What is a logo?
A logo is a combination of text and visual imagery that serves two purposes. It tells people the name of the company and it creates a visual symbol that represents your business. Some logos have powerful symbolic association connected to people’s memory. For example, the McDonald’s golden arches are so familiar that they no longer need the text “McDonald’s” for you to recognise that that symbol represents McDonald’s.
Why you need a logo
Having a professional looking, well-designed logo builds trust, therefore potential customers are more likely to do business with you. If your logo looks like it was designed in Microsoft Word, people will question your professionalism.
Brand Identity
Logos are the chief visual component of a company’s overall brand identity appearing on stationery, websites, business cards and advertising. For that reason, a well-designed logo can contribute to business success, while a substandard logo can imply unprofessionalism and turn off potential customers. No logo, however well designed, can look good when surrounded by contradictory graphical elements or inconsistent fonts. This is why a logo is the basic unit of a larger brand identity that includes company fonts, colours and document-design guidelines.
Return on Investment
As consumers like and trust a specific brand, they are more likely to respond positively to successive encounters with a logo–potentially leading to increased sales or improved mindshare within the target market. In addition, a well-designed logo implies a degree of professionalism and competence that could help steer potential new clients toward selecting the business rather than a competitor with no or substandard logos.
What should a good logo contain?
One of the most important characteristics is that the text of your company or product name is clear and easy to read at a distance, as it may appear on vehicle signage, building signage, posters or some other place where the logo is seen at a distance.
Remember to add something visual and memorable to your logo
Having something memorable about your logo is a good idea. Some businesses do this by using interesting text or modifying part of the text in the logo to not just be a standard font. Other businesses do this by adding some sort of illustrated icon alongside the text part of the logo.
Use your logo consistently
If companies are inconsistent in the way their logo appears in different situations, this can be damaging to trust. Therefore, it’s vital you remain consistent with how your logo is used.
Brand guidelines are a great way to ensure brand consistency. These documents cover things like:
- Guidance on the different variations of the logo.
- Guidance on modifying the logo.
- What should and shouldn’t appear nearby the logo.
- How the logo should appear in all sorts of different scenarios.
Remember Great Logos Make Great First Impressions. If you would like to know more about our logo design services check out our graphic design page here Or give us a call on 02392 421 312 to talk through your logo ideas.