The word ‘logo’ comes from the Greek ‘logos’ meaning word or imprint. Today, a logo takes both meanings to create an identifiable image or symbol to represent a business or organization synonymous with a brand or trademark. Logos evolved from simple coins and cylinder stamps to more unique, illustrative, and credible images. Throughout this evolution, we’ve found 12 steps to help create the perfect, memorable logo.
- Understand the business and find its personality: If you don’t have a good knowledge of what the company represents, produces, and/or believes, any logo will look phony. Write a one-sheet backstory of the business, find details about the brand’s mission, and read customer testimonials for inspiration into what the customer sees in the brand.
- Perception is reality: If you see what the customer sees, the brand should visually reflect the logo. The logo should identify what the customer wants and how the company gives the customer what they want. A well-designed logo should trigger a customer response to enjoy that particular product the logo represents.
- Capture the brand’s personality visually: How do the employees feel and see about their own company? Find words and adjectives in common with everyone you speak with when you interview about the brand’s personality. These descriptors add up to help create a visually stimulating logo.
A well-designed logo should trigger a customer response to enjoy that particular product the logo represents
- Size up the competition: you don’t want to copycat your logo off your competitors. By researching your competitors’ logos and design, you can rule out what not to use in your company’s logo. The devil is in the details, so make a note of fonts, colors, and graphics competitors use so you don’t.
- Put on your thinking cap: start to brainstorm with the knowledge you have about the brand, the brand personality, and what not to do. Think about the descriptors and adjectives that other people used when you interviewed them.
- Less is more: too many details in the design of a logo is a surefire way to turn off a customer. By keeping a logo design clean and simple, the brand personality shines through and communicates its message easily, which customers appreciate. A logo’s primary function is to identify, not to tell the public everything about your brand. The simpler the logo, the more easily identifiable your brand will be.
Studies show that color increases brand recognition in 80% of consumers
- Experiment and Create: Creating a logo isn’t just one design. Experiment with different fonts, images, and graphics to see what works and what doesn’t.
- Color theory: different colors inspire different moods and perceptions. Studies show that color increases brand recognition in 80% of consumers. How do your customers perceive your brand? Calming? Exciting? Resourceful? Aggressive? All of these go into choosing your color palette for your logo design. If you’re trying to communicate a helpful brand, a softer green palette might communicate that better than primary colors. If your brand demands more urgent attention, red and orange are more aggressive.
- Narrow the field: you’ve created many logos and variations of the logo. It’s time to find the logo that creates a positive response from your customers and effectively communicates your brand and brand identity. Also, does the logo multitask? A logo must work for different applications: print, digital, letterhead, website, etc.
Keep a logo clean and simple.
- Listen to the client: present the logos to the client and find out what they think–it’s their brand you’re trying to communicate.
- Apply feedback: if it’s a plausible suggestion, use it. Showing that you’re listening to the client helps in that brand relationship with the client.
- Integration: after editing and responding to all the feedback and suggestions, it’s time to combine the logo design with your brand and make it one seamless, cohesive message customers will respond to.
Creating a logo is no easy task. Translating so many words, concepts, feelings, and ideas into one concise image that leaves a lasting impression in customer’s minds takes time, research, and communication. When combined with branding and added to marketing collateral, this new logo becomes the new face of your company and brand.