“[A logo is] the image emobodying an organization. [...] Logos are mean’t to represent companies’ brands or corporate identities”
- Six Revisions
Getting noticed as a new business in today’s digital world is tough. Trying to establish a strong, consistent and memorable brand is key for sustained success. Besides your product, one of the first places you should start when developing your brand is with the design of a kick-ass logo.
Logo, emblem, trademark, symbol, call it what you will, that image will stand as the “face” of your company so it is very important to understand everything there is to know about a logo.
UNDERSTANDING LOGOS
Before we dive into detail about what a logo is, it’s first important to understand how a logo should be used. A logo is what identifies a company by the use of a symbol, signature or mark. It doesn’t necessarily have to describe what a business does, but it should represent the story of the brand and company. Logos do not sell the company persay, but over time a logo helps consumers build trust with a company’s products or services.
Corporate logos are intended to be the ‘face’ of a company: They are the unique identifier of a company, and through colors, fonts and images, they provide essential information about a business that allows customers to relate with the company’s core brand.
Logos are also a shorthand way of referring to a company in advertising and marketing materials; they provide an anchor point for the various other aspects in a project as well like fonts, colors and the design choices.
Jacob Cass explains the use of logos perfectly when he said:
“THINK OF LOGOS LIKE PEOPLE WE PREFER TO BE CALLED BY OUR NAMES – RATHER THAN BY THE CONFUSING AND FORGETTABLE DESCRIPTION SUCH AS “THE GUY WHO ALWAYS WEARS PINK AND HAS BLONDE HAIR” IN THIS SAME WAY A LOGO SHOULD NOT LITERALLY DESCRIBE WHAT THE BUSINESS DOES BUT RATHER, IDENTIFY THE BUSINESS IN A WAY THAT IS RECOGNIZABLE AND MEMORABLE.”
This analogy completely embodies why a strong logo is important. When you do not know someone well enough to call them by their name, you refer to them by a less memorable characteristic like, “the guy who always wears pink” or “that girl who sits at the front desk”.
A logo creates an image for your brand, and the more people see your logo, they can start to associate it with your brand. Suddenly, the more you get to know “the guy who always wears pink” he then becomes “Steve”. Just like how we now associate the “swoosh” logo with Nike, or the “golden arches” with McDonalds.
BRANDS AND LOGOS
Speaking of brands and logos it is time to identify the relationship they have between each other because it’s a very important one.
• Your brand is the story of your company and all it represents
• Your logo is the image that identifies your company
Simply put, your logo is the face of your company while your brand is the personality.
But before you can go out and create a logo, you should first identify what your brand message is. This way that your logo has something to stand behind.
It’s the consistency of this idea that makes up the company and what it stands for, what it believes in and why it exists. As you will read later on what to consider when designing your logo, a logo says more about a business than you think and designing a logo should be based on your brand message.
Webster’s dictionary typically gives the best definition of a word, but their example sentence for the word ‘logo’ really shows the importance of having great design:
“THE COMPANY’S LOGO IS INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE ALL OVER THE WORLD.”
This sentence may seem simple enough, but it shows the true power and influence a logo can have.
Companies are identified and recognized by their logo. It’s typically the first thing people connect with your business, in fact in some cases it is the first thing people think of before knowing your business; therefore you must be careful when choosing a logo.
We are in an age where everyone must have a website to support their company, product, and/or service, therefore making the demand for top-class logos is in high demand. To the general public, logos serve as an instant reminder of a business or product and to a company they’re the point of recognition on which their branding hinges on.
But be careful; small businesses often play it fastand-loose with logos, paying insufficient attention to their proper size, positioning and surrounding them with materials (including clipart) that hurt them visually.
Avoid re-creating different types of logos or having similar, but not identical versions of logos on your print or online sources. Keep in mind your logo is a part of your brand, the story and face to your company; keep it simple and classy.
A logo represents a company everywhere it goes, so get it on everything! Slap that on all sorts of promotional items and tradeshow giveaways (for a guide on how to pick the right promotional item for your business click here). Put it on every piece of business correspondence. Feature it on business cards. Make sure it appears in every advertisement. There are thousands of ways to use logos, and their power grows with repetition. A company can go from being just another face in the crowd to being the recognized leader in its field by creating strong brand recognition.
