Logo design is the heart of your brand and company

What a Logo means: Different people and books have different definition as to what a logo means. To me logo is the face and the image that represents the company and its product. The role or function of a logo is to keep the brand top of mind in the consumers mind. The design of a logo is created only once for the company and hence it is important to get the essence and values that go into the design. If the company is able to define the values and the vision for the brand and the company translating that into a well thought design will be easier.

A typical logo /identity design usually revolves around picture and textual elements in a manner, which will give the logo design a distinct identity. So what makes a good logo design ?
A good logo design is one, which entices the audience /customer to have look at it.

Types of logo designs :
Broadly logs can be categorized in following forms :
- Logos with illustrations. The illustrations depicts what the company is into.
- Graphic Logos : These will be purely design based ideas with an abstract design which will connect with the brand
- Typographical : Here the logo is developed based on text and fonts.

Need of a Logo design :
- Launching a new corporate or product brand.
- A change in the name of the company and its values
- Change in the management, wants to send new strategic signals
- Acquisitions and Mergers
- The current identity has lead to some controversy like infringement
- The current design has grown obsolete and needs some freshness injected
- Diversification in business can prompt to re visit the design

Designing a Logo: A good and relevant design will happen if the core values and what the logo needs to communicate is clear. Once this is agreed upon then the next step is bring in a relevant idea in the design. The idea will then be either translated graphically , visually or typographically. It is extremely important to keep the design simple and avoid the use of stylish or fancy fonts, which may be difficult to reproduce and read. Care must be taken to ensure that the tone and style matches the values that have been defined for the brand and the single-minded message is communicated clearly.

Since logo application is across several media ranging from print, television to digital , the use of right colour is important. Colour plays a very key role in a logo design. There are some do’s and don’t when it come to usage of colour. Each colour has certain meaning and representation. For example when you talk of the colour blue it communicates trust and coolness. Similarly the colour Orange depicts energy, vibrant and action. While the green colour brings in growth, money, nature and peace. One also must also find out how the design will reproduce in black and white version, as the tonal values are different when you reproduce the same in black and while. The weight age and dimension needs to carefully examined

Market research helps logo designing :

Since designing a logo is a long drawn process it will help if the whole design process is given good support from the research point of view. Preliminary research before starting the design will be of great help to design team. The research will also help in giving the right path the designer should follow.

Once the basic ideas and design is developed it will help the designer further if the designs are researched in depth with different target group based on the brand values defined and objectives defined.

The learning’s from the findings will help perfect the design further so that the final product that emerges out will have long term association with the brand.

Role of a logo design: A brand or a company logo carries lot weight. To a consumer a logo conveys the following:
a. The logo connotes trust and quality
b. It expresses the correct image and perception of the brand
c. Plays the role of a great merchandising visual
d. Must communicate across diverse people with one common message. Especially in India where we have multi- lingual culture
e. People should be able connect the logo with ease
f. Must be memorable

Role of colors in design :

Colors also play a very key role. Different colours have different meanings and expressions. Here are some examples as to what each means when used.

Color can play an important role in logo design. Don’t use blue because it looks cool; understand the psychological connotations it has. Below are some common color associations:

•Blue: trust, loyalty, water, relaxing, power, dignity
•Yellow: energy, joy, light, hope
•Pink: calming, feminine
•Green: life, growth, money, jealousy, nature, fertility
•Purple: richness, power, love, and sophistication
•Brown: credibility, stability
•White: purity, cleanliness, innocence
•Red: heat, passion, danger, power
•
Aside: Red and Blue are the predominant colors in almost 70% of all registered logos worldwide!


Application and usage of Logo: The designer takes a considerable amount of time to develop a logo. It is very important that the logo is respected and used properly in its various forms. Inconsistency in the usage of the logo will send wrong signals. Hence it is important that a proper brand manual is created specifying the do’s and don’t. This brand manual should be used as the bible for using the logos in its various avatar. The brand manual should be a detailed one which will cover the fonts used, font sizes, the right colours to be used on various applications across all media. Even after giving the brand manuals in smaller towns you invariably find that the manual is not strictly adhered to. This is where corporates must bring in periodic brand audits to keep a check on the right usage of logos in terms of weight ages and correct colors. Offer & incentives can bring in healthy competition by giving rewards for displaying the logos in its right avatar to the field force and the trade.

Trends and design ideas used in creating logos : New trends has set in area of design and visual communication. It ranges from using very effectively and creatively the fonts, colours and the intricate use of 3- dimension logo designs. In the region of fonts customized fonts has been created to be uncommon in style and looks. Also the use of lower case fonts and letters are used by more and more corporates like Travelocity,
Alltell etc. GE. For trends in design please visit this site.
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