The Importance of a Good Brand Logo and How to Create One
Humans are and have always been visual beings. The famous philosopher Aristotle summed that perfectly back in the 4th century BC when he said that “the soul never thinks without a picture.” If we go further back in the past we will see that even before they learned how to talk, the first cavemen successfully expressed their thoughts through simple drawings. It should be no wonder then that even today in the 21st -century visual imagery makes one of the most efficient marketing assets. Used by companies to capture the decreasing attention spans of their
The importance of a brand logo
But, going beyond this general description as the “face of the company”. What are the other actual reasons that make the brand so important from a design
Grabbing attention
A good logo should be able to capture the spectators’ attention and effortlessly communicate the company’s values in a short amount of time.
Making a strong first impression
If the brand logo doesn’t look appealing, the company will immediately be put in a position of disadvantage in the eyes of the audience.
Making a lasting impression
The importance of the logo is not only to storm the audience’s attention. But also to create a memory that has a lasting impression and is easily recalled from memory like using Logo napkins.
Setting the foundation for the visual identity of the brand
Usually, the colour and design patterns that are set up in the company logo are used as building blocks for creating the visual identity of the entire brand. Ranging from the look of the website to the visual elements of the sale points and offices.
Encouraging brand loyalty
Humans are not only visual but also emotional beings. The overall importance of the brand logo can go a long way in creating the perception of familiarity, trustworthiness, and accessibility which in turn encourages brand loyalty.
If we would look at some of the examples of good logo design. Where the logo has become just as famous as the brand it represents and easily communicates the company’s policies. We could recall the logos of Apple (simple, streamlined, organic), McDonald‘s (big, colourful, friendly), and Nike (simple and athletic).
The dos of good design
Now that we’ve grasped just how powerful a visual tool a brand logo can be. Let us look at some of the ways we can achieve these high aspirations.
Do Make the logo simple
The logo should look good on a wide variety of different mediums ranging from commercial billboards to affordable promotional products like pens and USB sticks. One of the easiest ways to achieve this supposed “scalability” is to keep the design elements simple, clear and bright. Including too many colours can work (think Google), but only if the rest of the logo is simplistic enough.
Do make the logo readable
If you’re aiming for some specific type of lettering that will serve some specific purpose (e.g. Coca Cola’s lettering speaks the story of tradition). It is in your best interest to avoid extravagant experiments and keep the text you are going to include simple and readable.
Do Make the logo flexible and consistent
Although these two goals seem like complete opposites, they do share a common ground. Essentially, your goal is to come up with a solution that will be flexible enough to allow you to perform occasional overhauls without losing the visual identity of the company. Think in terms of Facebook – there are a lot of things you can do with that white-on-blue “F” letter while keeping the logo recognizable.
Do communicate a positive message
To put it simply, your logo should make people feel good. Therefore, any kind of imagery that might cause controversy (of course, unless you are striving for controversy) or may have some negative connotations should be strongly avoided.
The don’ts of good logo design
Of course, as much as some good practices produce satisfying visual solutions. There are also the moves that almost always set you on the path to underwhelming. Let’s take a quick look at some of the most notorious examples.
- Do not use clipart or stock images
- Don’t copy someone else’s style and visual language
- Avoid making the font and visual elements too decorative
- Don’t split the important elements of the logo apart (logo, images, and slogan)
- Do not place the logo on a patterned, textured or image background
- Avoid using shadows and stretching effects
- Don’t change the basic colours and the visual identity of the logo
- Don’t pursue contemporary trends, the logo should stand the test of time
We hope these few considerations helped you to reach a better understanding of the importance of the brand logo. I also presented you with some directions on how satisfying visual solutions are usually achieved. The truth is that we are living in a very competitive world where the number of new businesses is exponentially growing. The designers’ job of capturing and holding the audience’s attention is becoming harder with each passing day.
In such circumstances, using all the common sense and tried and true tactics to produce viable products
