Logo design is a key to a good business. There is more than the pizza cartoon for an Italian restaurant or a yellow helmet for a construction company. In this post, you'll find the importance of logo design in business and the logo design process.
6 Reasons why a Logo is crucial for your business
First impressions
It's well known that first impressions are sacred in the design business. The logo is your business introduction to the public. A nice logo will invite them to know more about the company. Your logo must catch your future customers' eyes. This first impression is the possibility of communicating what your business is about.
Identity
A logo is the foundation of your business brand. The design elements (colors, fonts, shapes) are the ones that determine the whole vibes and energy your company has, why? Because they will be on all your branding material, such as business cards, social media, website, and merchandising. A logo allows us to create a clear brand identity.
Point of identification
A logo is a symbol. We all know the big old yellow M, the half-eaten apple, and the blue little bird. These are indeed symbols we use to recognize brands. One of the goals of a logo is to make people think of your company when they see it. And more important, people should think positive things about your company, and the key to triggering these thoughts is on the logo design.
Makes your business stand out
How many milk companies have a cow on their logo? Or the coffee bean in every café? I have nothing against cows but it's getting repetitive. A logo is an opportunity to be different. Is the way of telling customers your business is original and unique. A good logo will be able to communicate your company's background and mission through the, already mentioned, element designer. Summing up, your logo is a way of stating that you are better than your competition.
Increases customers
These days, attractiveness is preferred over functionality. This can be seen in logo design, a colorful and nice logo will attract more customers than a dull monochromatic one. As it's already been said, the logo gives a lot of information with just an impression. This includes the product or service your business provides, allowing you to attract consumers only with a single design.
This is why your logo should clearly state what your company's mission is, what it can provide, and why it's the best.
Professionalism and Consistency
Every serious and professional business has an established and unique logo. A good logo is a good professional image that will help you build trust with your customers. A logo also ensures that your brand is represented in the right way, after all, consistency is also a key to gaining trust.
Logo design process
Of course, each designer has their own work routine. One might have scheduled their work and break times and another might lay on the ground with a cup of tea to let the creativity flow. However, there are 6 basic steps in a logo design process.
Step 1. Understand the brand
The first task a logo designer has is evaluating and embracing the essence of the business he or she is working for. As stated before, a logo says a lot about a company, so the designer must know the company's goals and what it embodies. There might be clients that are pretty clear on what they want, these will be able to tell the designer their expectations about the logo. However, some won't be able to articulate their wishes, so in that case, gathering the required information is up to the designer. This information might include the client's feelings about their company, why they want a logo, which values the company has, and much more. At the end of this step, the designer will have the necessary data to understand the brand in every aspect and can move on to the next step-
Step 2. Analyze competition
Even though standing out is important, every business will have to stay within its industry standards. In this part, the designer must do some research o the kind of logos other companies (of the same industry) have. From this research, the designer will know which techniques are better for the development of a logo in that certain industry, for example, house designs are really common in real estate brand logos. With this information, the designer will either stick to this standard cause it has good results or avoid it to let your logo stand out.
Step 3: Sketching
This is when the designer lets ideas and creativity flow. He/she grabs a pencil and starts doodling whatever comes to mind. Brainstorming is fundamental to the logo design process. The important thing about this is being able to rule out good elements of every different sketch, that's the only way of getting closer to the final design. Once you have some candidates you should transfer them to a digital draft, where you can experiment with colors and various elements a pencil cant provide.
Step 4: Refining, feedback, and finishing
Now it's time to take care of the details, the logo must be clean and consistent. Once the designer thinks his work is done, he or she must reach out to other people to receive some feedback. Of course, colleagues will give technical and professional advice but the feedback of family, friends, or others will represent far better the regular customer's opinion. The last part would be preparing the files. Many logo designers include different variations of the final product, such as a black and white version. Lastly, the professional will send the files and hold for the answer to make any corrections.
Final Thoughts
Logos are the face of any business. The first impression and the base of the company's identity. A logo must represent the brand professionally and consistently. The logo design process has 6 steps in which the designer must engage with the company and do some research to let their creativity flow. A bad logo is a bad image, logos should be seen as opportunities to improve your business.
