For your business to be successful, you need two things, a business model that works and an image that makes consumers want to give you their money. It is no longer satisfactory to merely provide a service.
Now, you need to provide something more meaningful. You need to provide a brand, an identity, and a lifestyle choice. However, first of all, every business owner needs to know how to design a logo. Here are the things you need to know about the business logo design.
Why Do You Need a Business Logo?
The first step in brand logo design is in fact understanding why you need a logo. A logo is often the first contact a customer has with your business. It will inform any future interactions said potential customers may have with you. It is said people make impressions about others within the first thirty seconds of meeting them. Your logo is the business equivalent of that phenomenon. Hence, it must be done right. If not, you could potentially lose a customer's business to your more eye-catching competitors.
How to Design a Logo?
When thinking up logo design ideas, remember that a logo is a reflection of your business' identity. Customers want a business they can identify with and can tell if the business is insincere. Hence, you must ensure your logo reflects the core values of your business, and that these values are ones your target audience will connect with.
A logo that attracts people in a younger demographic may be off-putting to older customers. Hence, you need to strike the right balance as regards to who you are and who your customers are.
2. Brainstorm
This is perhaps the most difficult step of the process but can also be extremely rewarding when done right. Gather logo design ideas from anywhere possible. This will allow you to select the very best or integrate with ideas as need be.
Your friends, family, co-workers, logos from brands you find particularly memorable, and your impression of what you think your customers want can all provide some inspiration during the process. If you find yourself getting bogged down by the process, you may take some time to reassess the situation before continuing, a break might just provide the ideas you need.
3. Select a Design Aesthetic
Logos consist of multiple components that contribute to an overall design pattern. Selecting a design aesthetic early on will provide you with a point of reference which you can go back to during each stage of the design component selection process.
Different design styles suggest very different things, so it's important to get it right. Think of what you are trying to tell your customer about your business. A design aesthetic may convey professionalism, meticulousness, simplicity, or fun and open feel. Whichever design style you choose should conform to your brand identity.
4. Select the Right Type of Logo
The types of logos deserve an article on themselves. However, suffice to say each type serves a different function. For instance, a letter mark logo is best for lengthy brand names while a pictorial mark helps to create an iconic feel for a brand whose name already explains its function.
5. Select the Right Color
Colors, like music, have the ability to subconsciously influence the behavior of your consumers. Hence, the right color should adorn all your products. For instance, a logo for a business that markets towards children (such as toys) should be red or yellow.
6. Select the Right Font
This is an underrated aspect of business logo design. The font you use may make or mar your design aesthetic. You may use any of serif, sans serif, script, or display fonts.
7. Make a Final Selection
Invariably, your designer will come back to you with several (usually five) design options based on the business information you provide. When making the final choice, don't just choose whichever one is the prettiest. Ask yourself whether the design is memorable, conveys the function of the company, conveys the core values of your business, etc.
Premium Tips for Professional Business Logo Design
Now that you understand the process of designing a logo, you also need to understand how to avoid the most common pitfalls experienced while designing one. Here are some premium tips to help you out.
1. Spy on the Competition
If you want to design your own logo, you must remember that a logo must be memorable. This means it needs to stand out from the competition, and you have to know what your competition looks like before your logo can be distinct. However, spying on the competition also helps you understand what works best in your industry. Use what works best, based on what you see your competitors doing, and then make it better.
2. Communicate with Your Design Team
Whether it's a single individual or a team of experienced designers, your designer(s) cannot read your mind. All your work up to this point will go to waste if you don't clearly explain your vision.
Give your graphic designer a detailed set of instructions about what they should do and what you are expecting. If you have some artistic skill, you can also provide them with a rough sketch. However, ensure that you don't micromanage.
3. Roll out Gradually and Integrate with Feedback
The truth is that even after putting so much effort into logo design ideas it might not quite fit right. This is why you need to roll out the logo gradually. Before unveiling it to the general public, show it to your actual customers, and make adjustments if need be.
4. Take Note of Where the Logo Will Be Used
Logos today appear on a wide variety of things from actual company products to phone screens. A logo that works well on the former might not necessarily work on the latter. In fact, especially beautiful logos that are overly complicated simply cannot work as an app icon. Hence, you need to make sure your logo is simple enough to work anywhere it needs to.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, no major rand exists today which doesn't have an iconic business logo. Hence, logo design is a process every business owner must go through. It's a very difficult and complicated process that may take weeks to complete. However, when done properly, it promises massive rewards in terms of business growth and recognition. So get started now- the sooner, the better.
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