When you hear about Apple, Samsung, and Hewlett-Packard, their logos are the first thing that comes to mind. They’re so well-designed that they resonate with their target audience.
It shows the profound effect logos have on an audience. That’s why creating a logo goes beyond one’s preferences, and feelings or using captivating visual aesthetics.
Instead, it’s a creative work of art designed to communicate a brand’s identity, build trust, and distinguish it from other companies.
So, what makes a good logo? Is it the design, colour, or font? And how can you make it resonate with your audience?
We have done the legwork for you and compiled answers to all these questions. Read on to find out.
What is a logo?
Why does a company need a logo
Differentiates You from the Competition
Builds Brand Recognition
Grabs Attention
Makes a Lasting Impression
What makes a good logo?
Simplicity
Timeless
Relevance
Memorable
Versatile
What is a Logo?
Before looking at features that make a good logo, we need to define what a logo is. Simply put, a logo is a symbol consisting of an image and text to identify a company, business or brand.
A logo is the feature by which customers remember and recognize a brand, its products or its services. It’s an opportunity to make a statement about a brand.
Amazon, for example, uses a smiley arrow to communicate that the company is selling everything from A-Z while telling prospective clients how happy their clients are when they shop with the platform.
Why Do Companies Need Logos?
Creating a logo is an integral part of brand identity because it:
Differentiates You from the Competition
Your logo distinguishes your company from other brands. Sure, there are 100 other computer manufacturing companies worldwide, but yours is the only one committed to providing long runtimes while ensuring energy efficiency.
A logo should communicate your values, mission, and background and show your audience why you’re better than your competitors.
Builds Brand Recognition
Logos create a strong visual impression that resonates with the audience. It’s this association that helps customers remember your product or service every time it comes to mind.
Think about Nike, Starbucks, and Pizza Hut, whose logos are etched in people’s minds with or without the name attached.
Grabs Attention
With the human attention span reduced to nearly two seconds, you must convince your target audience that your products or services are worth the salt.
Videos, advertisements, and other channels will likely require longer to put your business out there.
But, a logo can grab your audience’s attention quickly while communicating the brand’s mission and core values.
Makes a Lasting Impression
They say that first impressions always count, which also applies to businesses. Logos introduce brands and, if well-designed, create lasting impressions.
They’re the mediums used to communicate ownership over the products or services you sell or the niche you dominate.
Put simply, your logo introduces your brand as an authority in the marketplace from the get-go.
What Makes a Good Logo?
Several aspects go into making a logo great, memorable, and identifiable. They include:
01. Simplicity
You’ll be surprised that the most impactful logos in history are simple. Look at Nike’s logo; it’s a simple tick sign, yet it resonates with its customers worldwide.
It only echoes the need for simplicity when designing a logo. The simple design quickly captures a customer’s attention while highlighting crucial parts of the brand’s personality.
Letters, symbols, and word marks provide an excellent way of creating simple brand logos. A symbol, for example, creates a mental association with a particular idea or value, making the logo memorable.
02. Timeless
You may be tempted to develop a logo that matches the latest trend, but it’s not always the best decision. The best logos are relevant for a long time.
Although such logos look great at the time, they’ll probably need redesigning to keep them up to date.
Making changes to a logo design regularly makes it easy for customers to disregard a brand over time. As such, you must focus on creating a timeless logo.
This means communicating the company’s values and core ideas without clutter. On the same note, you want to use simple yet unique colours as they’re easy to remember.
03. Relevance
A company logo should be relevant to its target audience and communicate the brand’s identity and personality.
The colours and fonts used help articulate this feature clearly. For example, companies selling toys for kids use bright colours to communicate fun, energy, and excitement.
Brands targeting corporate or more formal audiences, on the other hand, will use bolder colours like green, black, or blue. At the same time, fonts define a brand’s personality better.
That’s why logos with softer fonts are suitable for companies dealing with women’s products, while thinner, more angular fonts are ideal for company logos in the technological space.
04. Memorable
A good company logo should be easy to remember. Keep in mind, that the goal of creating a logo is to develop a connection with the consumer and pique their interest.
More importantly, you want to communicate the brand’s identity, tone, and personality.
You can make a company logo memorable by finding the right balance between textual and visual aspects. It should also be unique to make it easy to stand out from competitors.
05. Versatile
Is your logo effective when printed in one colour, on a large billboard, on a postage stamp or when displayed on social media platforms?
If the answer is yes, then your company’s logo is versatile. Even the best brand logos aren’t good if they’re unrecognizable when printed on a billboard or scaled for packaging labels.
A good rule of thumb is to use vector format when designing the logo as it makes it easy to apply the logo on various mediums.
Also, beginning with black and white colours can help you focus on the logo’s shape and concept instead of the colour.
As for the design, you want to avoid clutter and opt for a more minimalist design. Too many colours, lines, or elements can complicate the design, causing the logo to scale poorly.
A Good Logo…
A good logo distinguishes your brand from competitors and makes it memorable. It also grabs your audience’s attention and leaves a lasting impression. As such, it’s essential to create a logo that addresses the five most important elements- timelessness, versatility, relevance, simplicity, and memorability.
Do you need help finding a great company logo, contact us today!
