In today’s world saturated with a plethora of products and services, logo design has become an integral part of the branding and marketing strategy of any successful business. A logo carries a lot more than meets the eye. It not only identifies the company to consumers but also evokes emotions, forms associations, and influences customer decisions.
A skillfully created mark becomes not just an image, but a symbol that customers associate with quality, values, and a long-term relationship with the brand. This is why Logo is often referred to as the quiet ambassador of a brand. It identifies the business, as being a powerful marketing tool. It is difficult to run a successful business without it.
In this article, we will delve into the world of logo design and look at how it affects the success of running a business, and the fate of startups, as a successful logo is not just a beautiful drawing, but a powerful tool that can create and strengthen the brand, increase sales and establish long-term relationships with customers.
The Importance of Logo
Proper logo design is more than just a set of colors, shapes, and letters. Its job is to differentiate you from your competitors. A logo is your brand’s primary communication to the consumer.
A logo can help quickly grab the viewers’ attention and convey the company’s core values. That brief glimpse of a buyer’s eye can work to your advantage if you have a quality and memorable logo.
A well-designed logo can convey everything from a company’s backstory to its mission with the right icon or the right font. In other words, your logo is a way to express your values and show consumers why you’re better than the competition.
After all, we have one more argument; based on bare numbers. According to a 2018 McKinsey study, companies that stick to their brand identity generate, on average, 32% more revenue and 56% more payouts to shareholders.
The Branding Basics
To many, a logo may seem like just a stylish image or word, but in essence, it is the cornerstone of a company’s branding strategy.
Branding is more than just a name or a product. It is the image, identity, and promise that a company offers to its customers. A brand is a way for a company to stand out from the competition and form a unique position in the marketplace, and a logo is a visual symbol of the entire brand’s philosophy and values.
Logo design is an integral part of a successful business strategy. It can create recognition, build positive perceptions, and strengthen the connection between the brand and customers. But is there a magic recipe here, following which you can be sure that your brand logo will be perfect? Of course, no one can give you one hundred percent guarantees, but there are a few fundamental principles we advise you to follow when creating a logo for your startup.
Here are some important signs of a good logo:
- Simplicity. A logo carries different meanings, but it should still be concise and clear so that it can be easily recognized and remembered. It should be simple to use on the internet and in printing.
- Meaningful accuracy. Through colors and images, the logo should reflect the image of your company that you want to broadcast.
- Lasting relevance. Trends are an important part of marketing strategy, but it is important to design the logo so that it is not visually tied to the year of creation.
- Memorability. The logo should stick in the memory at a glance – this determines whether the company will be recognized by it in the future.
- Versatility. The logo will be used in many different ways. Therefore it should look good both in color and in b/w, on the Internet, on paper, and fabric.
The Design Psychology
Logo design is a powerful tool that evokes emotions, and associations and influences perception. Design psychology explores what effects and reactions occur in consumers when they interact with this important brand element.
Psychologists note that people pay special attention to the shape of a logo, so it should be both effective and effective. Each shape has a certain meaning encoded in it.
Logos in the shape of a circle, oval, and ellipse:
- Set the mood for positivity and energize pleasant emotions.
- Round shapes, can evoke feelings of comfort, harmony, and unity.
- This shape of the logo speaks of a willingness to solve problems and smooth out corners.
Logos in the shape of a square or triangle:
- Emphasize stability.
- Triangles also represent authority, law, and religion. This is a sign of science.
- Angular and geometric shapes can evoke feelings of strength, energy, and modernity.
- Subconsciously, vertical lines are perceived as masculinity, a manifestation of strength and aggression, and horizontal lines – silence, order, and tranquility.
Symbolic Shapes:
- Stars speak of patriotism, religion, or show business.
- Hearts are associated with love, relationships, and marriage, while broken hearts are associated with breakups, divorce, and sadness.
- Arrows speak of direction, movement, and travel.
Organic Shapes:
- Natural shapes such as leaves, grass, water, and trees have a calming effect on the viewer.
- Shapes with jagged corners can evoke feelings of excitement; shapes with rounded limbs, on the other hand, calm a person.
- Abstract, unlike anything else, the shapes are open to the client’s imagination.
Lines:
- Thin lines appear fragile. They are associated with femininity and elegance, while thick lines are associated with strength, toughness, and masculinity. Thick lines are used for attention and emphasis.
- Straight lines speak of order, structure, and predictability. They can also appear rigid and harsh. Curved lines offer more energy and dynamism.
- Horizontal lines carry the least visual energy compared to the rest of the line arrangement methods. They are comfortable and safe.
- Vertical lines are often used in religious iconography to direct a person’s gaze toward the sky.
- Diagonal lines suggest movement and action. They are very expressive and the least stable of all arrangement types.
- Smooth lines are soothing and pleasing. Depending on the context, they will inspire confidence, fluidity, or lightness.
- Broken lines are brimming with tension. They can inspire interest or excitement, danger or confusion.
Typeface Geometry
From the point of view of psychology, the font is also important. Pointed letters are perceived as a manifestation of dynamism and some aggressiveness. On the other hand, soft and rounded letters give a sense of youthfulness. Italic is lighter and weightless than the usual font. It will appeal more to the female audience. But bold or semi-bold lettering emphasizes confidence and strength, so it is suitable for an identity with a strong masculine character.
Color
Studies have shown that changing the color scheme of a marketing campaign can change our motivation to buy by 80%. The association of colors with emotion has been imprinted in our brains since the time of our ancient ancestors as a means of survival. And these are the associations we have with specific colors in the first place:
- White: peace, purity, refinement, innocence, simplicity, submission, truthfulness.
- Black: authority, strength, classic, mysterious, serious, traditional, conservative, formal, simple, refined.
- Red: danger, energy, excitement, action, adventure, aggression, love, passion, strength, vigor, excitement of appetite, urges.
- Yellow: happy, joyful, cautious, cheerful, cowardly, curious, playful, optimistic, youthful, clear.
- Orange: carefree, upbeat, creative, cheerful, enthusiastic, fun, accessible, approachable, available, confident.
- Blue: calm, secure, authoritative, dignified, trustworthy, powerful, successful, loyal, outstanding.
- Green: nature, wealth, fertility, relaxation, freshness, tranquility, freshness, environment, health, healing.
- Brown: natural, simple, calm, deep, serious, utilitarian, earthy, subtle.
- Purple: royal, beautiful, refined, fair, noble, mysterious, fantastic, ceremonial.
- Pink: feminine, soft, calm, gratitude, gentle, graceful, floral, innocence, appreciation, tender, romantic.
- Gray: neutral, authoritative, practical, respectful, somber.
The Success Stories
There are many examples of companies whose trademarks have become icons and an important part of their brand identity. For example, the Nike logo with its curved Swoosh expressively symbolizes movement and athleticism, becoming a legend in the world of sportswear and footwear. Such icons become an integral part of brand culture and make them recognizable anywhere in the world.
Apple’s bitten apple logo has become one of the most recognizable brands in the world. It illustrates the company’s innovation and unique approach to technology. The evolution of Apple’s image, from the dots in the first version to the modern stylization of the apple, demonstrates how design can reflect the evolution of a brand.
The Airbnb Logo in the form of a combination of the letters ‘A’ and a cloud symbolizes hospitality and the ability to travel anywhere in the world. This example illustrates how an icon can become part of a brand story and make a business more attractive to customers.
The logos of the world’s leading brands are similar. They are usually simple, easily recognizable, and have minimal details. Some use only text, such as the logos of Coca-Cola and Google. The logos of Fortune 500 companies contain one or two specific colors. The most popular colors are blue, red, and shades of gray.
But it’s not all that simple. The success of these companies is primarily due to the quality of the product itself and the correct positioning. A logo will not help a bad project become successful or save a company run by an arrogant manager. But, a quality logo design will always be in aid of a good product. The right design together with a quality advertising campaign can have a powerful impact. The logo gives a path, supports positioning, and stimulates the first purchase, but only the quality of the product can bring the customer back to you again.
Conclusion
In today’s increasingly competitive world, a properly chosen and designed logo can be the calling card of a successful company. A logo is an important part of a brand and significantly influences the public perception of a company, acting as an obligatory part of its personalization. Statistics show that 48% of consumers become more loyal to a brand if they like its visual representation.
If we talk specifically about what affects the logo in business, there is a long list. First of all, it contributes to recognizability. Once you create a quality image, you can save a lot of money on further promotion. It also assures consumers of a certain status of a product or service.
But remember that if the process of creating a logo is not given enough attention – it can even harm the company. So it is better to work without it than with a bad one.
If a company has few resources at the beginning of business formation, it is better to pay more attention to business processes – this will have a stronger impact on the success of the company than a cool logo.
