What is your business’s need for a logo?
A well-designed logo creates trust and encourages people to stay.
It tells potential clients who and what you are, how you do it, and the benefits to them. It conveys to potential clients who have no previous knowledge or experience in your business that you do outstanding work.
Your logo should look professional. This will make people question your ability to deliver your products or services. Did you ever choose a company that looked more legitimate or hit the back button? Poor design can lead to people leaving.
To make your brand stand out, create positive associations with customers and ensure that they remember it. Logos are deeply symbolic associations that connect to people’s emotions and memories.
Let’s take a look at Nike as an example. The swoosh, however, is just that: a swoosh. The connection to this symbol is all about their vision to make the world a better place by running. Their brand was defined by this powerful idea and their logo conveys that message, which allows their business to flourish. Your logo should be consistent with your brand marketing efforts over time.
Invest in your logo design. It is what will make you more credible and draw customers in.
How can you make a great logo?
To connect with small business customers, a logo must be simple to understand and clear. Your logo should be simple enough to work across all media platforms and at any size.
Small brands are not as well-known as large corporations. They don’t have the brand recognition and marketing budget that large businesses do to make it easy for consumers to understand your business. Your logo should communicate clearly who you are and what your business does in a single glance.
There are many things to take into consideration when reducing your brand to one mark. A great logo for a small business requires only three things: strong visual elements, simple typography and simple colors.
Use typography that reflects your business values
When creating a logo or brand, it is just as important to choose the right typefaces and arrange them in a way that makes sense. Why? Why? Because people use the look of a word to decide how they feel.
Strong branding provokes emotional connection. Your typography should spark interest, encourage trust, and promote optimism. You can stir these feelings by using typography without even knowing it.
Typography can communicate your voice and personality. Choose typography that best reflects your company’s values, whether it is elegant, traditional, whimsical or modern.
Typography should look good and be functional, just like furniture. It is important to choose the right typography as it can impact user experience.
Your company name should be clear and easily legible. Think about how you will use your logo: it could be on business cards, lettersheads, packaging, screens and other media. It should be easily readable both from far away and close up. If your logo contains a graphic element, make sure that your typography matches the icon.
Ask yourself: Does my typography convey the right message, communicate effectively, and appeal to the eye? If the answer is not a definite “yes”, it might be time to rebrand.
Choose colors carefully
Your logo’s color will affect how it is perceived. It can also influence purchasing decisions. Colors are powerful and can be used to communicate meaning. Color can be used in your marketing consistently to increase brand recognition by as much as 80%
Your industry and your target market will determine the right colors. You may have noticed that certain industries are more comfortable with certain colors. Financial institutions, for example, tend to use blues as they communicate reliability and security. Blue is used by brands to promote trust in products and services.
Your choice of color(s), based on what you want your consumers to feel and the actions they want to take, is key. Consider human psychology, culture and trends as well as context.
Your brand colors should tell a story. It should convey your values and not be confused by others in the space.
The most powerful brands use a limited color palette with no more than three main colors. Solid colors are preferred over gradients. Remember that color on screen is different from what you see in print. You must be able to reproduce the colors correctly (Pantone CMYK RGB, Hex).
A simple, iconic element is all you need
While 72% of the most successful brand names are composed of acronyms or words, these names can create an image in people’s minds using typography. Graphic elements, symbols, icons, and other graphic elements can do the same.
Your logo will be memorable if it has a visual element. To grab a consumer’s attention for 10 seconds, it must be memorable.
This is done by adding illustrations or changing text to make it more usable in certain situations. All artwork should be original and not copied from clip art. With consistent use and time, you will see a visual association.
Your brand’s logo is its visual foundation
Design is important and you need it! You need it if you want people giving you money and telling the world about your business. Your small business can thrive if you invest in its branding.
Have a question about branding or logo design? Write a comment below! Do you need a professional logo for your small business? Get in touch. Check out some of our logo designs.