7 Logo Design Tips for Your Small Business
Every day we are bombarded with numerous forms of advertising—whether it's a Facebook ad, business flyer, or company logo, advertising is everywhere.
With so much visual reference to keep up with, how does a business ensure that its own brand stands out from the crowd these days?
Smart marketing and strong brand identity are key in the cut-throat world of advertising. Here are a few essential design tips to set your business logo apart from the rest...
The Importance of Your Business Logo
So, just how important is a business logo, and how much time should you actually put into its development?
Let's just put it plainly: Your logo is the face of your business. It's generally the very first point-of-reference a customer uses to recognize your brand and services.
Huge brand names such as McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and Nike have leveraged their logos to build the reputation of their business. They are instantly recognizable and play a vital role in setting the tone of their business.
Essentially, your business logo should strive to do the same.
Basic Yet Practical Logo Design Tips
Today's customer is gripped by catchy visuals—another important reason your brand's graphic design and visuals should be on-point.
According to research, you have approximately 2 seconds to catch the attention of your customer. Here's how to maximize this minuscule window:
1. Understand Your Brand Identity
Before you get into creating your business logo, it's important to truly understand what your business stands for and how you want to translate that.
But it's also important to remember that your logo can't possibly sum up everything your business stands for. Your logo is just one part of your company's brand identity—but it is probably the most important part.
When creating the story behind your logo, consider who your business serves, the services you offer, and what you stand for. These considerations will help you to create a brand strategy that truly represents who you are, which should then translate through a logo.
2. Use Creative Yet Memorable Visuals
There's creative, then there's a little left-of-center. Remember to keep things simple while adding your own unique edge. Too much creativity is often lost on your customer, which ultimately leads to a logo that's ''lost in translation''.
A great way to incorporate creativity into your logo is with a visual double entendre. This is the use of two overlapped images to interpret one concept or idea.
Think about how you can represent your services and your brand identity in a way that's both clever and memorable, without trying too hard!
3. Colour Makes All the Difference
Colour is by no means a superficial aspect of logo design, nor does it actually translate to your business aesthetic. Instead, colour carries and communicates a number of different meanings and ideas for people.
Think about how recognizable a brand is because of its use of colour. Coca-Cola, for example, is completely synonymous with the colours white and red. This logo is recognizable for this one simple colour combination.
The important lesson is to try to keep your colour palette relatively simple. Stick to two-three bold colours, combined with the use of negative space.
Remember to consider how your logo will be used and seen within your business and whether various colour versions will be required.
4. Avoid Cliches at All Costs
Don't be fooled or reeled in by design fads. Why? Because that's exactly what they are, and fads die out eventually. Design fads tend to hold little weight in the design world and tend to scream ''cliche marketing''.
Take the time to study design trends, most especially within brands that have stood the test of time and hold recognizable weight within their industry.
That said, it's important to stay abreast of the latest design trends, but you certainly don't need to follow them to stand out from the rest.
5. Understand the Qualities of a Memorable Logo
More so than anything, the key qualities of a memorable logo are as follows:
- Carefully considered use of colour
- Intelligently referenced design trends
- Striking/catchy visuals
- Versatility
- Relevance
- Simplicity
If you can keep these key considerations in mind, your logo is sure to stand the test of time.
6. Keep Your Competition Top-of-Mind
This is extremely important in order to set yourself apart from your local competition. The last thing you want is a brand that's a little too similar to your nearest competitor.
Make sure to study the logos of businesses within your industry niche and those outside of it too. This can help with logo inspiration and refining your own style.
When studying popular competitor logos, look for the above-mentioned key qualities. If these logos reflect these qualities, yours better do the same!
If you notice a trend of commonalities between competitor logos, ask yourself how you can break up this trend and stand apart from the crowd.
7. Understand What Your Logo Actually Means
Before you get into the design of a logo you'll need to create a story that unpacks its meaning.
Keep in mind that logos are far more than a series of simple sketches. They require research and understanding of their meaning, whether it's obvious or hidden.
Ensure that everyone on your team fully understands the story and meaning behind your logo too. This is important so that your brand identity is accurately and consistently portrayed across all facets of your business.
Forget about creating something that ''fresh'', ''cool'' or ''trendy''. Instead, opt for meaning—a logo that represents your core values and mission.
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Looking to learn more about how to promote your business? Check out this blog on how to create stand-out business cards!