Brand Identity

7 Tips to Keep in Mind While Designing a Brand Logo

Post by
Hanson Cheng
Hanson Cheng

A brand logo is much more than just a design -- it represents your brand and says who you are with its colors, typography, and the concept behind it.

While your business name might be excellent to communicate who you are and what you do, a logo enhances the overall presence of your brand’s visual identity and represents all the values your brand upholds.

A brand logo is one of the first few things that can create a lasting impression on your customer. For this, having a memorable logo is a must.

But, before you get started, here are a few things you must keep in mind.

1. Understand the needs and goals of your brand

Multiple brands doing the same thing in the market, and if you want to distinguish yourself from your competitors and create a unique identity for your brand, doing research is crucial.

Understanding what your brand stands for, how you want your customers to perceive it, what values you want to communicate, and what your goals are with your brand ultimately define the kind of logo you want to design.

For this, you need to dig deep and survey the founders and teammates, study your content marketing strategies to analyze your audience’s goals, and understand the ‘why’ behind your brand.

This research will help you form the basic structure of your logo, which can be used as a guiding factor while designing it, and picking out colors and typography.

2. Be original

It’s easy to get lost in the crowd and follow existing trends. However, you need to break free from this mindset and strive for originality.

While creating an original concept and logo may take more time than expected, it will be worth it in the long run because that logo alone can help you make a lasting impression on your customers.

It takes some comprehensive research, effort, and time investment to come up with something original, but once you do, it will help you break through the noise.

Nothing great ever appears easy, so make sure you take your time but come up with something unique.

3. Opt for a minimalistic design

Now, because you need to be original, it does not mean that you come up with intricate designs that confuse your audience than simplifying your brand’s message.

There’s nothing better than having a minimalistic, yet unique design communicating your brand intent. The simpler it is; the more it will attract your audience.

Logos are formed by bringing elements together. Think about the ‘one word’ that describes your brand and then think if you can visualize it as something. That could be your design inspiration.

Cluttering your logo with multiple elements will make it complicated. Go for a minimalistic element, typography, and color palette which is not too challenging to understand. It would be best if it’s so simple that even a 6-year-old can understand it.

Apple is one of the best examples of a minimalistic yet impactful logo. Their earlier one was complex, but the present one is perfect.


Image Source: Bored Panda


4. Pay attention to colors

The colors used in your logo play a significant role in determining what your brand stands for. Here, you can use color psychology which talks about different colors and the human behaviors they influence.

Studying this can be great for deciding the color palette for your logo, which will also help you when you design your website or marketing and advertising collaterals.

Consistency in the color palette is essential for a brand so people can recognize you without seeing your name. This is important for high brand recall value.

So, remember to pay attention to the colors you’re planning to use in your logo.

Monday has a vibrant color scheme that represents the warm and collective values of the brand as a project management tool.


Image Source: Visme


5. Choose typography wisely

It’s easy to pick up any font that ‘looks good’, but you may have to put in a bit more effort. Experimenting with multiple fonts is necessary to see what fits your brand’s personality, compliments the colors, and aligns with the logo and tagline.

Try combining different fonts, experimenting with sizes, or creating an original font if you must. The style in which your brand name is written speaks a lot about who you are, and to make an incredible impression, that style needs to be well-thought-out.

So, focus on the typography and avoid going for the standard fonts like Comic Sans and Arial.

If you look at the typography of these popular brands, you’ll notice that each of them are different, having their own unique identity.

Image Source: Symphony Agency


6. Keep it in line with your brand story

Every logo conveys a meaning. It can convey a single message or multiple things that define your brand. Without this story or core concept, your logo will not make sense.

Even the most minimalistic logos have a story behind them, which explains why it’s designed in a particular way.

This story can talk about what you do, what values or principles you uphold, the service you provide, or the story behind the brand’s origin.

With this, try to be original and include the authentic, more human side of your brand.

The Airbnb logo is a great example of having a simple design by combining elements that tell the brand story.


Image Source: PNG Item

7. Make sure it’s adaptable to other platforms

Your brand logo will be used on multiple platforms and in different formats. The way it looks on a printed brochure will differ from what it looks like on your website blog.

There’s also a great difference between how logos look on print and digital, so you need to ensure that it’s similar on all the platforms.

For example, every business has a sales funnel, along which you release content that nurtures your prospects. A logo will be needed at every stage and in different formats, so you can appeal to the customers.

Not just for a sales funnel, but it’s essential to test your logo on different platforms to see if it’s scalable and adaptable.

It must look good in all formats and mediums.

If there’s a discrepancy, you might have to edit the logo altogether, but it must be consistent across your brand’s presence.

Birdland’s logo looks the same on different mediums, thus maintaining consistency in design and feel.

Image Source: PNG Item


Conclusion

While marketing, branding, and advertising are essential for a brand’s success, having a unique logo is just as important to have an appealing visual identity.

Creating a logo that makes an excellent first impression and drives growth can happen only when you invest your time in ideating the process and executing it.

Once you release your logo, editing it may not be a good option because then you will have to carry out an extensive re-branding process.

Thus, it’s better to make a one-off investment in patiently designing a logo that perfectly describes your brand.

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