How to Create an Impactful Logo Design
Much of the information we’re presented with is visual, and, in today’s digital landscape, visuals are more prevalent and more impactful than ever. Visual aids create a beacon within the mind of a viewer, giving them an image to recall in the future when associating it with words, sounds, and other sensory information that may otherwise be more easily lost to the depths.
This is why brand logos which both embody and reinforce a brand’s identity can leverage subliminal hints, appealing color combinations, and clever uses of fonts, shapes, and space to entice consumers to remember their brand. But memory isn’t the only goal of an effective logo—they can represent so much more about a brand than what initially meets the eye.
Characteristics of a Smart Brand Logo
Brand logos that work are timeless, iconic, and display the core identity of a company. A logo must be distinctive and simple enough to separate the brand from everyone else. It should be appropriate to the company’s industry and mission. It should combine both text and imagery to create a practical, versatile design.
All of these characteristics should be considered when designing a new brand logo, but many designers might be missing the mark because they ignore some of them or too heavily favor others. Here are five logo design mistakes you may be making when establishing your brand’s new logo.
Too Busy
If there’s one thing that make someone want to forget your logo as soon as they’ve seen it, it’s a logo with too much happening. Sorting through a ridiculous amount of elements is the last thing that a customer wants to do to identify you. Keep it clean with a few colors, an easy to read font, and simple graphics.
Inappropriate Font
A great example of font being used appropriately (when it would otherwise be used inappropriately for almost any other brand) is that in the logo of Toys R Us. It’s playful, rounded, slightly uneven, and even features a backwards “R” to replicate the often incorrect, but still adorable handwriting of children. It screams “kids toy store” and not anything less fun than that. Be sure that whatever font you choose will echo the identity of your brand and the products that you sell.
Poor Color Coordination
We avoid clashing colors in our outfits, our houses, and pretty much any other visual space that we want to present. So why would you ignore this preference for a logo? Colors can work incredibly well for any visual element if used smartly in tandem with each other or with whatever element they are representing. When designing your brand’s logo, think about the colors of your company which may already be established. If you’re starting fresh, think about what meanings are often associated with various colors and then see what works with your name, graphic, and message.
Raster Image
A common mistake, especially for new brands, is to design a logo as a raster image, which is an image made out of pixels that cannot be scaled as cleanly. Use a program like Adobe Illustrator to create a vector graphic for a mathematically precise image which will be visually consistent across all sizes.
Clichés and Copycats
You can’t stand out if a consumer can spot your logo and laugh in claiming that it reminds them of another company. This happens more often than you’d expect, as plenty of brands look to profit off of the success of iconic brand logo designs by using similar elements like swooshes (see Nike), light bulbs (see various creative companies), or arrows (see Amazon). This also happens often because designers know these popular, existing logos and they pull common elements from them when creating something “new.” The key to avoiding this is to brainstorm and revisit your design ideas. Decide if they really pull your brand apart from its competitors and established brands.
Our team of expert designers at Kraus Marketing are primed and ready to deliver a striking logo to boldly push your brand to the top of the heap. Contact us today to learn more about how Kraus can help you achieve your marketing goals.