Looking to create a logo for your business? Here are 5 things you need to think about before creating them.
Represents your business and maybe the first thing that a new prospect sees. It has to convey the perception you want them to have about your company. Important to plan out what you want before the design stage begins. Here are the 5 top things you need to make sure you think about and do when creating a logo for your business.
1. What type of logo do you want?
MONOGRAM logo - If your business name is long like NASA and IBM.
WORDMARK logo - uses just a font. Done when the name itself is catchy and memorable so, when combined with strong typography, the logo helps create strong brand recognition. Google and FedEx.
A PICTORIAL or ABSTRACT icon. Like apple, playboy or the Nike swoosh. Use it to convey what your company does or an emotion. It’s harder to remember the company name that goes with it when your business isn’t well known.
MASCOT logo - illustration of a character like KFC or the Kool-Aid man. Mascots are great for companies that want to create a wholesome atmosphere by appealing to families and children. A big benefit of a mascot is it encourages customer interaction so it’s a great tool for social media marketing as well as real-world marketing events. I mean, who hasn’t wanted at some point in their life to take a selfie with Ronald McDonald. Even if it’s the statue sitting on the bench?
COMBINATION - You can always do a combination of your icon or mascot with your wordmark or monogram logo. Like we see a lot with the Target logo.
EMBLEM logo - consists of a font inside a symbol or an icon. often the go-to choice for many schools, organizations, government agencies, or the auto industry. Think of Harley Davidson or Starbucks. Be careful with this type of logo because they are less versatile and you will have to create more than one version. Combo simple emblem with a wordmark would be great. For small imprinting, a busy emblem may shrink so small it becomes too difficult to read. Also, if you plan on embroidering this type of logo on hats or shirts, then you’ll really have to create a design that is on the simple side or it just won’t be possible.
2. What type of font would you like?
To decide ask yourself what type of quality or feeling do you want your logo to communicate?
Make sure font is readable at a large and small size
If using 2 fonts (prefer 1, but no more than 2) then make sure they compliment each other, but not be too similar. Like Indian motorcycle. It’s very popular in a business name that’s a person’s name like this one.
Also, make sure they aren’t too thin or too wide. Thin won’t print well/become unreadable when printed at a small size. Like PeoplePC. When printed very small on certain mediums the letters may have to be thickened up.
3. Create a horizontal and vertical version - If your logo is too wide then it won’t work well on imprint areas that are taller than they are wide. And if it’s too tall then you have the opposite problem. To solve this have a version of both like Target does.
4. Colors - Stick with 1-2 colors in your logo. The color(s) you choose should represent your brand and be complimentary if you choose more than one. 51% of logos are one color, 30% are two colors. The top 3 logo colors are blue, then black then red. Also, have a black version and a white version or a light colored and dark colored version so it works across all marketing modalities and against all different colored backgrounds. The last thing you want is for your logo to get lost against a background.
Notice how the perception of the company changes when you change the logo colors.
5. What file format should it be created in? Ask for your logo to be created in a vector file format which normally is a .eps file created in Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw. Vector images are high-resolution files that are scalable so the logo can be printed large for a billboard or small on a keychain without pixelating. This file can also be turned into a pdf, png, jpg and more. The file needs to be created in a vector format. You can’t simply take a jpg and save it as a .eps file. It won’t work.
These are the top 5 things you need to know when creating a logo for your business. It’s important to keep it clean and give the elements the space to shine. Also, remember to make sure the logo appeals not just to you, but also to your target audience.
If you need help designing or updating your logo let us know. We’d love to help.
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Hugs and high 5's from my heart to yours,
Shana Anderson-Nute
www.SpitfireAdvertising.com
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