Four Things Your Logo Should Be Doing
Logos are the face of your company—the image you use as social media profile pictures, the picture that media will use when they report or review your products, and the symbol that sticks in consumers’ minds when they’re browsing a grocery shelf or catalog of myriad companies that offer the same thing.
Therefore, your face should be strong, memorable, and utterly characteristic of who you are as a company. Here are four things your logo should be in order to achieve just that.
Your logo should tell consumers who you are, and who you aren’t
Your choice of elements will also imply what kind of business you do and what you don’t. For example, an image that uses serif fonts implies that the company is no-nonsense and serious, therefore not somewhere where you can expect casual business.
Meanwhile, an image that uses a playful color combination suggests that the business is personable and friendly, and you can leave the stuffy introductions at the door.
Take your cue from: The bright, cartoonish Lego logo, which immediately brings to mind a time for fun and play.
Your logo should be professional, clean, and easily recognizable
Effective logos should look like they were thought up with much care put into the images used, the colors chosen, and the fonts.
What they shouldn’t look like is a mishmash of clipart in every color imaginable, trying to represent a dozen concepts at a time, and underlined with the business tagline in Comic Sans MS.
Take your cue from: Target’s simple red and white logo of, well, a target. When in doubt, less is more.
Your logo should work well across all mediums
Fancy logos that resemble old royal emblems or seals of office might tempt you, but stop and think of how well those would translate on smaller screens or low-quality printouts. Same with logos with lots of colors or small elements.
Your logo must translate well as a small icon (for example, if you’re going to use it as your favicon) or as a blown-up image (like a newspaper centerfold or billboard along a major highway).
Take your cue from: The Black and white panda of the World Wildlife Fund logo, which would work well on sophisticated tablet screens and a rise flyer handed out on the roadside in the middle of nowhere.
Your logo should withstand the test of time
While branding strategies need regular evaluation to stay up to date, changing your logo every year will be a hurt more than help in customer recognition and retention.
You’ll need a consistent image that will serve you well no matter how the industry and consumer taste change.
Take your cue from: The iconic logo of Coca-Cola, which hasn’t changed since the company was founded in—hold your breath—1885.
One last thing: Don’t break your brain trying to create a logo that tells consumers every single thing you do in one single image. A good logo doesn’t make the business—it’s good business that makes customers associate the logo with a pleasant experience. Focus on how you can make your brand deliver, and retention—and customer loyalty—will follow.
