A logo is the face of your brand. It’s the first element people notice when they come across your company, whether on a website, product, or advertisement. A well-designed logo can communicate your brand’s core values in a single glance.
Think about the bitten apple; it’s instantly recognizable. Apple’s logo shows elegance, simplicity, and innovation. It perfectly aligns with the company’s tech-forward and premium brand identity. Similarly, Coca-Cola’s custom typography visually represents its heritage, energy, and timeless appeal.
Nevertheless, your logo must communicate your brand’s personality and should be simple to recognize. But that doesn’t mean you need a professional logo designer and spend hundreds to create the best logo for your brand. You can do it yourself as well!
In this article, we’ll go through a checklist for creating an instantly recognizable logo. So, let’s get started.
Know Your Brand and Your Audience
First of all, you have to know your brand and consumer expectations thoroughly. What does your brand stand to achieve? What are its core values? What’s its mission? Above all, how does it differ from the countless industry competitors?
Moreover, do a bit of industry research and see what your competitors and other industry giants are following. What are the consumer’s expectations in your niche, and what values do your consumers aim to find in a product/service you offer? These questions will give you the creativity you need to play around with designs to create the best logo your brand deserves.
A good example is the Adidas logo. The stripe design represents its simplicity and innovation. At the same time, it shows progress and momentum. These values align perfectly with Adidas mission to equip athletes to perform at their best.
Be Simple and Conceptual with Your Logo
We’ve all made bad decisions in life, especially when we came up with our first email ID. But you can’t afford to make a similar mistake with your brand’s logo unless you want to turn it into a meme. The design world is progressively shifting to minimalism and for good reasons. Simple logos are easy to recognize and more versatile across different mediums.
Think about Nike’s swoosh or McDonald’s arch. These designs are pretty clean and communicate their respective brands’ values at their best. Even established brands like Lamborghini are shifting to a minimalist approach.
A simple yet meaningful logo will ensure your brand stays relevant, timeless, and easy to identify, no matter how trends evolve. And if you’re worried that simplicity will contribute to creativity, think again because simplicity doesn’t mean sacrificing depth. An outstanding logo shares your brand’s narratives in an effortless and impactful way.
Pro Tip:
A single logo version will suffice all your branding needs when you’re just a startup. However, your brand will be displayed in several digital and multimedia formats as soon as you gain recognition.
At that point, a single version of your logo won’t be able to represent your brand at its finest in all these different formats. You’ll have to create different versions of your logo, such as a monochrome version, an icon or symbol-only logo, a trademark, etc., to represent your brand optimally in all settings. You should start thinking of such versions early on to have a complete arsenal of creative thoughts to play around with while making these iterations.
Colors Have Feelings
Why does the bride walk down the aisle dressed in white? And why do most people in formal affairs wear clean colors, like tan, navy, seal, or black? It’s because colors evoke emotions – they can shape your audience’s perception and give them an idea of your brand’s personality even before interacting with you.
In other words, colors have psychological associations that can influence how your brand is perceived:
- Red shows strong emotions, such as energy, passion, and urgency.
- Blue is a calming color that conveys trust, authority, wisdom, stability, and professionalism.
- Green is the color of nature and represents growth, harmony, sustainability, balance, and fertility.
- Yellow is associated with the sun. It radiates optimism, warmth, joy, and creativity.
You can either use only one primary color in your logo or different shades of the same color to create depth and visual interest. You can also use multiple colors in your brand to represent diversity and creativity, as with Google’s iconic multi-color design.
Make sure that your brand’s colors align with your brand’s personality, mission, values, and the emotions you want to evoke in your audience.
Typography Matters
Typography has a similar effect to colors. Different fonts can convey different vibes. The fonts you choose to represent your brand should perfectly complement your brand’s logo and color palette and align with your whole business personality.
There are five different types of fonts, each with different use case scenarios, as listed below.
Serif Fonts:
Serif fonts have small decorative lines or “tails” at the ends of their letters. They are often used to signify tradition, authority, history, and professionalism. They’re ideal for somewhat formal industries that aim to convey trust in their finest form (e.g., law firms, luxury brands, publishing).
Examples: Times New Roman, Georgia, Garamond
Famous Logos: Vogue (classic and luxurious), The New York Times (trustworthy and traditional).
Sans-Serif Fonts:
San-serif fonts are the modern version of Serif fonts. They lack the characteristic Serif “tails” and offer a clean and contemporary look. Most tech companies, startups, and modern brands that prioritize a minimalistic branding approach use San-serif fonts.
Examples: Arial, Helvetica, Futura.
Famous Logos: Google (friendly and approachable), Facebook (modern and simple).
Script Fonts:
Script fonts mimic handwriting and are often used to convey elegance, creativity, or a personal touch. Depending on the style, they can feel formal or casual. They’re best for Creative industries, boutique brands, or products with a luxurious, artistic vibe.
Examples: Brush Script, Pacifico, Lucida Handwriting.
Famous Logos: Coca-Cola (classic and energetic), Cadillac (luxury and sophistication).
Display Fonts:
As the name implies, Display fonts are made to stand out. They are decorative, bold, playful, or unique. Most brands with a quirky or creative edge, such as those in the entertainment, food, or fashion industries, prioritize display fonts.
Examples: Lobster, Cooper Black, Impact.
Famous Logos: Disney (whimsical and magical), Fanta (fun and energetic).
Monospace Fonts:
Monospace fonts have letters and characters that take up equal horizontal space. They have a technical or retro feel and are best suited for tech brands, coding platforms, or brands preferring a structured or vintage vibe.
Examples: Courier, Consolas, IBM Plex.
Famous Logos: GitHub (modern and code-focused).
Cherry on Top:
At the bottom line, logos evoke emotions and tell stories. Your logo is your first chance to create consumer perspectives about your brands and convert them. Make sure that you don’t miss out!
Ethos branding can be a great solution if you’re struggling with your branding assets. At Ethos, we equip you with the necessary tools and software to maintain a cohesive, efficient, and practical approach to branding! Start Ethos branding today with a 30-day, utterly free trial!
