How important is a logo?
A logo is essential for a company’s success because it builds a brand identity, generates customer interest, makes your brand memorable and unique, encourages brand loyalty, and improves marketing.
- Builds Brand Identity: A logo is a quick, visual means of communicating what the business is all about to potential customers.
- Generates Customer Interest: Logos help businesses generate interest through the use of colors and symbolism.
- Makes You Unique & Memorable: Logos help businesses stand out from their competitors.
- Encourages brand loyalty: Logos foster a sense of community among both employees and customers.
- Provides Easy Marketing: Logos can be printed on cards and pamphlets, as well as displayed on websites, signs, and other materials for the widest possible reach.
Logos are a symbol of what makes you brand valuable, useful, and enduring.
How do you design a logo?
When companies design a logo, they tend to follow 8 steps:
- Determine business needs
- Define an identity
- Research competition
- Choose design and style
- Determine logo type
- Choose logo colors
- Choose logo font
- Hire a logo design company to get started
1. Determine Business Needs
Your business must first understand why it needs a logo in the first place and how a logo affects its operations. Some brands may need a new logo to indicate it has changed with the times, while others may seek to restore or emulate a classic logo style to suggest timeless customer service or luxury.
2. Define an Identity
Make sure your logo reflects the personality of your company and how you want consumers to think about your business.
3. Research Competition
Look at what other companies have done with their logos and study what made them successful or where they fell short. Make sure your logo design won’t be easily confused for a competitor’s.
4. Decide on Design Style
Design style is the overall aesthetic of the logo – minimalist, vintage, post-modern. Your company’s brand identity largely determines the design style of your logo.
5. Determine Logo Type
Logo types include:
- Lettermarks
- Wordmarks
- Pictomarks
- Abstracts
- Mascots
- Emblems
- Combination
6. Choose Logo Colors
Colors communicate different messages based on their combination and shading. Design experts can help your business choose primary colors that best fit your company goals.
7. Choose Logo Typography
Similar to colors, the font used also communicates subtle messages to potential customers. Pictomarks can be exempt from this step. Choose the typography that best fits your brand.
8. Partner With a Logo Design Company
Professional logo designers are the quickest and surest way of bringing your vision to life. A logo designer can help your business weigh various logo options and make decisions that represent your company’s values.
What makes a good logo?
Think of iconic logos such as Apple’s apple or Nike’s swoosh. Good logos don’t necessarily look similar but they do tend to have shared characteristics: They are unique, memorable, reflect brand identity, used in multiple marketing mediums, and timeless
- Unique: A good logo always stands out from the rest of the competition.
- Memorable: A good logo is easy to recall or recognize even when seen in passing.
- Reflective of your brand identity: A good logo gives the target audience a good idea of what your business is all about.
- Easily applicable: A good logo can be easily fitted to any marketing medium for maximum reach.
- Timeless: A good logo must continue to appeal to its intended audience years into the future.
Creating a logo with these characteristics isn’t easy, which is why businesses should consider hiring a logo designer.
How much does a logo design cost?
Logo design could cost a small business anywhere between $300 to more than $100,000. The cheapest options would require your business to do most of the design work itself. This is not generally recommended, however, as it most likely will not result in an effective, professional logo.
Mid-range logo design options involve partnering with freelance designers. These designers are experienced and may have expertise with a specific art or design style, but they may not be familiar with your industry.
High-end logo design options, which may cost more than $100,000, are design agencies that have expertise in market research, industry experience, and a variety of design styles.
How do you trademark a logo?
Trademarking your logo is an important, multistep process that includes ensuring the trademark is available, registering the trademark, and filing the trademark application.
- Ensure availability: Begin the trademark search process with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Attorney’s Office (USPTO) database.
- Begin using the logo: Once the search is complete, a business can begin using the logo, but you will be limited to using it in a certain geographic area.
- Register the trademark: Register the logo with the office of the Secretary of State where the logo will be used.
- File a trademark application: Hire an attorney to help file a trademark application with the USPTO. This will take several months and is the most expensive option. However, it is the most secure strategy as a USPTO-filed trademark allows a company to use the logo anywhere in the U.S., and the USPTO has enforcement power over copycats and trademark cheats.
Trademarking a logo can be a hassle, but some logo designers will be able to refer your business to legal experts that can help.