Logos can come in many shapes and sizes and will be chosen for many different reasons: “It’s my favorite color! My mom liked this one best. This is the only thing our committee could come close to agreeing on. It’s so NOW and trendy! This is totally my style.” There are tons of ways to approach this significant decision. Your logo is the cornerstone of your brand and, unlike some marketing efforts, it will be with your company for years to come.
So, where to even begin? Once you have chosen the avenue in which you will be creating your logo you will need to consider these questions to get the best options to fit your company.
- What is your company’s main message or mission statement? Knowing what your mission statement is will help to determine what emotions you would like to evoke with your logo. You won’t be able to literally have your mission statement in your logo but it will guide your decision and the designer working on your logo. Do you want your customers to feel safe with your company? Pay attention to the colors used, blue evokes a safe feeling more than other colors. If you look at Allstate Insurance, you see blue is used along with hands that look inviting.
- What makes your company different? It’s tempting to look at the most successful companies, such as Apple, and say you want to look just like them because they’re doing it right. In reality, they’re doing what’s right for them and what fits their culture and goals. It’s not a one size fits all strategy. Take a look at what makes your company unique and valuable in it’s own right. That’s where you’ll find a creative goldmine!
- Who is your target audience? This is overlooked all too much in this process. It’s great that your mom likes it but is she going to be your customer or part of your team? She may be your biggest fan but in most cases she won’t be a customer. Take a moment to think of 2-3 sample client profiles. Are they conservative, trendy, techy, family-oriented? These are the people who will be responding to your logo and brand. They should be a big contributor to your decision.
- Is your logo versatile? It’s important to think of all of the different ways you will be using your logo. Will it be on billboards, vehicles, forms, pens or all of the above? It’s important that your logo is clearly visible in all different mediums. The best way to accomplish this is to keep it simple. Use no more than 3 colors, ideally 2, and keep the graphics as larger blocks of color so they don’t get lost when the logo is small.
- Is your logo timeless? You should be able to keep your logo for at least 10 years. So when choosing the route to develop your logo, think of how many uses you will get over that time. There is definitely a bang for your buck factor when you are going to use it in many different ways over at least 3,650 days (10 years). It will need to have characteristics that will last, choose fonts that aren’t too stylized and keep the cool effects to a minimum.
There will come a time when a rebrand is necessary but the more educated decision you’ve made on choosing your current logo, the longer it will last.