A great logo is more important for your startup than you think. Countless articles, branding-related podcasts, infographics, YouTube videos, and interviews confirm how influential a logo can be. According to 46% of marketers, imagery is crucial to telling a great story. It is, therefore, extremely important craft a great startup logo.
This guide will show you how you can create a logo that improves your online reputation and takes your branding to the next level.
Determine the core values of your brand
A logo isn’t just a pretty picture that you can stick on your office door. It is a reflection of your brand. It’s an example of what your brand is all about. To begin with, think about what your brand is trying to convey. Try to restrict it to three words or less.
The values that you reflect won’t just appear in your logo. They will appear across all brands and will be there to attract people to your door. This should be a priority, well above the colors and imagery you want to use. The core values of your brand will ultimately influence its overall design.
Make your logo industry-specific
Creating a logo is a complex process. Once you have the values of your brand, think about how you can condense that into something industry-specific. A value is something that you can find in all walks of life.
You have to go out of your way to shape that value into something that can work with your brand. Think of five keywords that define what you do and why you do it. Combine these words with your values and you should have something you can start working with.
Find symbols that align with your keywords and values
So many companies are increasing marketing budgets to build new logos for a good reason. They know that the industry is a battleground where they have to win. At this point, it’s time to start looking at some symbols in which you can incorporate into your logo.
Your values will be helpful here because most values have stereotypical symbols associated with them. For example, passion could have a symbol of a heart.
But is it best to stick with stereotypes or expand?
In general, it’s always best to go with the images people know. You are trying to market to the lowest common denominator, so it makes sense to stick to something they are familiar with. Trying to get too complicated usually leads to diminishing returns.
Bear in mind that the symbols you use can completely change through the colors you decide to use, so you have to play around with that as well.
Hire someone who understands your brand
The color of your logo says a lot about your company, as do the symbols you use. What does all that mean? It means you should hire a knowledgeable professional to handle everything for you. Find someone who identifies with your brand because there’s nothing worse than working with someone who doesn’t understand your values.
Just because someone has done great work doesn’t mean you should hire them. Look for someone with experience in designing imagery for your industry. They will understand what you are going for and they will probably put far more thought into the final result.
Test the logo on your materials
A logo may look entirely different on a mug of an iPad case than on Photoshop. You should test out your logo before you formally launch. The last thing you want is to go through the hated logo redesign process because you didn’t test first.
Create a draft version of your website and have some samples with the new logo delivered to your office. After this, you will either have to return to the drawing board or be good to go.
How often should you change your logo?
There are no rules regarding how often you should change your logo to make your startup stand out. Redesigns normally come as part of a wider company change. These company changes tend to be implemented simply because results have gone stale and people are no longer responding to the brand like they once were.
What struggles have you faced in designing or redesigning your logo?