Hi everyone! Last week in the graphic design and branding series, I shared with you the importance of having a strong brand with the use of graphics to improve brand recall. For this section, we will explore the different facets that makes a logo a success and how you can adapt this to your own brand or product.
Why a logo is important
As we have discussed in the previous section of this series, a logo is the image you reflect for your brand and it projects the brand personality you want your consumers or audience to remember. Your logo is where your marketing campaign begins and it’s important that you put your teeth in this area and give this much thought especially if your business is still at its start-up phase. Many budding companies, or even those who simply needed a change, now hire graphic designers to conceptualize and design logos for them. But keep in mind that while a logo is the start of creating your brand image, it won’t advertise your brand on its own. You still have to do your own marketing, whether online or offline.
The key is to keep it simple
A complicated logo can make it difficult to reproduce as the small details when resized to a smaller version will tend to clutter and be totally unrecognizable. One perfect example of simple logo is Nike’s swoosh. It’s simple enough to fit little things. Think of materials such as pens, keychains and ID laces and see if your logo will still be recognizable in those small items. A complex and cluttered logo filled with many graphic elements also fail to engage its viewers so if you want something that sticks and can be remembered easily, turn to something simple yet uniquely you.
Example of an unreadable logo:
Using graphics in your logo
If you have finally decided that you really wish to see a small and simple graphic in your logo, make sure that you get a vector file from your designer. A vector file, apart from the fact that it saves space because its files are relatively small, you can resize it to whatever size you would need your logo to be in — from a minuscule size to a billboard size, you won’t have to fear that you will get a pixelated graphic when you use a vector.
Typographic logos
Sometimes there is no need for a graphic or a symbol in the logo. You can opt for a logo that has a beautiful typeface and artistically arrange that to create a unique logo that can be well-remembered by your audience. There are so many examples of typographical logos that can inspire your own creativity. One of my personal favorites is this logo:
Use colors wisely
If you’re like me who is an addict when it comes to color, you might get overwhelmed with the many different colors available out there. I mean, so many shades of green I can’t even decide on which shade I like! Mind you, before I get to choosing green, I had to go through the primary and secondary colors! Imagine the task! But seriously though, color is the second most important factor and you have to make sure that the colors you choose is appropriate for your brand and will reflect it well. Be mindful also of the production costs for using two spot colors or a four color process logo.
These factors mentioned are just some of the things that you can look out for when making your logo. You can get more insight on this topic by reading materials such as the ones listed below:
10 Tips For A Logo Design That Works
See you again next Saturday as we tackle the basic steps in making buttons and blinkies using Photoshop! Once you know the basics, you can start making your own!
GRAPHIC DESIGN & BRANDING SERIES:
1. Graphic Design Tips To Improve Brand Recall
2. Logo design tips
I’m Issa and I am a firm believer of using creativity in our everyday lives. A freelance graphic designer, an entreprenuer and a budding vegetarian cook are just few of the things that I am. As I continuously cultivate my inner child, I discover a zest for creating and making things such as crafts and other digital products like party invitations.
Join me at Issa Sarza: Creative Living and catch great creative freebies and ideas on how to live an inspiring and artistic life!
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Web Design Company India
Very nice post. I keep learning new things about logo design every day from post like these. Good stuff!
One tip I learned in design school : make sure your overall logo design looks just as good in black & white as it does in full color. You never know when you’ll need a b&w version plus its a good litmus test for solid design, legibility & use of color!