helpful tips to getting your logo design
started in the right direction
Logo Design.. Logo Design… Hmm where to start? Drawing a blank? Not to worry, we are here to help. Let me just first though stress how important your logo is. Your logo will essentially be on every piece of branding and promotional material you put out there. It is the foundation of your marketing plan graphically speaking. Can you imagine spending hundreds of dollars on printing business cards, brochures, packaging for products and later come to the realization that your logo design really just does not convey or properly represent your company. Not to mention the irreversible financial outcome but the marketing time spent letting people know about your business is forever gone. That fact that it takes consistent marketing over a long period of time before you can penetrate the mind of your audience, makes inconsistencies such as a logo design change be detrimental to a striving business. So now that I have scared the daylights out of you and encouraged you to think very strongly about your logo design. Let me provide you with some helpful tips to getting your logo design started in the right direction.
Helpful Tip: A Logo Design Backed By A Strong Mission Statement
What is your company’s mission statement? A mission statement is one short brief straight-to-the-point statement that states what your company is all about. The reason I am asking you what your mission statement is is because your logo design should be a visual representation of your mission statement. Developing a mission statement comes out of asking yourself questions like, “What is the role your company plays in today’s market place?”, “What do you have to offer that is different than other companies in your field?”, “What is the most important values of your business?”, “Who are you marketing too?”, “Will you be niched for a wide audience or niched to a smaller more specific audience?” The answers to questions like this will help you to better formulate a mission statement that represents your company.
For example, let’s say I have a kids clothing company called Green Threads. The clothes I offer are affordable yet made of all natural fibers. At my company we really value quality, health and affordability. I hope to market to parents and kids. So with that said my mission statement might be something like this: “At Green Threads we are aimed to offer affordable quality kids clothing made of all natural fibers that parents and kids will both love.”
Helpful Tip: Brainstorming Ideas For Your Logo Design
Once you have an established mission statement all the logo design concepts developed should be created with this statement in mind and your logo should visually represent your mission statement. Now of course this may be somewhat subjective, kind of like the old ink blot test. But I think in general terms we do respond similarly to the same visual connotations. So let the brainstorming begin. Take words from your name and mission statement and try to think of what comes to mind when you think of these words. For Green Threads, you may want to consider visuals like thread, the color green, maybe a font that looks threadlike, if one of the natural fabrics used is wool you could use a sheep, also always keeping in mind the design should be liked by both parents and kids. Come up with just a few solid ideas that can later be refined.
Helpful Tip: A Balanced Logo Is A Happy Logo
A balanced logo design is very important for an overall reliable impression on your audience as well as fitting well in all your marketing material. For example if you have a logo has a part that hangs way far off the side or below. Such as may be a real low hanging “y”. If this is the case, fitting your logo into marketing material will be difficult in laying out without conflicting with other elements or makes it difficult to make the best use of space on the marketing material.
Helpful Tip: Use of Color
Color Theory is a science in of itself. The colors chosen is another impactful way to communicate to your audience. Warm colors communicate a sense of comfort, relaxation, where as cool colors can communicate calmness and serenity. Each color individual tends to have its own connotative implications however this can also be subjective depending on culture or personal experience. But here is a simple general break down of colors and there meanings.
* Black: Serious, Elegance, Wicked
* White: Pure, Cleanliness, Minimalist
* Red: Passion, Love, Danger
* Orange: Vital, Energetic, Happy
* Yellow: Cheerful, Hopeful, Friendly
* Green: Fresh, Abundant, Nature
* Blue: Responsible, Calm, Sorrow
* Purple: Royalty, Sensual, Luxury
* Gray: Conservative, Formal, Sophisticated
* Brown: Earthy, Warm, Rustic
* Beige: Conservative, Prestige, Simple
* Ivory: Antique, Elegant, Pure
Helpful Tip: Consider Logo Reproduction
Reproduction is often not something that most people think about when creating a logo until it actually becomes an issue which by that time is too late. There is a wide variety of ways you can reproduce your logo with vary simple reproductions on a website, flyer, business card but then there is more complex reproductions such as on silk screen printing on t-shirt or embroidery on a jacket. These types of reproduction are very difficult if not impossible without compromising the design of logo. For example embroidery. This is an issue because embroidery does not allow for such things as gradients or drop shadows and can be quite the pain for someone who may be owns a clothing company and wants to brand their logo on there clothing but can’t do to their logo design.
In Conclusion
In Brief your Logo Design should be well thought out with it. It is something that for the most part stick with your business for it’s entire life time so your logo design is a true investment. Unlike most business purchases your logo is not disposable. You need to get it done and get it done right the first time. Make sure to work with a qualified Graphic Designer who will develop it in a graphic design program that will make it scalable to any size. And make sure to have you logo design first developed on the basis of a solid mission statement. Once that is complete Brainstorm ideas. Have fun with it. Flesh out your ideas and make sure to steer clear of any major future road blocks in regards to reproducibility, color usage, and making sure it is harmoniously balanced for easy integration into your other marketing material. In the end you will be happy you took the time and effort in developing a logo that will stand the test of time.