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The Importance of a Great Logo Design
Everyone knows logos are the visual centerpiece of a brand, but why exactly is a logo so important? Well, there are a number of reasons:
A great logo design creates instant visual brand recognition
While this process doesn’t happen overnight, consumers eventually tie the emotions and experiences they have had in relation to an organization to its logo, for better or for worse. As a company responsible for logo designs, we take this responsibility seriously, and we work not only to create a well designed logo, but we also work with organizations so they always creative positive experiences for their customers. We call that marketing from the inside out, and it starts with the logo design!
A great logo design can highlight a unique characteristic
Well designed logos have the ability to quickly highlight brand distinctions. For example, Baskin Robbins’ logo has a “31” in it, which refers to its famous 31 flavors of ice cream—it’s their way of communicating to the public they offer more choices than anyone as far as ice cream goes. Whether to remind previous customers of one of the brand’s values or inform potential customers, the logo performs on more than one level and can be a vital part of Baskin Robbins’ brand identity. As we’re working on our strategy and creative brief for the logos we design, we always look for ways to build in nods to our clients’ brand distinctions.
A great logo design can communicate subconsciously with your audience
Some logos subtly play a role in communicating certain feelings or emotions with the brand’s consumers. For example, Amazon’s logo incorporates a smiley face, hinting at the fact you will be happy with both their service and the products you purchase from them. Another example of this is the arrow in FedEx’s logo, which contains a hidden forward-moving arrow, suggesting speed is a part of their service. Even if your logo doesn’t have your company name or values directly in it, it can still subtly evoke certain thoughts and emotions from your audience. And, as we’ve mentioned before in our blog post about subliminal marketing, we know how powerful the subconscious is in marketing!
A great logo design can communicate what your business does
Sometimes words aren’t necessary to communicate. Many logos are instantly recognizable even if the company name isn’t included. Even more powerful, your logo can represent what your organization does without including any text at all. For example, the MLB’s logo includes a baseball player and the colors red, white and blue. What does the MLB do? American baseball. The power of communication behind a logo is almost limitless!
A great logo design can set the tone for a brand
Your logo can also help define the tone of your brand. Does your organization pride itself on being modern and up-to-date? Apple’s new logo does just that with its silver apple. Is your company known for being classic and maintaining long-term quality? Coca Cola’s logo has been the same retro typeface for years and is a defining feature of their brand identity. A logo has the power to communicate to consumers what type of experience they can expect when interacting with your brand.
Our Process for Creating an Amazing Logo
So what’s the logo design process? Contrary to popular belief, the best logos aren’t the result of an artist sitting down at a desk and sketching out concepts. There’s actually a well-defined and proven process for creating great logo designs. Here’s a little peek at what The Sutter Group's process looks like:
Strategic Development
Working with the client and other information we can get our hands on (via research, interviews, etc.), we first focus on developing a creative brief, which outlines the target audience, relevant background information, overall tone and unique brand position for the organization. This creative brief ensures both the client and our creative teams are seeing eye-to-eye about what the brand identity must represent.
Logo Concept Development
With the creative brief in hand, our logo design team brainstorms multiple design directions to explore and begins to develop thumbnail sketches. We typically collaborate internally to decide which thumbnails require further development. Once that has been settled, we develop a number of different design comps to show to the client.
Refinement
Once initial designs are presented, we work with you to gradually refine the concepts until you’re pleased with the result. This is something that separates TSG from the competition—ultimately we know the logo we create must represent our clients’ vision, so we refine the logo until the client is pleased, provided the revisions are within reason.
From there, we expand the design to include any other lockups, which are arrangements of the logo for different uses (i.e. vertical vs. horizontal orientation and with or without an accompanying tagline or slogan).
Production
Once a logo is chosen, we do any graphics cleanup, ensuring the logo is available in multiple file formats (CMYK, RGB, .JPG, transparent .PNG, .EPS, etc.) and set up for production on any medium. We typically provide all final art files on a disc so the client has easy access to the finished product.
Different Types of Logos
One of the cool things about logos and design styles in general is that over time, styles evolve. This requires companies to refresh their logos over time to stay current, but as a creative company, we love staying on top of these new logo trends. Although there are infinite style directions we explore with logos, some styles we’ve found to be popular include:
• Cubism: Very “technology” centric
• Text within icon: See AOL’s logo design
• Spores/Dots/Mosaic: Lots of small pieces coming together to make something bigger (see the ReGenX logo)
• Typographic logos: Sometimes with a twist, they’re still popular, unique and powerful (check out the logo design for Eight, as an example) Gradients: Once thought to be off-limits for identities because of production issues, this is no longer the case
• Shape-shifting: See this blog post on the PWC logo design
• Morphed pixels: A modern spin on an old ‘digital’ trend
• Organic: Non-uniform styles are very popular right now, particularly resonant in technology businesses
• Image/design within text: Typography with imagery or color as fill
Need Logo Design Help?
If you’re looking for a logo designer who can give your organization a recognizable and impactful mark, you’ve come to the right place! The depth of TSG’s creative skills and our passion for creating unique and captivating logos ensures any logo we create will truly embody your organization. Contact our team today to find out what we can do for you.
You can also check out our portfolio to see some of the logos we’ve designed over the years!
