How Logos Can Make or Break a Brand
“A picture tells a thousand stories – how logos can make or break a brand.”
Let’s talk about logos. We all know examples of logos that really stand out, and that we associate with a certain brand characteristic. The Windows logo is linked to Microsoft technology, while when you see the McDonald’s golden M you think of fried, inexpensive food. A good logo makes people think about the business without even mentioning its name. Adidas have made their three-stripe logo an iconic centrepiece in British fashion – as soon as people see clothing with three parallel lines they automatically think of Adidas. Creating a logo that not only represents your business but makes it stand out from the rest is crucial when it comes to building your brand, and getting it right can really make or break your brand – as you’re about to find out.
Make: Speak for Yourself
You can use your logo to make your brand speak for itself. We’ve already mentioned Adidas’ three stripes, a classic example of letting your logo do the talking. When people see the logo, they think of sports, being active, and streetwear, and by wearing it, they themselves become associated with these qualities. But this association doesn’t stop with fashion. Logos allow certain brands to occupy a space in consumer’s minds without even so much as writing their company name. For example, people can spot the Starbucks green mermaid on a street corner and know that within minutes they’ll be drinking a refreshing coffee. They don’t need the Starbucks name written underneath, or a banner explaining that they sell a range of espresso-based beverages – the logo does all the talking for them. This can help to set a brand apart from market competitors, and immediately reduces the amount of time and money spent on getting the business known, because it becomes a household name. It’s a real winner.
Make: Brand Loyalty
What make of trainers do you wear? Are you a die-hard Adidas fan, or do you only wear Nike? Most people are loyal to the brand that they like the most, and will continue to buy from it. Part of this is to do with the logo. A well-designed, aesthetic logo linked to a good brand is something that people will be proud to wear/own/look at. Let’s picture the Apple logo. It stands out from the crowd, speaks for itself (as in the above point), and people often want to have iPhones and iMacs over other brands. If people are proud to own a product by your brand, the logo becomes like a badge of loyalty, and they’ll keep buying from you. This is ideal, because not only will they likely buy your products/services for their whole life, they’ll be more inclined to gift others presents that are from your brand. Perfect.
Break: A Fresh Perspective
You’ve designed the perfect logo. It’s got all your brand colours, it’s edgy enough that it’ll attract attention but aesthetic enough that people will want to be associated with it, and you’re feeling pretty smug. Then you realise if you make it any smaller than the A4 size you designed, it’ll become distorted, and it loses its amazing impact. One of the things that can ruin a logo is not being diverse enough to fit into multiple sizes. It may look amazing on your desktop, but how good does it look when it’s shrunk onto a pen? More importantly, how good does it look on your product? Having adaptability is key – ideally you want a logo that’s a combination of a word and an image, so that you can re-arrange it and use it landscape and portrait. Make sure you consider the dimensions and aspects while designing your logo, or you could come unstuck.
Break: What’s Going On?!
It can be a real nightmare if you create a logo that’s got too much going on. Designers often fall into the trap of trying to encapsulate too many of the business’s values into the logo and end up with it looking cluttered or too busy. At MyAudience, we’ve seen some pretty bad examples when people have long business names and try to include the entire name in the logo, as well as an image. As a rule, the less words, the better. The same applies with colours. If you’ve got a wide colour scheme going on – think Google Chrome – then this is fine, but if you’ve got clashing colours that don’t sit well together, you might need to rethink your colours. Think about where your logo will be used when you consider its background; it needs to be something that will not only be visible on black and white, but doesn’t clash. Being mindful about colour schemes and remembering not to put too much into your logo is important.
So, you’ve now learnt how crucial logos are when it comes to building your brand, and hopefully you’re feeling a bit more confident about what you need to include and what you should avoid. Still need some help? At MyAudience, our team of experts are on-hand to help you build an amazing brand, create gorgeous designs, learn new marketing techniques and much more. Click here to get in touch.
