Last Updated on September 13, 2024
Creating a Great Logo
A logo is a symbol that represents a business, person, service, concept or place. Logos are designed to help people recognize an organization on the spot. Great logos represent a business well, bad logos make a business look bad. Not only is creating a logo essential for anyone who wants to brand themselves, it’s imperative that the logo actually looks great.
What Makes a Logo Important?
Let’s take a quick look as to why a logo is important. Did you know that people make snap judgements about you and your business in seconds? That is the first phase of the buying process. A professional logo makes you look great. Secondly, a consistent brand crowned by a spectacular logo will build trust amongst your potential customers and clients. A memorable logo goes out as the ambassador to your business. It brings in new clients for you and helps you build long-term business relationships.
Logo Design 101
Now that we know why a logo is so vital to your business, let’s look at the basics of any logo. Every business is different and so is it’s target market. Your business has it’s own culture, personality and speciality. At least it should be unique, to distinguish itself from other businesses. Once you identify exactly what makes your business unique and who exactly it targets, you should create your logo to match that your business.
When creating a logo, think of the following:
- All the media, offline and online, big and small, where your logo might go.
- You will like it, it represents your business and appeals to your customers.
To start creating your logo you should choose, colors, shapes, typography and symbols that your target market can relate to. Your logo should also represent your business in one clear, concise symbol. A good logo will look good on both a business card and a billboard. It will look great on your web site and in a newspaper ad. It will appeal to both you and your customers.
Creating a Consistent Message
When you (or your designer) create a logo, you will want to have a singular focus. This logo will represent you for the long-term, hopefully even decades. So you want to make sure that your logo is timeless so that it can be consistent. This consistency will help build a brand in the the minds of your customers and the public. There are advantages to having a consistent brand. Not only can you serve loyal customers, but it will make it easier to work with suppliers, manufacturers, banks and other organizations essential to your business.
When you design your company logo, work with a professional. Unless you yourself are a professional logo designer, you should consult with a professional. This person should have completed logos in a professional portfolio, experience with working with different file types and media and has a good track record of delivering on time.
If you’re a startup with a limited budget, that’s understandable, but keep in mind that this logo will be representing you to everyone out there who is a potential customer or contractor. This should keep you from hiring the first, cheap service that comes along. Find someone who does great work that is within your budget. Hiring a professional will save you a lot of time and trouble, so you can focus on other things – like building your brand.
Things to Avoid When Creating a Logo
There are plenty of things that should go into your logo, but what should you avoid?
Controversial or offensive symbols – Controversy is great, right? It attracts attention and gets people talking. Not if it is your logo. You logo should be positive and timeless, so as your business grows and changes, your brand remains consistent.
Conflicting design – Your logo should be an integration of simple elements that work well together. Clashing design looks unprofessional and will send out the signal to others that you are unprofessional. This message will be loud and clear in a conflicting design and it will scare away business and vital cash flow.
Complicated design – Intricate logos look great in large spaces, but what about in tight places? Can your logo look good on a business card without looking crammed? Simplify the design so that it can fit anywhere you need it to fit.
Mediocre message – If your logo belongs in the background, then it will not work for you. Logos should proudly toot your business horn, without being too gaudy or outrageous.
Creating a logo is the first step in branding. It’s a crucial step for future marketing and advertising campaigns. It will be an ambassador long after you open your doors to the public. Put care into creating a great logo and it will take care of your business.
For further information and resources, please consider reading our previous articles listed below:
- Tips while Designing a Brand Logo
- Re-Evaluating your Logo Presence
- Fundamental Elements of a Strong Logo
- Discover Five Secrets Behind Great Logo Design
