An important and early part of building a strong brand image for your business is to create a logo. You’ll want to make sure your graphics are recognizable and conveys the message that you want to convey to consumers. When you realize that you’ll use your logo in everything from online marketing ads to internal printed documents, you’ll see why it’s important to take time and care in creating the perfect design.
Decide if You Need Professional Design Services
Consumers will judge your brand by the quality of your logo, so you’ll want to create a logo that looks sleek and polished. Even if you want a logo that looks retro or classic, the design should still possess a professional quality.
If you have artistic and graphic design skills, you can try to create your own logo. Otherwise, you can use an online service that makes it easy to create a professional-quality custom graphic design. This option helps you keep your design in your own hands while providing the professional support you need.
Design a Logo That Accurately Represents Your Brand
Your goal in designing a logo for your brand is to help consumers connect your logo with the products you sell. If you sell golf supplies, a logo that features the sun setting over the horizon isn’t going to do the trick.
Instead, show a golf course or golf clubs in your logo design. You can also create a cute or funny character that’s playing golf in your design. No matter what you sell, keep your design relevant to your products or services.
Decide if You Should Add Text
As you start building your brand, you’ll want to make sure your brand image and your business’ name are synonymous in the minds of consumers. The best way of doing this is to incorporate your business name into your logo design.
For example, the original Nike design incorporated their brand name into their logo. Now that their logo is widely recognizable, they no longer need to use their company name in their logo design. Keep your brand name embedded into your logo design until you’re sure your brand has a widespread following.
Choose a Positive Color Scheme
Colors have a big impact on the minds of consumers, so it’s important to carefully consider your color scheme. Using the wrong colors when designing your brand logo can adversely affect the impact your logo has on consumers. Take the time to learn how color affects people.
Red has been found to promote impulsive buying, and that’s why so many sale signs have red backgrounds. Yellow stimulates feelings of warmth and optimism, making it an ideal color for promoting clearance items. Learn more about the influences of color on consumer habits to create a more effective logo for your brand.
Keep Your Target Demographic in Mind
Before designing your brand’s graphics, you should know your target demographics. If you’re targeting older adults, you won’t want a logo that appears too busy or confusing. Conversely, targeting teens and young adults should involve a more colorful and active logo design.
You can also use common traits of your target demographic to inspire your design ideas. Use a curvy or wavy font for text in your design if you’re targeting young female consumers. No matter which demographic group you are targeting, avoid negative stereotypes and keep a light tone.
Make Sure Your Logo is Unique and Memorable
Once you have an idea or a rough draft of your brand’s graphic design, take a minute to look for similar images. This is an essential step to take for a couple of reasons. First, you won’t want a design that resembles another brand’s logo too closely.
This can confuse consumers and send them to your competitor. Your second concern is a legal one. If your design resembles another brand logo too closely, you might be accused of trademark infringement. A Google image search is the best way to find images similar to your brand logo.
Bottom Line
As you go through the process of designing your brand’s graphics, keep in mind that you’ll rarely, if ever, change the image. Before you publish your logo anywhere, be sure you’re happy with the look of the graphics and the messages it conveys. It’s better to take longer to perfect your brand logo than to change it too soon and risk confusing consumers.