5 Steps to Creating a Logo Design that Sticks

Creating a logo is one of the most crucial tasks in business.  A logo gives a business an identity, and helps customers remember a brand

It’s tempting for most startup entrepreneurs to cut corners when it comes to creating a logo for their new business. Often, they resort to emulating logos of big brands,  and end up with a botched logo. What these skimpers don’t know is, behind each logo of a big brand there is a message. Over and above that, there is a lot of creativity that went behind designing a logo that they don’t know about. Harvard Business Review conducted seven different studies to analyze the effect of logo design on brand equity. They discover that companies that have strong brand identities tend to have well-designed logos. 

One of the greatest designers of all time, Saul Bass once said, “Logos are a graphic extension of the internal realities of a company.” Put differently, a logo goes beyond promoting a brand. For instance, a logo can show the developmental and evolutionary phase a company is going through. Additionally, a great logo can pique the interest of potential customers, and make your brand recognizable to them. Giant brands such as Coca-cola, Apple, Microsoft, BMW, and many other prominent brands knew this. Hence they hired seasoned graphic designers to create eye-catching logos for their brands. 

At least 80% of businesses increased their brand awareness by creating a colored logo design, this could be your business as well. You can bring your brand to life so long as you hire someone who can design a great logo. In a few moments, we are going to show you 5 steps of creating a great logo design; without even breaking your bank. But before we dive into this, let’s kickstart this topic with this question:  What do all great logos have in common?  Most impactful logo designs are simple, relevant, versatile, memorable, and timeless. Let’s examine each element.

Great logos are relevant

Any logo that is not relevant to the brand cannot be a great tool for promoting a business. You need a logo that can help potential customers identify your products or services, and differentiate your brand from your competitors. And once they become customers, a logo will play a huge role in retaining them. Also, a well-designed logo will allow your loyal customers to become your brand advocates. 

However, there are certain things you need to pay attention to. For starters, know who your customers are. Find out what their tastes, interests, passions, career background is. Then use all that information to create a logo that resonates with them.

Great logos are versatile

Before you have your logo designed, consider this: a logo will not only be used on all social media platforms, but on a variety of marketing collateral as well, that includes emails, billboards, brochures, website, stationery, and other materials. How do you make sure you get a versatile logo? You hire a seasoned graphic designer who is adept at using a variety of designing tools such as Adobe Illustrator, Logo Yes and so on.

Great logos are memorable

Any logo design that does not communicate the brand message clearly is not likely to be memorable. There are many studies that have confirmed this. So, your aim should be to keep your logo design as simple as possible. This will allow people to read your logo at a single glance and still understand it. 

Great logos are timeless

While great logos are not immune to fads and trends, most of them are timeless. Lawry’s logo which is 55 years old is a point in case. What makes Lawry’s logo timeless is its uniqueness. When Saul Bass designed a logo for Lawry’s, he made sure it stood out by making it less complicated. 

So what is a logo anyway? 

There are various definitions of a logo. A logo can be an emblem, graphic, or an abstract symbol that is used to promote a product or a business. A logo helps people to recognize a product or a service, and helps companies strengthen their brand identity.  

We have come up with 5 phases to creating a logo design that sticks. Each phase has its own objective, process and deliverable. Let’s expound on them. 

• Hire or outsource the designer

There are many benefits of having your logo designed by a professional graphic designer. They include working with an experienced designer with an impressive portfolio. A highly experienced designer can draw from the wealth of experience to create an aesthetically pleasing logo; exactly what you need if you want to elevate your brand.

There are numerous online platforms where you can find an amazing talent at a click of a button. However, if you are trying to grow a small business, you should find a platform that caters to small businesses as well. One such platform is Flowz.com, a platform that was quick to realize that a small business owner needed an alternative to working with freelance graphic designers. 

Plus, outsourcing a graphic designer from Flowz.com is fairly easy. All you have to do is sign up, choose the right plan for your business, select Services and/or Software then walla, you will be on your way to get a stunning logo design. 

• Share a logo design brief with a designer  

Next up, share your logo design brief with a designer. The brief should outline all necessary information such as your vision and mission statement, the fonts you’d prefer, your color palette, and so on. According to one of the seasoned graphic designers, Mike Anderson, there is no straight way of designing a great logo due to the uniqueness of each brand. “First and foremost,  I ask for the company’s background and history. In other words, what is their vision and mission statement? From there I research their product or service. It has to reflect their personality. This makes the job a lot easier for us designers in our creative process to create the right logo,”  Mike explains.

 Leo Gondalez, who has been a designer since the mid 90s, says he doesn’t begin designing without asking a lot of questions. “The more I understand about the business, the best I can translate the concept into a logo,” Leo says. Once all his questions have been answered satisfactorily by a client, Leo proceeds with pencil sketches, rough drafts, and concepts. “I then present this to the client and explain what the design meant. Then we tweak and modify until they are satisfied,” says Leo. 

• Pick the right colors and fonts

When it comes to designing a stunning logo, using the right colors and font could be what makes or breaks your brand. That’s why a designer will be working closely with you to help you choose the right colors and fonts for your logo. Why is it essential to pick the right color for your logo design? A color can influence whether or not a potential customer buys a product or service. Apart from that, behind every color there is a meaning.

• Green represents organic and good health; 
• Blue is used to send a message of trust;
• Orange is associated with fun, warmth and enthusiasm;
•  Black conveys boldness, power and elegance;
• While purple and pink are feminine colors. 

Using the right font for your logo is of equal importance. This is because fonts have their own different personalities as well. For example,

• Serif is a conservative font;
• Slab serifs are masculine;
• Script is an elegant font. 

Leo says making a great logo doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go overboard with colors and fonts. “It doesn’t need to be great if what you meant by great is colorful, flamboyant, or grandiose. What it needs is to be memorable, easy to associate with, and brand recollection (which also translates to brand mileage),” says Leo. 

• Match the logo design with your brand personality

Choosing a logo design that matches your brand personality is not easy. You need to research, talk to clients, and if possible involve your team members. If you don’t put in effort into this, there is a likelihood that you will lose your brand personality in the maze of colors and trends. You may ask, what is a brand personality? Don’t fret, you’re not the only one business owner who does not know this. So here’s a simple definition:  A brand personality could be anything from something consumers can relate to.  Or a set of traits that make your brand different. For example, the Apple brand personality is about liberty, lifestyle, imagination, innovation and dreams and aspirations. Steve Jobs liked the notion of simple and clean design. From the word go, he wanted a simple logo for his Apple brand. Jobs felt that design simplicity should be linked to making products easy to use, and he nailed it!

“The main thing in our design is that we have to make things intuitively obvious,” Jobs once said. Jobs went on to hire Rob Janoff, an American graphic designer of corporate logos and identities, to design a simple logo for his brand. The design he created was a clean design that was an apple with a bite.  Now you see why Jobs hired an experienced designer. “Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains,” elucidated Jobs. 

Leo concurs with Jobs. “Less is more, I always tell my clients this. Often, their way of thinking is they need their logo to stand out and not be copied, so they request elaborate designs. But I stick with my guns and point it out to them by asking them this: What’s your favorite soda? Or give me a brand of computer. They usually answer Coke, Dell, or Apple. I then ask them to describe the logo if they can, and they respond – “just the word Coke in red”, “a slanted letter E in a bold typeface of Dell”, “a black apple with a bite”. So there’s your answer, I tell them. Simplicity,” he advises.

• Refine your logo design

Clothing and accessories retailer, GAP, is one good example of what could go wrong if you don’t refine your logo design before launching it. In 2010, GAP introduced a new logo after using the same logo for 24 years. The logo redesign project attracted a lot of media attention, and before GAP knew it, it was trending on social media as one of the most terrible logos ever designed. At some point, social media users used the GAP logo as a meme, and bloggers had a field day. GAP had no choice but to reinstate their old logo, a sure tell sign that the logo redesign project was a flop.

There is a lot that we can learn from the GAP debacle. First lesson is, if you don’t outsource the right talent you’re likely to end up with a terrible design. Second lesson is, it’s crucial to have your logo design refined before you launch it.  Remember, humans tend to interact with logos on a very intuitive level. So, you can’t expect customers to connect with your logo unless you use colors and fonts that will evoke their feelings.

Things you should look at when you and your graphic designer are refining your logo design:

1. Typography – Take a good look at each character to see if there’s anything that needs to be reworked. 
2. Symbol – If you want your brand to be iconic don’t accept any symbol at face value. Research to find out what would be suitable for your brand.

Closing thoughts

Since you and your designer will be immersed in creating a logo for your business, make sure it boosts your brand identity. It should be a kind of logo that will be a face of your business for many years to come. Your logo should be distinctive enough for potential and existing customers to recognize it. They shouldn’t confuse it with a prominent brand, or look at it and decide that it is a mimeograph of another brand. 

Looking for an affordable logo designer? Let Flowz’s designers bring your brand to life with a stunning logo that will set your business apart from your competitors. Sign up today at this link https://www.blog.flowz.com/shop/checkout/login/