Logo creation is necessary for all businesses. Without it, the brand will be harder to remember in most minds. One way to create a logo is to work with a graphic artist, which is usually more expensive than a user-friendly software solution. Here are key points to consider when approaching logo design.
Understanding Logo Importance
When you think of the most memorable logos you’ve ever seen, which ones come first to mind? Chances are they have a simple design and the imagery immediately makes you think of the company’s brand qualities. A logo, which is not the same as a brand, is a closely associated image of the brand. Ideally, that image will stay in the minds of target customers who will instantly associate it with the brand.
One way to get logo ideas is to study the most successful brands. Interestingly, some of today’s top brand logos do not bear the company name at all. Even though the design might be very simple, it should still be very unique and recognizable.
While it’s impressive people recognize a logo without a name, usually this honor is reserved to well known industry leaders that have spent millions on promoting the brand. The more a logo is advertised on TV or at shopping malls, the more familiar it will be to the masses. For businesses starting out that are trying to build brand awareness, it’s essential to include the company name in the logo.
Other factors that play an important role in logo design include color, emotion and font face. The most popular fonts used today are Helvetica and Univers, so if you want your company to stand out as unique, it’s best to use other fonts besides the most common ones. Usually two to three colors are adequate, although one color is the easiest to reproduce.
Principles of Logo Design
Believe it or not, there are up to 20 design principles that are commonly involved with logo design. The seven main types found in professional logo design are abstract, mascot, combination mark, emblem, lettermark, pictorial mark and wordmark. In a broader sense, logos can either be elaborate, minimalistic or something in between.
Some of the most captivating and memorable logos have been made in less than 15 minutes, using logo design software. Yet, a majority of small businesses are willing to pay up to $500 for a professional logo. You may be surprised, though, how some of the world’s most iconic logos cost less than $50 to make. Meanwhile, the most expensive logos have cost over $200 million.
Perhaps the most crucial concept to understand about logo design is that it should convey the emotional level of your brand. Health care companies usually have more serious looking logos while entertainment companies have more fun-spirited logos.
Searching for the Ideal Logo Creator
When choosing an online logo creator make sure it’s one that fits your artistic and business needs. There are several cloud-based logo creation sites to choose from, but all you need is one that has the right templates, fonts and colors for your design. Most of these sites offer user-friendly tools that allow you to design logos in a matter of clicks. By the way, no experience is necessary.
For many cloud-based logo design platforms the process can be broken down into three to five steps. The first step is usually to fill out an online form and input information about your business, such as name and positioning statement. Then you choose from a vast library of templates a style that fits your brand. The style elements include font, color and an icon. Some sites offer other variables, such as uploading your own artwork.
Colors are very important because they associate with emotions and experiences. Blue is the most popular logo color of the world’s top 100 brands, according to Foundr. It’s followed by red then black and silver or black and grey. Only a small percentage of big name companies use more than two colors for their logos.
Conclusion
Imagination and simplicity are two important keys to designing a successful logo. Once you find the ideal logo maker for your business you can create several samples to review in a matter of a few hours.