The Rules Behind Great Brand Logos

There’s a reason they say design is ‘thinking made visual’ and the ‘strongest logos tell simple stories.’ There’s also a reason companies spend incredible sums on making sure their brand image is right, tells the right story, positions the right way. Getting a brand logo right opens the door to your customers, get it wrong and they’ll walk right past you.

What people tend not to appreciate is how important a logo is to first impressions from a potential customer. According to Aarti Parmar at AP Brand Communications ‘a business stands out because of it’s identity and it’s people.’ Malcom Gladwell wrote that ‘Buyers make most decisions by relying on their two-second first impressions based on stored memories, images and feelings.”

More often that not it can go very wrong. Most people will recall London’s Olympic logo. At a cost of £500K it sits on top of the pile as an all time clanger. Lord Sebastian Coe even said at the brand launch that “It won’t be everybody’s taste immediately but it’s a brand that we genuinely believe can be a hard working brand.’ A hard working brand?

Italian fashion brand A-Style produced this version of their logo and there has been a pretty healthy debate as to whether is was an epic fail, or more recently some are claiming it was a wry-smiling affair.

Aarti Parmar says you need to ‘Understand the story, personality and goals – the things that drive them,’ in order to avoid bad outcomes.
But all is not lost if a company gets it wrong. There are thousands of great examples of business identity or logo changes even for successful companies.

Companies like Spotify felt the brand was needing an update to reflect the times and the results were impressive. ‘By separating the word ‘Spotify’ with the icon and reducing the colours, it’s much more visually appealing, easier and faster for the eye to process and read. It’s now more recognisable and simple. The sans serif font gives it a clean and modern feel. The logo will reproduce on different mediums like billboards, T-shits, Apps and even a London bus’ Aarti added.

According to Aarti, the key elements of strong and meaningful logo design are as follows;

Always take into consideration that the logo will be used on different mediums, therefore it must work for different sizes e.g shop signage, business card to social media profile design. Test the logo at the smallest size and make sure it is still recognisable and legible. Fit for purpose.

Don’t make a logo too busy and cluttered with fonts, shapes and colours. You don’t have to showcase all your services in one logo. Keep it simple, clean and memorable.

Before commissioning a designer to create a logo design, understand who you are as a brand, your brand personality, brand positioning, ideal target market, business purpose, objectives, values, vision for the business, what perception you want to create when someone sees your business for the first time.

This will help a designer to create the right visual identity for your business. Colours used in a logo create an impression. When choosing colours, consider how it relates to the brand personality, the perception you want to create. Ensure colours work on all mediums. What may look great on screen may not necessary work in print or vice versa.

Here you can see a business image transformation from Otterly Digital into Splash Creative. The clients, new customers and staff all continuously refer to this change as such a significant upgrade to the business identity.

The great news is that business transformation doesn’t need an Olympic budget. We asked Aarti Parmar’s firm to give our readers a treat and offer something special.

If you hurry, you can book a no-cost conversation to see whether they can help you transform your business. She has 5 complimentary consultations for our Felix readers. Just click here to get started!

The post The Rules Behind Great Brand Logos appeared first on Felix Magazine.