The Importance of A Logo

By now, no one should have to explain how important logos are. Logos are important. We all can identify logos from our favorite brands since we were children. The power of symbols and how they are used enable us to form emotional connections with the brand.

Your logo represents your brand. A well designed logo is the most important thing you can do for your business. You logo tells a message about who you are. Therefore; it is important to get it right. Don’t oversimplify this, when designing a logo, there is a lot to consider.

Colors

The color of the logo can say a lot about the business. It will influence how you are perceived by others. There is a lot of science behind which how colors can have a significant impact of our mood. And the feelings that we experience when we view certain hues, transcends different cultures.

Because of this, you must make sure the color you choose to represent your logo is consistent with how you want people to feel about your business.
Let’s use the color blue for example. Blue is known to invoke feelings of confidence, success and reliability. This is why tech companies and financial institutions like banks use this color.

Green is most often associated with environmental friendliness. However; it is also used to appeal to our sense of ruggedness. Think about the lumberjack surrounded by greenery. Think how cool it is to be able to subtly influence the way people perceive things.

Versatility

Versatility often goes overlooked. You must be sure that your logo does not have to rely on any particular element, such as color, size, or even text. You should be sure to use an image that is flexible and can be recognized even if one main element is removed.
When you settle on a design that you like, look at a greyscale version of it. So if your logo is every printed out on a receipt or invoice, it will probably be in a black and white or greyscale format.

You must be prepared to make changes if the image loses too much or becomes unrecognizable when the color is taken away.

Make sure your logo can be read at different sizes. Your logo is going to potentially be everywhere. You have to think about how it will look on a business card as well as a billboard. Your logo should work on both.

You should consider where your viewer may be in relation to your logo. Even if you made a huge sign or bought space on a billboard, people may be far away when they see it. This will make the image read as much smaller.

They may even see the logo very briefly as they are driving by in a car. You want to keep your imagery clean, simple, and versatile.
Be sure to use different file formats. Save yourself a potential logistical nightmare.

Longevity

Remember, you are going to have your logo for a long time. And while no one knows what future trends will be, you have to try to make your logo as timeless as possible.

If you make a decision later on that you want to make some changes, you’ll be able to seamlessly do so. But you should be forewarned that changing your logo too much can leave your customers feeling a lot of things, like confusion, hatred or disgust.

There are several large well known companies have kept their logo consistent. Making changes over time by means of tiny tweaks over years and years.

Font Choice

Be very careful about font choice. Comic Sans is at the top of the list for those fonts we all love to hate. While I’m not going to disparage it here, just be mindful, that this font has become so deeply ingrained in designer’s heads as a “bad font” that many people will not take your seriously if you use it.

The other over used fonts are Papyrus, Impact, Zapfino and Copperplate. These are usually on the banned list in many art schools. Not to say you shouldn’t use them. But give your font choice a second thought. See if there exists font that looks similar. Just different enough to be more eye-catching.

Conclusion

Even though so many logos these days are stripped down and simple, there are a lot of elements at play. There is a lot of time and consideration goes into the design process.