There’s a trend online where people would take pictures of counterfeit, bootleg products and post them online. These pictures give us all a huge laugh, of course, since they often look incredibly poor. In other words, we don’t associate a particular brand with a horrible final product.
But there’s another huge reason behind these bootleg products making us chuckle. It’s the fact that we get to see the most famous names on the planet twisted into something ridiculous. For instance, when we see ‘SQONNY’ instead of ‘SONY’, ‘GUOOI’ instead of ‘GUCCI’or ‘5 Eleven’ instead of ‘7 Eleven’, we get why it’s wrong. After all, it messes with the design and colour scheme of a brand logo we’ve known for decades.
The fact that we instantly recognise a logo for what it is (and what makes twisting that logo so jarring) shows just how powerful proper branding is. A brand is nothing without an excellent and instantly recognisable logo design. In fact, many businesses have failed specifically because their logo did not have any staying power. In this article, we will go over why appropriate logo design is so crucial for the success of any brand out there.
Why Is a Proper Logo Design Vital for Your Brand Identity?
Brand Identity
Nearly all logos of great companies have a story to tell. The designers went far and beyond to create an image that communicates what the company is all about. Doing that takes time, effort, and a lot of trial and error.
With the right combination of shapes, images, colours, and sizes, your logo can effectively sell your brand for you. People won’t even have to know your current range of products to determine what your company offers. That little picture will serve as the de facto ID of your brand. And whenever it appears, it will elicit the appropriate response.
Brand Loyalty
This reason plays well into the previous one. When establishing your brand, you need to have everything in order, including the logo. At that point, people won’t know what you’re about and how good you can be — that’s something you have to prove through savvy business practices. And if you’re good and resilient enough, your brand will start to grow, and it will start to form an image.
Of course, a huge part of that figurative image is the very literal image represented by your logo. People will know what to expect content and quality-wise as soon as it starts appearing in stores, ads, or during events. They will associate the logo with a set of virtues, values, and goals that your company aspires to, and they’ll support it.
That’s one of many reasons why giant corporations such as SONY, Phillips, McDonald’s, Swarovski, and others don’t just allow their logos to be printed anywhere. As we stated, that logo stands for something, and if it appears on a faulty product or is bootlegged somewhere, the image of the company might be ruined.
Attention Grabber
When you look at any modern logo, it has the uncanny ability to hook you instantly. For example, YouTube’s iconic red play button is so simple, yet it garners a click when it appears. That’s because it has the established symbol for the play button, which subconsciously wants us to click on it. Furthermore, it’s red, i.e. the colour that signals emergency and urges us to see what it is.
Again, it’s a simple combination of a symbol and a colour scheme, but it works. And it works because it was specifically designed to.
Nowadays, people have short attention spans. For anything to interest them, it has to catch their eye and pop out among everything else. Modern logo designs take advantage of this trait by being flashy enough to stand out but simple enough to be appealing to everyone.
Attention Keeper
OK, so the logo of your brand has caught someone’s eye. That’s a good first step, but it also has to keep the person interested in order to stay in their memory. Keeping the attention of modern shoppers is incredibly hard, especially since their attention span measures in literal seconds.
Logo design of the 2020s has evolved to be as customer-friendly and pleasant to look at as possible. Modern logos tell a story; they engage their viewers and push them towards checking out the actual product or service. A bland and uninspired logo might catch someone’s eye, but the person will not stick around long enough to buy anything.
The key is to trigger an emotional response. If your brand is there to please, it should be inviting, friendly, and engaging. On the other hand, maybe you handle some serious issues, in which case your logo ought to evoke sadness, professionalism, or perhaps even anger. Utilising these emotions to your benefit will sell a lot of products, and the best shorthand way of doing that is to design a logo that hits all the right emotional notes.
Uniqueness Among the Competition
In every single industry, you will have tons and tons of competitors. Even some niche markets have fierce competition, and logo design is just one of many battlefields you have to waddle through.
Each and every company uses the same strategies to make its logo stand out. Therefore, you have to think several steps ahead. Proper market research will let you know what the customers want, what the competitors are giving them, and what does or does not work in the long run. With that knowledge, you can create a brand new logo that is guaranteed to attract customers.
Incidentally, don’t be afraid to reinvent or replace your logo if the current one isn’t working. Companies have done that multiple times across history; some prominent examples include Google, Yahoo!, Pringles, Patreon, and DC Comics. As long as the new logo stays true to the values and goals of your company, you’re good to go.
Memorability
A solid logo design will be one that everyone remembers. Few people remember each and every menu from McDonald’s over the years, but they all remember those golden arches. Similarly, not a lot of people can tell you what types of sneakers Nike sold last season. Yet that swoosh is always there, and it always signals the same thing — this brand will provide me with some excellent footwear.
So, when working on your company’s logo, make sure it will be remembered by generations of people long after you’re gone.
Expectations
When a logo sticks, people will expect to see it. For instance, while attending panels during fairs and trade shows, more people will flock to your booth if they see your logo on the sign than they would if your company name was there. Humans are visual creatures, and they associate certain visual stimuli to particular emotions and events. Make good use of that with a solid company logo choice.
Related content:
How to Design a Memorable Logo for Your Brand
Proper Logo Design: the Bottom Line
To many newcomer entrepreneurs, logo design is secondary, and they mostly focus on business and marketing practices. And while those are certainly important, you cannot and should not approach designing your company logo halfheartedly. If you do it right, you’ll be pushing your business forward and earning a lot of money and recognition in the process.
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If you need even more info about designing your brand logo or any other related subject, we are here for you. Give us a call at 0800 0148 970 or simply email us today.
