Logo Design As a Tool for Communication

Logo design is a multipurpose business tool. Its use is wide spread and it serves to cater different domains. A vast prevailing misconception about logo design is related to its use. People think that it is needed only for establishing identity and it can't serve any other purpose. This misconception deprives organizations of its various other benefits. Therefore, it is important to understand the complete philosophy of a tool before using it. It helps in getting maximum output from a particular investment.

Logo design industry has gained enormous importance in the business world; hence, greater money is involved in it. One needs a good budget to get a professional looking logo design. Therefore, one should try to utilize the logo to the maximum.

There isn't any doubt that logo creates identity of an organization or a brand but it is also a powerful tool for communication; in fact, it would be more appropriate to say that a logo is able to create a strong identity only if it is able to communicate the right attributes of a business. All the traits and benefits are interlinked. See, identity is established when people start recognizing you, and this recognition is only possible if they are able to figure out some outstanding trait of your personality. Therefore, what matters the most is something that can stand out because it helps in grabbing some space in other person's memory.

Similarly, your business should also have something different from your competitors. Your products or services should hold a unique attribute that your competitors fail to offer. It isn't something that can be acquired without deep efforts. It requires profound research about the industry and competitor's offerings, and one need to come up with such an offer that can help the business to stand out from competitors. This distinctive feature should be then communicated to the target audience in order to pull them towards your brand, and what else can serve this purpose than your logo design.

One may think that there can be several other ways to communicate the distinctive features of a business to its target audience, but one should remember that logo design is best among them all. The reason lies in the fact that it is a graphical illustration and a picture is worth a thousand words. If a logo is appealing, then it can easily interact with target audience; thus, creating a sound identity.

Logo design communicates non-verbally with your target audience. All the features of your logo serve as a source for non-verbal communication. Colors have the strongest hold over non-verbal communication. They have their own language, and each color demonstrates specific emotions and drives particular sentiments. In order to communicate right attributes of your business through your logo, its features should be chosen with utmost perfection. One should begin with researching needs of the industry and target customers, and then all the features should be based on these needs. This approach will make the resulting logo design a perfect tool for communication and will help to increase worth of the business in the industry.

Posted by mukiyicars 10:50 PM 0 comments

6 Tips To Make Your Own Logo Design

Making a logo is a crucial task for any modern company, I would say that's the first thing every business owner should do.

Just the appearance of your logo will make it or break it through the successful business world. That is why you, as a business owner must look for unique and elaborated concepts, instead of simple and disposable design that might not deliver the right message about your company.

So, if you are having any kind of problems getting your own logo, you have come to the right place. I'm going to share with you a list of 6 tips that would help you think about every single aspect in a logo and I'm sure you'll get the desired logo even if you're not the one doing it.

Enjoy:

1-Shapes: The logo should have a simple and regular-looking shape (70% regular I would say). Irregular shapes may come out unique in style, but most of the time, they disrupt the flow of information.

2-Fonts: Fonts have a huge power, they can denote formal, serious and even comical concepts without changing any word. And with great power comes great responsibility, try to find the font that best suits your company's message. You can actually Google those fonts, for instance you can put in your search bar: 

"Formal Fonts" or "Funny Fonts"

3-Colors: Always remember that colors can signify a bunch of things, like emotions,(feeling blue) flavors (Red=Cherry), etc. Different colors awake different emotions in potential consumers. Do a little research about the psychology behind the color, and determine which colors fit and combine the best.

4-Remembrance: Is your logo is easy to remember? that;s a question you want to ask your self now. There's a study showing how people tend to better relate things with images, and how most of them can feel related and identified with one. (Apple's logo will be a great example) My recommendation for this will be: Keep It Simple. A Simple and well elaborated logo will be easily remember by your public.

5-Always ask for second opinion: If you always listen to yourself, you might be right sometimes, but asking an expert or just a friend's opinion might nurture your ideas and that will help you look at your logo from a different perspective. it's also recommendable to have more that one concept so that you have different roads to take if you don't like the one you're going.

6-Always let professionals do their job. I'm assuming you're not a professional designer, so, don't struggle. If you can't do it, hire somebody else to do it for you, perhaps they'll do it 100 times better that you and they'll help you save precious time.

Time for conclusions: If you want to come up with a great and unique logo design for your company, team, rock band,etc. Always remember these simple but useful tips.

Posted by mukiyicars 10:49 PM 1 comments

Logos For Children's Entertainment Companies: The Balancing Act

Children's entertainment centers are a magical place for children of all ages. They boast bouncy castles, soft play areas, climbing frames, and slides for all ages - hey, they even look enticing to me! In most big cities there's a great choice of venues so how does a concerned parent choose the very best for a day out with the kids or for their child's next birthday party? Rest assured that parents will run through a mental checklist but the two most important things will be that the venue offers a boatload of fun and that it is run professionally.

If a children's entertainment company wants to stand a chance of attracting parents it has to get those two key points across in all its marketing materials. And that starts with the company logo. A special balancing act is required when creating the logo. It must clearly show that the company offers a host of fun and that it is run professionally - however fabulous the facilities are, they need to be properly maintained, comply with relevant legal standards and be run by qualified staff.

It's a tall order for a small symbol but the logo needs to succinctly capture what the company is all about as soon as it is seen and must be highly memorable. It is the fulcrum of a brand's success.The brain registers colors and images far sooner than words which is why many logos are pictorial designs, such as that of the computer giant Apple. For a children's entertainment company the only option to nail the logo is to use a team of skilled graphic designers who understand the target market and can get the key messages across to parents:

Fun: A children's entertainment company logo must suggest child-orientated activities using bright colors and a simple, effective design. An eye-catching cartoon image of happy children, toys, cute animals or bouncy castles can work well depending on what is on offer.

Professional: The logo must convey fun, but also safety. So it must be appropriate and exclude any hint of children getting up to mischief or being unsafe. Even with the best intention, a poorly thought out logo might suggest the cartoon kids are about to fall off a slide or worse. And of course to give the best impression the logo must be professionally designed. If the company cuts corners on the logo, where else is it cutting corners? Parents fear the worst so to do well in the competitive children's entertainment industry a professionally designed logo is always a sound investment.

Posted by mukiyicars 10:48 PM 0 comments

Why Is Shopping Cart Logo the Most Common Mall Logo?

One can't imagine running a retail business in today's competitive and advanced world without marketing it to the targeted audience and, for marketing, one definitely needs some mark of identity or emblem to make people distinguish the business; particularly, for the promotion of chains of grocery stores or big malls, there is a need of memorable and captivating logos to get the public attracted towards them. I was planning to design a mall logo and was looking through the images of some popular shopping precincts of the world when I discovered this amazing fact: most of the malls, throughout the world, are using trolleys' images in their emblems. Since all companies want to have individuality and uniqueness, this outright commonness in their brand signs cannot be there just by chance. So, there must be some idea behind this.

What do these trolleys represent?

I and, I believe, most of the people start shopping with the selection of a trolley, in accordance with the number and size of articles I am planning to purchase. If I am there to buy grocery for a full month, I'll definitely look for the biggest handcart, but if it's an occasional visit for purchasing a few items, a little basket will do. So, a trolley symbolises the first necessity of buying and, through its size, the variety of articles that are available just under one roof. Wheels depict the speed and pace with which you can buy a full month's groceries in just an hour. They also remind you of the flexibility you can enjoy while purchasing items from supermarkets - looking through the range of items before selecting the one that suits your needs well.

Posted by mukiyicars 10:48 PM 0 comments

Clean Logo Design: Why Simplicity Matters

I've noticed that many times people try to incorporate too much into a logo; cramming three different icons into one. However, doing so ignores the true purpose of a logo. Logos should be kept clean and simple in order to be recognizable, timeless, and versatile.

Good logos are recognizable.

You want your logo to stand by itself. McDonald's, Apple, and Nike all have recognizable logos and they achieve this by creating simple yet distinct shapes. These shapes are easy to remember and make an impression when you see them. A complex logo is difficult to remember and therefore difficult to recognize when you see it again.

Good logos are timeless.

Whether it's because of changes in scope of work, marketing, or product design, businesses evolve as they mature. This often happens in order to follow trends and adjust to the times. Though some logos may be tweaked slightly as the brand progresses, these changes should be kept minimal. Making drastic changes to a logo is like changing your name from Bill to Sue, it's confusing to anyone who knew you as Bill.

The Starbucks logo is a great example of a simple logo that has been effectively tweaked as the brand progresses. The simple circular shape, sans-serif font, and mermaid character has allowed Starbucks to keep the same assets within their logo. They are able to progress with the times while maintaining a recognizable brand through slight changes including resizing their mermaid character and removing text.

The Nike logo is a great example of a clean logo that remains timeless without any modifications. Created in 1971, it still looks contemporary and will probably look that way for another 50 years.

Good logos are versatile.

When designing a logo, it's easy to get fixated on its aesthetics, that you forget about its application. Logos are placed on different products, mediums, textures, and colors, and will be featured in many different sizes. Often times a sponsor or partner will use your logo and you will not have the ability to choose how or where it is placed. Therefore, your logo should be simple so that it looks appropriate in many different settings. It must be legible at small sizes and able to be printed in monochrome. By keeping your logo simple and clean, it allows your products and website to have more complexities without your logo getting in the way.

Conclusion

It's easy to overdo a logo, especially when it's meant to encompass a brand's image and values. However, there should be as much emphasis placed on functionality and practicality as there is placed on symbolism and aesthetics. A clean and simple logo is almost always recognizable, timeless, and versatile.

Posted by mukiyicars 10:47 PM 0 comments

Do-It-Yourself Logo Designs: Simple, or Is It?

Since we're through about the fact that crowdsourcing is definitely not the way you would like your logo to be made, you'll probably be left asking: "So are there any other ways except from paying big bucks to snotty professional designers?" The good news is: yes, there is.

If you're familiar with scrapbooking, self-made furniture, and homemade candies, then you might be considering creating a do-it-yourself logo design. Great idea eh? Here are some pointers:

1. Sketch the design

It's simple according to DIY design software marketers. Use a ballpoint pen to shade the dark areas, trace the drawing at the back of the paper, use a colored pencil to give it a hue, and voila! You have the draft of your very own customized logo. Don't know how to start? Oh, don't ask. Everybody doodles when they're young, so we're pretty sure you can draw a good one for your company. No need to know how to go through the whole complicated design process. Only professional artists do that.

2. Spare your efforts and use templates

After some hours of carefree, sans strict process of drafting, you can now decide if you still want to pursue the design you've created. But what if it makes you regret that you've ever been born without an ounce of creative juice? Relax, they can offer you nifty templates that you can paste altogether in a matter of ten seconds. And what's better, you can choose for either exclusive or non-exclusive rights. Of course non-exclusive rights can be bought at a cheapo price of $15. But if you really don't have the bucks to shed for a candy, you can buy free clip art, which is better by the way because at least you're so sure that they're not stolen from anybody's portfolio.

3. Use paint in place of complicated Adobe Illustrator

You never have to face that doohickey called Adobe Illustrator, ever. Those snooty graphic artists are just conniving to make you believe that you can't resize your do-it-yourself logo design if you use the simplistic paint. That isn't true. Go scan your work and edit your work as much as you please. Never worry about how you will effectively apply the emblem into use. At least you managed to make one.

4. Feel the power and freedom

Savor your success. You've made it without spending an extravagant $5,000 to those high and mighty graphic artists. At last, you're independent. And believe it or not, if you've been a bit better and used Photoshop instead of paint, you already have what it takes to join crowdsourced design contest and win $30 for a random and 'well-researched' emblem.

5. Double check your logo

After assembling the templates together and adding your company name, you have to keep watch of your copyright and search if there are other companies with the same trade icon as yours. And beware if your do-it-yourself logo design has major resemblance with some other emblems. Probably, they have chosen the same combination of templates for some cosmic anomaly. Or probably, it was the origin of the templates you used. Whichever, beware.

Posted by mukiyicars 10:47 PM 0 comments

Trademark a Name and Logo - Together Or Separate?

Trademarks can be names of products or services, logos, slogans, packaging and even sounds and smells. In essence, a trademark can be almost anything that is used to identify a particular product or service. Registering a trademark grants the owner exclusive rights to the mark within the specified industry. Of course, it's necessary to research the mark comprehensively prior to filing to ensure that there is no possibility of infringing upon another party.

Let's assume you've done your due diligence, had comprehensive research conducted and your name and logo are legally available. The next step is filing for a Federal trademark.

Now when it comes to filing, a big question is should the name and logo be filed together or separately?

This decision is going to depend on a number of circumstances, as with most things in the trademark world. Let's take some time to go through a few different scenarios:

1) Your comprehensive trademark research on the logo shows that it is legally available whereas the trademark research on the name shows a similar, not the same, name within a related, not the same, industry. Your trademark attorney may then advise you to file the name and logo together to ensure registration.

2) In showing your mark (e.g. advertising, web site, tags or labels, etc.), the logo is ALWAYS shown with the name but the name is sometimes shown without the logo. In this case, you may want to file two applications - the name and logo together AND the name alone.

3) The logo you're using is the crux of your brand and the name you're using is entirely descriptive of your goods/services. You may want to trademark your logo only OR trademark your logo alone AND trademark the name & logo together.

An important thing to keep in mind regardless of your particular situation is that whatever is filed with the USPTO is exactly how you should be using the mark. The USPTO wants to see your mark as you present it to your customers.

Posted by mukiyicars 10:46 PM 0 comments