Tags – Logo Design Tips
We all know the importance of a good logo.
Simply, a well-designed logo will help build trust with your audience, validate your professionalism and get people to stick around. It tells your potential customers exactly who you are, what you do and what they benefit from that.
For some, designing a logo seems like a daunting and impossible task.
After all, this is what you will use on all of your marketing materials, social posts, business cards and so much more.
For such a tiny graphic, it sure has a lot of weight to carry. It needs to be eye-catching and memorable, timeless, work well for any size, all while encompassing your entire brand’s vibe.
By brand’s vibe, I mean how you want your brand to make people feel. For example, we want doctor’s surgeries to feel trustworthy and safe, yoga teachers to feel gentle and calm and event planners to feel fun but organised.
In fact, quickly take a couple of minutes now and jot down a few words that describe how you want your brand to make people feel. Once you discover your “feel”, designing a logo gets a whole lot easier!
Regardless of whether you’ve just started your business or if you’ve been in the game for a while and you’re in need of a refresh, here are 3 logo design tips to take your brand up a notch and ready for the next level.
1. It’s True: A Picture Paints a Thousand Words
Your logo is a visual representation of your brand.
And so, rather than telling people what you do, why not just show them?
As obvious as it may sound, a good logo should include simple icons that communicate who you are.
Going back to that brand vibe I mentioned earlier, this is your opportunity to make your audience feel something at first glance.
For instance, if you’re a travel agent, why not create something with an airplane flying over something to make people feel excited about going away? Or if you’re in the bakery business you could use a visual pun: a cookie with a bite mark so people think your goodies are scrumptious.
On the other hand, if you already have a logo but it just needs updating, this can be done subtly but still create the same impact.
Just take Burger King, for example. After 20 years, they carried out a comprehensive rebrand to update all elements of their visual identity. Their new and improved logo, which changed earlier this year, is much more simplified and you can clearly see the two bun halves sandwiching the words “Burger King”.
They described their design as “mouthwatering, big and bold, playfully irreverent and proudly true”.
2. Colour is Key
Our brains are incredibly sensitive to stimuli, and colour is one the biggest defining factors in these responses.
To put it simply, colours convey meaning on both a conscious and subconscious level, as well as in the natural world and digital space.
For this reason, your design needs to harness the power of colour psychology to create a logo that really resonates with your target audience.
With colour bringing multiple layers of meaning, people make decisions based on learned assumptions, and companies should use these responses to communicate their brand message using shade and tone.
Generally speaking, yes bright and bold colours are attention-grabbing, but it can sometimes come across as a bit brash.
On the flip side, muted tones can suggest sophistication and professionalism, but run the risk of being overlooked.
In terms of colours:
- Red can imply passion, energy, danger, warmth, aggression
- Orange is often seen as the colour of innovation and implies youthfulness, fun and approachability.
- Yellow is warm and friendly but can also signify cowardice
- Green emphasises nature and ethics as well as growth and freshness.
- Blue implies professionalism, integrity and emits feelings of calmness
- Purple shouts royalty and luxury
- Pink is typically fun and flirty, with feminine associations
- Brown has masculine connotations and is often associated with the outdoors
Of course these are not rigid rules, but it’s definitely worth keeping colour in mind as it will have an overall impact on your logo design.
3. Keep Your Design Clean With Empty Space
As Coco Chanel famously once said, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” The same can be applied to design.
Keeping a logo design clean will ensure people are able to still make out your logo from a long distance or when it’s shrunken down.
The reason being, using white space in your logo makes it easier to integrate seamlessly into different designs and formats, such as brochures, posters, t-shirts and other marketing collateral.
Just so we’re clear, by white space I mean negative space. The space in between elements, which doesn’t necessarily have to be white.
Essentially, the use of white space in your logo will help your audience to organise the visual information that’s presented to them in their minds – which is much needed in this current world of visual chaos.
Moreover, it helps our brains to put more emphasis on the elements that are surrounded by the empty space, as these blank areas give you visual clues as to where you should be looking.
To put it differently, empty space ensures your logo design is clearly visible and helps keep your logo separate from other branding elements.
Finishing Thoughts
If you’re still not too sure where to begin, it’s probably best to work with a graphic designer as they will be able to present to you a few options, not just one.
When you have narrowed your logo design choices down, show them to your close network of friends and family, co-workers and online communities (like LinkedIn groups) to ask for their opinions; what your design made them feel and which one feels right for your brand vibe.
Please contact us today to find out more.
Check our graphic design services in the meantime.
On a connected topic, if you are on the lookout for a good web designer and wondering what to look for, please check out our video below:
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