LOGO DESIGN & BRAND DEVELOPMENT
People sometimes interchange the words ‘logo’ and ‘brand’ when discussing the look and feel of a company or product name.
The terms do, of course, sit side by side, but a logo is only part of an overall Brand Indentity.
Why is it necessary to make this distinction? Because once you look beyond the design, it’s what we think NEXT that’s really important.
When we see a logo and recognise it, we’ll usually have a feeling about it (even a simple good or bad, yes or no feeling). Within a fraction of a second, we’ll have checked our internal database (the brain) to see whether it resonates and if there is any information stored.
We recall our understanding of the words and image, and make an instant judgement, that evokes an emotion.
We don’t usually form a relationship with a brand on first sight (unless there is a multi million pound media spend behind it). However, over time and if ‘consistent’ in its presentation, we do start to associate certain values to it, depending on the other messages that surround it.
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SETTING BRAND GUIDELINES
Because consistency is so important, large companies invest in creating brand manuals so that no matter who is producing their visual materials, they will always have uniformity.
The manual defines the company purpose, brand values and strategy. They describe the rules for expressing the brand, including how to use (and how not to use) the logo, along with what colours and fonts to use.
Established guidelines will also include the preferred writing, photography, illustration or icon styles to use.
A small business or sole trader might not need a whole book of rules but at the very least, should have a brandsheet that outlines the basics.
There comes a point when you can’t do everything yourself. When commissioning a design or marketing project, be ready to share your business story and brand with some basic rules.
A brandsheet should include:
• How the logo looks on both light and dark backgrounds
• How the logo works in different size spaces
• Specific details of the brand colours for print and online
• The brand font
IF YOU ARE A START-UP BUSINESS
If you’re a start-up, you need a logo to represent your new business,
but don’t stress about it – it’s not a tattoo!
Your business name should be well considered but your logo can grow
and change with your business (even Apple didn’t start with the infamous apple icon.
They had they had an illustration of Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree).
Brief your designer concisely, and invest in multiple executions in order to test all the options.
Make your decision on what feels right, but review again after a few days, to see if it still fits your brand personality.
