Creating a logo in questions and answers
Creating the right logo in questions and answers. Graphic design studio Veonix answered popular questions about how to create a logo with which your clients will immediately recognize you among your competitors.
Contents:
- 1. What types of logos are there?
- 2. Main stages of logo development
- 2.1. Filling out the brief.
- 2.2. Concept creation.
- 2.3. Creating sketches
- 2.4. Finalization.
- 2.5. Preparation of the layout
- 3. What does the performer need to know?
- 4. Criteria for a well-designed logo
- 5. How to evaluate the developed logo?
- 5.1. Make sure it's unique.
- 5.2. Test for memorability
- 5.3. Define the font
- 5.4. Check for versatility
- 5.5. Test scalability
- 6. Who should you trust to create a logo?
Developing a company logo is an important stage for achieving success in competition.
Without this step, any efforts to promote a brand, product or service are meaningless. Your company will be remembered and distinguished from others, first of all, by its brand name.
Development of an effective logo - a complex and time-consuming process. The final result depends on many factors. Here we have prepared answers to important questions that you should familiarize yourself with before choosing a contractor to create a logo.
They will not only help you avoid pointless waste of time and money, but also get exactly the brand name that will become a real symbol of your success in business for many years.
What types of logos are there?
Skillful design can express the special philosophy of a brand and show its essence. But first, you should figure out what type of logo suits your company best.
Experts identify several main types of logos that are connected by a common feature. Let's look at each of them.
Text logo. This option is used by many famous world brands. It contains only the company name without any graphic symbols. Remember the laconic but charismatic logos of Sony or Google.
Such brand names work well together with successful naming, when the brand name speaks for itself. In this case, a correctly selected or specially designed font will add color, a special feeling that inspires the image of the company. This option is better suited for a brand whose name consists of one word.
Graphic symbol. The bitten Apple apple, the Telegram paper airplane or the Twitter bird have become recognizable symbols that fully convey the idea of their brands.
However, creating a graphic image that speaks entirely for itself is a risky move for a company. Are you bringing a revolutionary idea to market? Then it’s better to use the name in the logo.
Abstract logo
The designer's imagination can create a completely unexpected figure that does not correspond to the images we know. At the same time, it will surprisingly accurately express the characteristics of the business. The most famous examples are the Adidas trefoil or the Pepsi circle.
Such a simple and creative logo concentrates the idea of your brand and makes it as recognizable as possible. A true professional can create a truly successful abstract logo.
Emblem
A specific type of logo with a complex design. Outwardly it resembles a seal or coat of arms. Think of the Starbucks mermaid or the Harley-Davidson badge, where the company names are inscribed inside a geometric shape.
The logo-emblem is most often used where they want to emphasize the inviolability of traditions - in the visual images of universities, schools, car clubs, food production enterprises.
A serious drawback is that due to the many details, the logo emblem is difficult to depict on small objects or embroidered on staff clothing.
Talisman
Such logos are primarily aimed at a family audience. Often drawn characters act as mascots, arousing sympathy and creating a friendly atmosphere.
Cartoon characters are used to create logos for children's cafes, sports clubs or teams. But Colonel Sanders, the founder of the KFC fast food chain, used his stylized image as a mascot, by which the company is recognized by millions of people around the world.
However, most often customers choose a more universal type of brand name.
Combined logo
A skillful combination of the company name with an original graphic symbol makes it possible to remember your brand by two elements of the logo at once. For some, the word will be etched in their memory, for others, the drawing.
One of the most famous combined logos is the Lacoste crocodile along with the company name.
If you are just entering the market, a combined logo will allow the company to quickly stand out from others and gain a foothold in the market.
Now that you have an idea of the main types of logos, let's look at how to create a brand name if you turn to professionals.
Basic stages of logo development
Filling out the brief.
3 First of all, an experienced designer will ask the client to fill out a brief. Detailed answers to questions will help him understand the customer’s wishes and form an idea about the company.
Concept creation.
The next stage is work for the marketer. This is an immersion in the business, identifying the target audience, analyzing competitors' logos and searching for original ideas.
As a result, several concepts are born that will form the basis for sketches of the future logo.
Creating sketches
If you contact a good design studio, during the work process you will be offered several independent images of the company logo. Each of them will carry their own original idea.
Your task is to choose the option that most matches not only your own ideas about the logo, but also will find the maximum response from clients.
Finalization.
When a suitable sketch is agreed upon, it begins to be perfected. Ask to see your future logo in different colors, analyze the details and don’t be afraid to make adjustments.
A good designer will make changes until you see the perfect option, the one that will leave your competitors behind.
Preparation of the layout
When receiving a finished logo in electronic form, make sure that it is presented in raster and vector formats, which are necessary for making changes and editing, printing and working with Internet projects. First of all, you need a logo in the following formats:
- .Ai – for editing, changing color, background, scaling;
- .EPS or .PDF – for printing on various media;
- .PNG - for printing and working with websites or pages on social networks. In this format, you must have a logo on a transparent background.
What does the performer need to know?
Remember that even the best design agency will not create the perfect logo without the help of the client.
When answering the brief's questions, tell us about your preferences, specify which color scheme seems more advantageous to you, which style of execution is closer.
Don't skimp on sharing information about the company. The contractor must have the most complete information about your brand.
- Do you want the logo to make a serious impression, evoke a feeling of solidity, or have a slightly ironic character, setting up easy friendly communication?
- Highlight the main advantages of your company, describe the target audience in detail. Answer the question why it is worth choosing you and not others.
- Indicate what qualities of your product the logo should convey to customers, what keywords can describe your business and how the company positions itself in the market.
Answer all questions in the brief in detail. Remember, you know your business better than anyone else. Don't hide your thoughts about what you want the company to be like in the future. This will help the designer understand you faster and start speaking the same language with you.
Criteria for a well-designed logo
It is difficult to list all the features of an effective logo. We will present the main criteria by which you can distinguish work performed by professionals.
Compliance
The design must be relevant to the brand's target audience and reflect its unique features. If you need a logo for a children's cafe, it should evoke trust and a festive mood, and not emphasize your representativeness.
Uniqueness
A real specialist will not use a picture downloaded on the Internet for a logo. Masters create images themselves and draw them by hand.
Simplicity.
Unnecessary details complicate perception, and simple solutions best convey the desired idea.
Recognition
If the logo is easy to remember, consider that you have already achieved the main thing - you have managed to distinguish your company from others.
Versatility
Weak designers often try to impress the customer with a bright palette of colors. However, when printed, the logo must look effective in both color and black and white.
Scalability
A high-quality logo will be equally impressive on any medium – from a business card to an advertising banner.
How to evaluate the developed logo?
Once you have your logo ready, try a simple analysis to determine its effectiveness. It is not difficult, even for an unprepared person. Describe the brand name according to several criteria.
Make sure it's unique.
Is your logo one of a kind or based on a template that has already been used by many? Ask others if the image seems familiar to them? Check its uniqueness in Yandex pictures.
Answer the question: what main idea does the logo clearly express? If a designer's creation looks like a puzzle and contains several complex ideas, the consumer will not understand it.
Answer the question: what main idea does the logo clearly express? If a designer's creation looks like a puzzle and contains several complex ideas, the consumer will not understand it.
Test for memorability
Show the logo to your colleagues and then ask them to draw it on paper or verbally describe it in detail. If a trademark is not immediately remembered, it will take a lot of effort and money for the audience to remember it.
Define the font
Check with the designer what font the name of your brand is written in. If the work uses a style from a standard set, and not the author’s design, it is difficult to talk about the originality of the logo.
Check for versatility
Ask the developer to convert the image to black and white and see if its expressiveness is lost.
Test scalability
Try zooming in and out as much as possible. See if small details disappear, and is the font easy to read? A professionally made logo will always look without losing quality.
If you are not satisfied with one or more evaluation criteria, feel free to send the logo for revision. After all, your brand name will be the face of your business for many years. And every mistake during development will result in lost profits.
Who should you trust to create a logo?
When choosing among many designers and studios, pay attention to several characteristics that will help you distinguish professionals from unscrupulous performers.
Availability of brief
If a person works without a brief, then he will not study the specifics of your company and will most likely offer a template image from the stock as a logo.
Portfolio
Evaluate the specialist’s past work based on its quality. Would you like to receive something like this? Take the time to see if these logos work in real life, or if they were made to fill out a portfolio.
Reputation
Call a couple of former customers and ask what impression they had of working with this contractor. Customer opinion is the best indicator of quality.
Experience
Of course, there are chances that a novice artist will create a wonderful logo for you, but it is safer to turn to specialists who have dozens of successfully completed projects behind them.
Our team has been creating creative logos at affordable prices for many years.
This is why 70% of our customers come back again or recommend us to friends.
Call by phone 8 800 222 77 65, and we will conduct a free marketing analysis of your task and help with the concept of an effective logo.
We wish you good luck!