A logo embodies the personality of a business and should create an instant and accurate representation of what it is a business stands for. Logos are essentially the identity of the business and should generate a positive emotional response when viewed by potential consumers. A logo should reflect the personality of its brand, what the brand stands for, the products offered, the market of the brand, and the overall essence of the business. There are many steps that businesses can take to ensure that their business logo stands out and becomes readily recognizable. Having great products and services is great, but without a strong logo behind a brand that shows what makes it unique and valuable, it can be difficult for businesses to get the positive exposure that they need in order to be successful.
One of the most essential components to a successful business logo is simplicity. A business logo should be simple and follow basic principles of design. Therefore, it is recommended that businesses consult with design professionals when creating their logo. This will ensure that concepts such as space, color, form, consistency, and clarity are utilized efficiently and in a simple, yet meaningful, way. A simple design makes a business easily recognizable. On the other hand, a complicated logo can be messy and difficult to reproduce and is more difficult to remember. Simple logos are also successful in evoking quick feelings, thoughts, and actions in their viewers.
A great logo needs to be memorable. Memorable logos utilize a design that can be easily retained in the minds of those who view it. In order for a design to be easily retained, it should evoke an emotional response in its viewers. The concept of memorability is associated closely with simplicity. For example, a simple logo, such as the Nike swoosh, is easily recognizable and incredibly memorable.
In addition to keeping a logo design simple and memorable, businesses should strive to make their logos visually appealing. A logo should quickly catch the eye of potential consumers. Of course, just like authors write their stories to appeal to specific audiences, different visual styles and designs will be appealing to different demographics. As a result, it is incredibly important that businesses do their research and know their target audience. This will help to ensure that the logo that is created will be appealing to the intended audience.
A logo needs to be appropriate. In order to know what is appropriate and what is not, one must first determine what they are marketing and whom they are targeting it to. A logo should reflect a company’s culture, values, and tone. For example, it would be appropriate for a business marketing children’s music to have a fun, colorful logo; this would not be the same approach that a funeral home would want to use when marketing their services.
Closely related to the topic of appropriateness is that of relativity. A logo should not represent only one part of a business. It should also be relative to the greater marketing realm that the business and its products fall within. Therefore, a great logo must encompass the diversity of the entire company, not just one aspect of it. Many business logos will serve multiple functions, and a business needs to explore all of these functions before creating their unique logo.
Effective logos have a wide range of usability. A successful logo should be able to be used across a variety of media and applications. In order for a logo to be functional in multiple settings, businesses need to consider how a logo will display on different print options (i.e. T-shirts, brochures, banners, glassware) as well as in different sizes. When considering usability, businesses need to think about versatility, simplicity, scalability, color, and depth. A rule of thumb for any designer is to always create business logos as vector graphics. This will ensure that the logo can be resized without any loss of quality or detail.
Lastly, in order for a business logo to be successful, it must be timeless. A timeless logo has many of the same qualities discussed above and is “creative, clean, and classic.” The neutrality of a design, clear-cut lines, and simple color all contribute to the timelessness of a logo. Timelessness is closely related to uniqueness: Unique logos that are not simply “going with the current trend” are the ones that are likely going to stand the test of time.
Business logos, when created with the essential components discussed above, offer companies an opportunity to quickly and effectively represent and communicate their brand and the emotion of their brand to potential consumers. Successful logos not only epitomize a company’s brand, but the logo in itself also evokes emotions in potential consumers that leads to building closer consumer relationships. As a result, logos act as a facilitator in brand recognition, increased brand exposure, and ultimately increased revenue to the businesses that they represent.
