When you think of a timeless logo, what logo comes to mind? Is it Nike’s “swoosh?” Is it McDonald’s iconic double arches? Or is it Google’s colorful wordmark? Whatever does come to mind, comes to mind for a reason – and that reason is that those brands understand the importance of logo design.
Now you may be thinking that those brands are large-scale brands that have the resources to design and roll out a logo of this caliber, and you wouldn’t be wrong to think that. The thing is though, that it doesn’t matter the size of the brand, any company (yours included) can create just as much of a timeless logo as these brands – and we’ll walk you through how in this article.
Your logo’s design is crucial to your brand’s success. It’s the first impression potential customers get, and for returning customers, your logo serves as a gateway to your brand. If you aren’t sure if your logo is timeless, or if you need to design a brand-new logo altogether, then you came to the right place. Below we’ve included the ultimate guide to getting a timeless logo design. That way, your logo can become just as iconic as Nike, McDonald’s, and Google’s.
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A timeless logo won’t simply come to you in a dream, you’ll need to do your research to come up with a vision. So, what kind of research should you conduct? Look at your competitors’ logos, the logos within your industry, and your target demographic. Then look at the colors, text, and different design features these companies have used.
We aren’t saying that you should replicate a competitor’s logo. Instead, use this as a framework to understand what logos have performed well in your industry. Then you can take what you discover to create a unique, timeless logo design (that is also different than any of your competitors’ logos that you researched).
Your logo is the first thing consumers see. And your logo gives consumers a taste of your brand. As you think about your logo’s design, think about what story you want this logo to convey. While brand storytelling may seem easier when you can use words, it’s more than words. Entrepreneur describes how brand storytelling is about building trust between your brand and your customers through meaningful content. Meaningful content includes your logo, which is displayed on your website, marketing materials, blogs, and more. Having a consistent logo across all your channels that ties into your brand’s story is just as important as the words themselves.
To tackle this step, look at the emotion you want to convey with your logo, the backstory of your brand, who your brand would be as a person, and what makes your brand different than competitors.
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Now that you have conducted your research and looked at your story’s logo, it’s time to start thinking through the different design components you want to incorporate. If through those first two steps you’ve decided that you want to use words with your logo, be intentional with where you use words. For example, if you are using more than one font, ensure they belong to the same font family. And when it comes to choosing which words to use, never choose more than three. Since you only get the chance to make a lasting first impression once, you want it to be a good one. As this LinkedIn article reminds us, the human brain processes images up to 60,000 faster than words. That means that it’s important to focus on creating a memorable image, rather than a logo filled with forgettable words.
As you transition beyond words to look at which colors you want to use, keep in mind that your color choices can help improve your logo’s personality and grab the attention of your consumers.
With your color choices, keep these tips in mind:
When you keep these design elements in mind as you craft your logo, you’ll be ensuring it becomes widely accepted across your audience.
When you think about designing a logo, it’s easy to get caught up in adding component after component. That’s a mistake though. If you overcomplicate your logo, you’re making it more difficult for your consumers to connect with your brand. As Forbes notes, failing to keep your logo simple distracts consumers, fails to reflect the message you want to convey and causes you to sacrifice possible business for art. On the contrary, having a simple logo helps to build brand loyalty, allows consumers to easily remember your logo, helps with brand association, and will allow your business to prosper.
The key to any timeless logo is ensuring it is versatile for any marketing medium. Whether you want your logo on a billboard, t-shirt, or website, you’ll want to make sure the design is scalable, without comprising the design. When you must compromise the design, then you are messing with your brand’s recognition. That’s because you are forced to create a different design for each different medium, and now your brand won’t have a universal design. As you work through the design, ensure that your designer saves a variety of file formats to save time in the long run with this.
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As you probably could guess, going through these five steps will take some time. The result will be a timeless logo design because not only will it create a terrific first impression, but it will create a lasting one.
The beauty of creating a timeless logo from the start is that your logo won’t be built off certain trends, it’ll be built off features that will grow alongside your brand, instead of growing against it.
When you have a logo that stands the test of time, your logo will have the potential to become just as iconic as the brands we mentioned at the start of this article.
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If you found this post useful you might like to read these post about Graphic Design Inspiration.
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