What's in a Logo?
It’s almost impossible to think of any company without picturing its logo. This is because your logo is placed everywhere, from your website, to your products, to your brochures and business cards, to your email signature. Now, if something is taking up that much space, it must be representative of your brand, and getting that right is critical to your brand’s performance, longevity and its recall score. Your logo and your icon are the key symbols of your brand identity. So what exactly goes into creating them successfully?
1. Name
The single most important decision to be made by any business owner is choosing their company’s name. Your company’s name must have meaning and must be chosen very carefully. With so many businesses having been formed already, today it is almost impossible to choose a name which is unique. Market research must be conducted to see which names are in use, who they are being used by, and how they are being used. You may want to consider a different spelling of a word, or omitting vowels. You should also consider your overall digital presence before settling on your business' name. Ideally, your website and social media handles should be identical to your name. This may not be possible for Twitter due to their character restrictions (for example, our Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram are all @themarketologylab or /themarketologylab, however this is too long for Twitter so we used @marketologylab - the most logical alternative), but you should avoid using a different handle on each social channel.
2. Font
The type of font, or fonts you choose for your logo say a lot about your brand. Your logo's font(s) should speak to the type of business you have. For example, if you’re a law firm, you may want to choose something simple and sensible with straight lines that elude to rules or potentially something more traditional. Whereas a daycare may want to choose something a little more curvy and fun. Whatever font(s) you choose, it’s important they are legible.
3. Colors
When choosing colors for your logo you want to choose them from your brand color palette. This is important because your logo must tie in with all of the other elements of your brand identity and your color palette forms the visual foundation for this consistency. If you haven't chosen your color palette yet, Canva offers some great suggestions. If you're looking for more in-depth guidance, we can help you.
4. Symbols
You may, or may not, want to use symbols within you logo, there is no right or wrong here. When used effectively, symbols are a great way of easily conveying who you are and what your business is about. For some businesses, the symbol they choose actually becomes their logo - think of the Nike swoosh. This symbol has so much brand recall that Nike doesn’t even need to use their name with it.
5. Icon
An icon is an abbreviated version of your company’s logo. It can be used as an alternative to your logo in places such as your website’s favicon (the little image that shows next to each web page’s title on your browser tabs) and your profile image on social media platforms. As we just talked about, for some businesses, their symbol actually becomes their logo (and their icon), for other businesses their icon may consist of the company initial(s), symbol(s), or a mixture of both. It’s imperative that your icon is logical, it should be exactly what your audience would expect it to be - meaning it’s succinct with your full logo and the most obvious abbreviation of it possible.
Establish Brand Identity Before You Begin
Before you begin creating your logo it's critical to have a clear idea of your brand identity, including your mission, vision. and values. If you're struggling with your brand strategy, our Marketologists are here to help you.
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