website, product labeling, storefront, advertisements to employee uniforms. This is why you want to make sure your logo design is well thought out and professionally designed. Also, you’ll want to make sure it fits multiple environments and applications: different sizing, on-building signage vs. apparel, and many other ways it may be presented to the public.
What is My Brand Identity?
Brand identity is the visual element of a brand. Brand identity includes your name, logo, colors, and overall design that customers think of when they think of you. Personally, your brand identity is what makes you unique and why you stand out from the competition. When you are developing your brand identity ask yourself the following questions:
What is our business’s message or values?
What makes us better than our competition?
What are 3 words that describe our brand?
You may ask, how do these questions help me design a logo? Well, if you know your brand’s values, personality, and why you stand out, it’s easier to develop the visuals to support that and design a memorable logo.
What Do Similar Brand's Logos Look Like?
Looking at your competition’s logos is strictly for research! This can show you what works and what doesn’t by studying their performance and logo designs side by side. You also want to make sure your logo stands out from your competitors. Choose colors and graphics that work with your business but do not get lost in the mix with your competitors.
What Style Logo am I Going For?
When deciding on a design style, there are many different directions you can go, classic, modern, vintage, fun, and even hand-drawn or hand-lettered are just a few. Let’s look at these styles and the feeling they promote.
Classic designs give the feeling of elegance, upscale or classy. They usually use simple typography and colors. A classic logo design also gives customers a feeling of security and trust.
Modern designs are very clean and sleek. They are typically one color with minimal elements. Modern designs usually give off a feeling of being trendy or current.
Vintage designs have the ability to bring people back to their childhood. They can give off a feeling of reliability and value, and show that history is important to your brand.
Fun designs are usually colorful and use illustrations to speak to their audience. Fun designs work well for businesses geared towards children or any business that promotes fun and excitement.
Hand-drawn or Hand-lettered logos work well for boutique or craft businesses. This option exudes handmade quality and a more personalized feel.
Depending on the industry you are in, a classic design style is always the safe choice to stand the test of time. But you should never count out other options; each of these styles can be designed to make your logo stand out like no other. You can even mix styles together to create an even more unique look. With logo design the possibilities are endless.
What Colors Best Represent My Brand?
Choosing a color or colors to represent your brand can be a daunting task. When designing your logo, it’s a good practice to start in black and white to get the design nailed down. Now it’s time to add some color, but where do you start? There are so many colors to choose from! When adding color, it’s important to choose colors that give off the feelings your business or brand promotes. Here are a few colors and some of the feelings they are matched with.
Red - passion, warmth, danger, violence, and aggression
Yellow - optimism, joy, enlightenment, and betrayal
Pink - femininity, shallowness, and tenderness
Purple - luxury and power
Green - harmony, tranquility, and peace
Color psychology is the study of how certain colors affect human behavior. To learn more about color psychology visit https://www.colorpsychology.org/.
What Font or Typography Styles Fit My Brand?
Just like colors, fonts can make or break a logo design. There are a few basic font styles to pick from: serif, sans serif, script, and decorative. Some good rules of thumb when choosing fonts are:
Serif Fonts – work well with vintage, elegant or classic designs.
Sans Serif Fonts – work well with minimal modern designs
Script Fonts – work well with individualistic designs
Decorative Fonts – work well with designs that need to create a specific look or feel
What Shouldn’t I do or Incorporate Into My Logo?
Now since we have looked at the things you should consider when designing a logo, let’s talk a little about what you should include on your list of no-no’s. Your logo will have to be used in small sizes for certain applications, so it’s a good idea to keep it simple. Stay away from using too many words or colors, do not use busy or hard-to-read fonts, do not pick colors that create a feeling opposite of what your business objectives are, and never use clip art.
As you can see there is a lot to consider when designing a new logo. Logos are the biggest identifier for your business or brand, which is why it is so important to carefully think through all of the points we discussed above. If you are in need of a new logo design or re-design, 30|90 Marketing can help create the logo you are looking for and provide the proper file types to fulfill all your printing and digital needs.
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