Five Reasons Why Your Logo Should be a Top Priority

by Lynn Ventimiglia-Lobit

August 10, 2023

in Branding, Infographic, Logo, Marketing, white paper

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Fundamentals to Consider when Creating a Logo that Best Fits Your Brand

The diamonddog team has designed its fair share of client logos over the last ten years. We often find it is one of the more challenging marketing deliverables to get just right, sometimes even more so than creating a lengthy white paper or a visually appealing and detailed infographic. A logo is a critical component of your brand identity and with an average lifespan of ten years it warrants much thought and consideration.

Five Reasons to Prioritize Your Logo

There are many factors that go into building a successful business, and your logo is one of them. It may be visible on your website, products, packaging, business cards, and much more. When created right, your logo can leave a positive and lasting impression; therefore, it should be a top priority.

1. Makes a Good First Impression

You have heard on more than one occasion that you only have one chance to make a first impression. Your logo may be your company’s first impression to your prospects. They may see it on your product packaging in a store. Before visiting your business in person or stopping by your trade show booth, prospects may experience a first impression of your company already. They probably reviewed your website with your logo present on its pages. It should be visible on your website’s home page and in your footer and header on every web page.

2. Grabs Your Prospects’ Attention

With so much going on in today’s hectic world, it is key that your logo quickly grabs your prospects’ attention. In general, consumers’ attention spans are short. However, depending upon the generation(s) you are targeting it can vary. If Generation Z (individuals born between 1997 and 2012) is your target audience, you must grab their attention within 1.3 seconds. They have the shortest attention span of any generation. Designing an attention-grabbing logo that also communicates your core values is not always an easy task.

3. Distinguishes Your Business from the Competition

Later in this blog, I will cover a logo’s key elements, such as color, font, and other treatments to consider when designing it. A well-designed logo will enable you to stand out in your industry. It can represent the differentiating characteristics of your business, such as being a “one stop shop” or a seller of locally made products. Also, it can convey your core values and mission.

4. Builds Brand Loyalty

Positive customer experiences likely will result in brand loyalty. Your logo is a quick way for a customer to connect your business with a positive experience. To your loyal customers, it represents familiarity and consistency in terms of your offerings and the overall brand experience.

5. Identifies Your Business

Your logo is an expression of ownership. It lets people know who you are, what products/services you offer, and what benefits will be gained by engaging with your business. Your logo will be prominently displayed across many different online (i.e., website and social media) as well as offline (i.e., brochure and trade show graphics) marketing deliverables.

Three Logo Elements

Since your logo is integral to your brand identity, it is key to understand the elements to consider when designing it. You should include these different elements in your brand guidelines so others can use your logo properly going forward.

1. Treatments

You have seen different treatments of a company’s logo. A business can be represented by its name alone in just a certain font or in combination with a logomark. When I worked at Motorola, the company name was often used in conjunction with the iconic Motorola logomark, also known as the “batwing”. First introduced in 1955, this Motorola symbol is still used today by its successors, Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility. Logomarks can be used in a variety of ways. For example, Motorola Solutions uses it alone sometimes on its public safety products. It even appears on the Chicago Bulls jerseys since Motorola Mobility is the official jersey patch partner of the team.

Another treatment variation is your logo with a tagline. Nike often uses its tagline, “Just Do It”. Sometimes it is also combined with its iconic swoosh, which was introduced in 1971 and is still used globally. The iconic swoosh and the tagline provide instant company recognition.

In addition, many logos are produced in a variety of orientations to accommodate different use cases. Vertical or stacked logos are best when there is limited space, and a horizontal version may not be legible. Often, a stacked one is used on a social media company page or a giveaway. While the horizontal version is more appropriate for letterhead or trade show graphics.

2. Font

Your logo font should align with your brand voice and company image. For example, the child’s toy, Play-Doh, has a font that communicates playfulness and fun. A font can provoke certain emotions without people even being aware that it is happening. Even though you want to convey a certain image with your font, it still must be aesthetically pleasing and legible. Your font is used across a host of marketing deliverables, from billboards and trade show graphics to giveaways and business cards. If your logo includes an icon, it must work well with it too.

Currently, the most popular fonts for logos are:

Serif,
Sans Serif,
Cursive,
Bodoni,
Helvetica, and
Open Sans

3. Color

The last element, logo color, can provoke certain emotions and affect purchasing decisions. Depending upon your industry, you may want to use a certain color. For example, over 80 percent of healthcare logos contain the colors, blue and white. Blue is associated with trust, power, professionalism, cleanliness, calmness, and credibility. Blue also conveys a serene environment. White represents not only faith and hope, but cleanliness too. Plus, the mixture of the two colors is calming to the eyes.

Before selecting the colors for your logo, you should conduct research first. You should think about the feelings you want your consumers to experience and the actions you want them to take. Color is a significant component of your brand story because it will be used not only in your logo, but it will also be present throughout your website, collateral, and many other marketing deliverables.

Your logo should not incorporate more than three colors. Only five percent of logos use more than three colors. Whatever colors you choose, know the Pantone, CMYK, RGB, and Hex so your logo is reproduced consistently in the future.

Before adding a gradient to your logo, first consider the possible use cases for it. For example, if you plan to embroider your logo on apparel, it will not come across well. Adding gradients is often unnecessary and just washes out your logo.

Your Logo: A Worthwhile Investment

Your logo is an investment that will yield a positive ROI if done right. Before creating your logo, conduct research and review best practices for design. Your logo is an investment that is critical to your business’ growth for years to come.

The diamonddog Marketing team welcomes the opportunity to answer any questions about logos or to discuss designing a new one for your business. We look forward to hearing from you.