First, let’s get something straight
Your logo is not your brand.
Your brand, as you can read about here, is the culmination of the experience, perception, and reputation that people have with your company and your services. Your brand identity is the tangible expression of your brand, and this is the part where your logo comes in. Along with your brand typography and colors, your logo is likely one of the first things your ideal audience will see. It is your opportunity to make a solid first impression and one that should immediately resonate with your buyer persona.
A strong logo:
- Creates brand recognition
- Exhibits professionalism
- Shows your personality
- Helps you stand out
- Educates and informs your customers
- Promotes your marketing
- Builds loyalty
Different types of logos
Deciding on what type of logo you need for your company is a good place to start.
There are 7 different types of logos. Each are used for a very specific purpose.
- Monogram logo (or lettermark): Consists of letters, usually the brand initials. It reduces 2 to 3 words that may be difficult to remember and streamlines it into a monogram, sometimes pronounced as a short word, e.g., NASA, HBO, and CNN.
- Wordmark (or logotype): This is a font-based logo that focuses on a business’ name alone. Visa, Coca-Cola, and Google are perfect examples. Since the focus is on the name, the font is extremely crucial. It needs to perfectly capture the essence of what the business does and highlight its personality.
- Pictorial mark (or logo symbol): This is a simple icon or graphic-based logo. Apple, Twitter bird, or the Target bullseye are some of the most well-known logo symbols. Best for companies with already strong reputations and established brands.
- Abstract logo mark: Instead of being a recognizable image, this one is an abstract geometric form that represents your business. This option allows you to condense your brand into a single image without being restricted to a well-known image. You can create a completely new image to represent the uniqueness of your brand.
- Mascot Logo: Think Kool-Aid man or the Planter’s Mr. Peanut. These are the colorful, fun, often cartoonish logos that feature a spokesperson or character.
- Combination mark: This combines a wordmark or a lettermark and a pictorial mark, abstract mark, or mascot.
- Emblem logo: Consists of font inside an icon or symbol (e.g., badge, seal, or crest). Used often in the auto industry and schools, one of the best-known emblem logos belongs to Starbucks.
How to find someone to create a professional logo
You can hire a large, expensive firm to create your logo, but you have other options.
Freelance graphic designers and in-house logo designers are usually the most economical.
Their fees normally start at 25.00-50.00 an hour. Agencies usually charge clients between $1000-5000 per project.
No matter which route you decide to go with, it is crucial to arm yourself with some important logo basics.
Here are the Top 10 Fundamental Elements of Every Good Logo Design
- Simple: Think about the brands that are the most successful. What do they all have in common? Apple, Target, McDonalds—their logos are all simple and clean.
- Memorable: Is there an icon you could use that would communicate your brand without your company name? Your company’s logo is often the first thing your audience sees, you want them to remember it.
- Timeless: Fads can be deadly, especially in “logo-land”. Your logo should be one with a long-life expectancy. There’s nothing that says that it can’t evolve or change a bit over time, but it is best if the easily recognized core remains the same as long as possible.
- Versatile: Your logo should have the ability to be used for everything from merchandise to letterheads to social media and web design.
- Appropriate: Think about your industry. An effective logo needs to be appropriate but not obvious. As Patrick Winfield writes, “McDonald’s … could have went with a juicy burger next to the name, but instead they took the first initial ‘M’ and created an icon that was both simple and visually pleasing to look at as an asymmetrical element.” So, whether you follow the illustration of McDonald’s or its contender Burger King, who puts a hamburger in the middle of their logo mark, your logo needs to be applicable to your brand.
- Strong/Balanced: Your logo will be the cornerstone of your brand identity. Good logos are ones that reflect the heart and soul of a company and have a strong and balanced look.
- Flexible: Your logo design should work well in full color, as well as black and white. This way you ensure it will show up will on any background, whether it’s light, dark, or multicolored.
- Uses colors intelligently: Make sure that your logo appropriately conveys messages about your brand. Different colors represent distinctive characteristics.
- Blue: Communicates trust, loyalty, freshness (often used in banking and finance)
- Green: Clean, holistic, fresh feeling (popular with food and beverage, technology, and pharmaceutical companies)
- Yellow: Friendly, approachable, cheerful, and uplifting (used in a variety of markets)
- Orange: Bright, warm, and welcoming (common for tech logos, food logos, and sports logos)
- Red: Fire, visceral, hard-to-miss (used in the entertainment and fashion industry)
- Purple: Luxury, royalty, wealth, and more recently creativity (often used in creative industries, spiritual groups, beauty and cosmetic products)
- Unique: With thousands upon thousands of possible fonts, shapes, and color combinations, there is no excuse for a common logo. You want your company to stand out—your logo should as well!
- Supported through other branding: Make sure your logo is only part of your complete brand. The world’s best brands are not well-known because of their logo, but because of the people and vision that logo represents. Your logo is important, but it is only one part of your brand story.
Whether you are working on creating your first logo, or you have one that you would like ‘refreshed’, Klever Strategies is your ideal logo design partner.
We can help you design a logo that perfectly captures your brand while using best design theory practices, for less than you might think.
Set up an appointment with us today.
