Have you ever ventured to pop just one small section of a
roll of bubble wrap, to wind up madly popping through the whole roll in a manic
and child-like fashion? Creating logos is much the same; let yourself become
lost in a world of irrelevant possibilities and you will find yourself depleted
and disconnected from what you first set out to achieve. Creating a lasting
design that reflects the value your business creates can be achieved without
too many headaches with some simple steps and guidelines to keep you on track.
Research competitors and logos you like
Get the creative ball rolling by researching some other
logos in your industry. Determine what kind of fonts are used to match the
sincerity of the business. Do you think you definitely need an icon, or could
you just work with wording? What kind of colouring and line use stands out for
you and gets a reaction?
Always match your brand name and tagline
This is easier said than done. You and the designer you
choose need to make sure that when your brand name, your logo and its elements
(which can be used in conjunction with a logo), and your tagline come together;
they make good sense. For your
reference, you need to make sure you’re ticking off the following relationships
between name, logo and tagline:
o
They provide a consistent and complementing message.
o
They provide an understandable message.
o
They give the viewer a ‘prelude’ into what it is
you do, and why what you do is valuable.
Achieve brand attitude and personality with clever design
What
should people ‘feel’ when they see it? Is your product or service ‘energetic’
and ‘strong’ / ‘fun’ and ‘enjoyable’ / ‘prestigious’ and
‘reliable’ or maybe ‘up-to-date’ and ‘tech-savvy’? You’re not just a
name and an image, but the name and image can reflect these attitudes and keep
the mood going throughout someone’s experience with your website, call,
purchase, use of and re-use of the product. Keeping up appearances is a
fantastic marketing method that can work well even if you’re a small or
online-only business, but to achieve it you need to be consistent and never
allow your great idea to gather dust.
Some tactics that achieve this:
Anthropomorphism: Using an
animal or object that has qualities you’d like to associate with your business.
With this tactic, you don’t need to
build your attitude from the ground up, because your logo already carries a
feeling that people understand. An owl is wise, a fox is cunning, a rabbit is
fast and a bull is strong.
Clever shape use: Can the
first letter of your brand name be formed into a human body-like shape that
looks like it’s moving? Many gym and training businesses go for this angle. If
you’re able to incorporate the area or function that your business fulfils,
similar to anthropomorphism, you will create expectations for users in the
first possible instance of learning about you.
Abstract Graphic: This is where you’re
using shapes or elements that may not have anything to do with the brand, but
are easily memorable and fulfil part of your brand attitude. Nike’s ‘tick’ and
other shoe brands are an example of using abstract graphics in logos.
Test, review and repeat!
Enlarge your logo to the biggest size it would come in and
then shrink to the smallest size people would see, does it still work? Put your
logo on top of different webpages or products, does it fit in?
After this be sure to share your ideas around with different
staff members, what kind of responses are you getting? If people lean toward
one design through several stages of development and alterations you’re onto a
winner.
Need help with your branding?
We work with various firms to make sure their
fantastic services get the attention they need in a simple and down to earth
way, without the hefty pricing strategies and ‘carpet-swatch’ approaches that
boutique agencies use. We would love to have a chat about your marketing or
enquiries challenges and see if we can team up to give you a lasting solution.
Call 03 9670 0590 or email [email protected].
