Every business and freelancer out there needs a logo. Logos are everywhere- from billboards to TV, websites, and letterheads. There’s a good reason for that: logos are the face of a company. They’re the part of a company that everyone sees, recognizes, likes and supports. A logo is connected to its brand and is a huge part of building a successful business. Read on to discover what a logo is, why they are important, and how to design one.
IMAGE: PEXELS
The Power Of A Logo
The power of a logo is that it connects with our inner being- as Aristotle said, “the soul cannot think without an image”. Early man started off with written communication. However, that communication was not with words, but through painting pictures- rock paintings and hieroglyphics are good examples. Children, when learning to read, start with picture books. This is because they can recognize and relate to images before they can read text. So even young children can recognize logos before they can read the name of a business.
What Is A Logo?
A logo is a unique symbol that can be combined with the name of the company to represent it visually. They are usually used on websites, business cards and social media, for example, to identify a business and help it stand out.
Logos make a company instantly recognizable. It’s the main way customers identify a brand. Ideally, customers should relate well to the brand and associate positive feelings with it. Just like the rock paintings of early man told stories, so a logo should tell a visual mini-story about the company using a relevant graphic or symbol, a color and a style. For example, if the company projects warmth, reliability, and trust, the colors and design should do the same.
The Many Benefits Of Using A Logo
There are a number of proven benefits to using a logo in business including:
People Are Visually Wired
People can process images quicker than words. That means logos are quicker and easier to identify than just a name.
The Power Of Recognition
Logos are easily recognizable and easy to remember. They’re like a sign post for a company. Consumers are quicker to identify a logo that they’ve seen before and so are more likely to go with a logo that they know.
Standing Out From The Crowd: Differentiation
There are over 80 million businesses listed on Facebook alone, so every brand needs to stand out. This is especially relevant in the modern era of internet searches, which make more competing companies accessible to more consumers. A logo is a perfect way to differentiate one company from competitors.
Emotional Connection
Most decisions to buy something are made as subconscious emotional choices- not rational ones. This means it’s fundamental for companies to have positive feelings associated with them, and using visually attractive logos are a great way to do that.
First Impressions Last
Logos attract attention, thus giving a great first impression. If the style of the logo conveys a positive message, that is likely to be transferred across consumers’ perception to the rest of the company.
Brand Value
Strong branding for a company is crucial for success in a competitive environment. A logo is a major element of a brand and strengthens it significantly.
For example, a good logo can help increase investment in a business by boosting its brand. Over 8 out of 10 investors think that brand strength and recognition are important in directing investment choices.
The stronger logo recognition becomes, the more its brand grows. Normally, logos work by pairing a graphic symbol with the name of the company. However, logos can become such powerful symbols that they no longer need a business name to accompany them. The Nike ‘Swoosh’ or the famous McDonalds’ Golden Arches are great examples of logos that are instantly recognizable by many people across the world. This is an indicator that the brand has enhanced its brand value. This can ultimately lead to increased sales revenue since decisions to purchase from a company are generally based on trust and recognition.
Although companies need a strong logo to represent their brand, this is not enough. They still need to validate their customers’ trust by providing quality, service, and value.
How To Use A Logo
Logos are used in a variety of formats and media. Business cards will normally feature a company logo to affirm the identity of the brand. Likewise, any media including social media, printed media, websites, banners, flyers, posters and so on, can feature a logo to enhance brand recognition.
Logo Design Principles
When designing a logo, there are 3 important design principles to apply:
1. Reflect the brand
Make sure that the logo reflects the brand when it comes to style, culture, and purpose of the business. Is a service formal and regulated or more informal and fun? The logo colors, fonts and graphics should mirror that identity.
2. Memorable
An easy to remember logo that sticks out and is uncluttered will be more effective than a complex jumble of images.
3. Versatile
Imagine that the logo will be used on different types of media including online media, merchandise and in print. It should be possible to display the logo on white, black and other backgrounds. A black and white logo version may also be required. Ensure that the logo still looks good in those different formats.
How To Design Your Logo
Designing a logo doesn’t need to be time-consuming, confusing and expensive. With Renderforest’s online software, it’s really fast and intuitive. It takes less than 5 minutes to design online using their smart AI and Machine learning algorithms and it’s also very affordable. Renderforest lets the machines do the hard work, which saves money in the process.
RenderForest’s Logo Maker helps create a perfect logo in minutes. Users can have their logo designed and ready to publish on their business cards, social media and websites instantly. Here are the steps to creating a professional logo with Renderforest:
- Log onto the Renderforest Logomaker.
- Enter the company name and click ‘create my logo’.
- Enter a few sentences that describe the kind of logo desired.
- Choose a text style.
- Choose from a list of logotypes and styles.
- Click ‘customize and finish’ to complete the logo design.
There is a great support page here featuring a list of helpful FAQ’s.
To sum up, a good logo is a must for any business or freelancer. Renderforest offers a quick, inexpensive and easy service to design your own logo, which will set up anyone for success.
If you are interested in even more design-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels then we have a lot more to choose from.
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