Ready to join the upper echelons of unforgettable brands? Believe it or not, a smart logo is essential to the success of your company!
Let’s jump right in to explore the secret of the world’s most successful logos. They typically …
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Use just one or two colors. Notable exceptions include NBC, eBay and Google, but most other brands stick to a very simple color scheme. Shades of red, blue or black are quite popular.
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Use text only. When you think of logo design, you might think of a purely graphic logo, like the Nike swoosh or Apple’s apple. But these top brands can be recognized without any text thanks to their long history and ubiquity. For a start-up or smaller company, name recognition is more important than logo recognition, so do what 54% of the top brands still do, and create a logo out of the company’s name or initials.
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Are easily scalable. The best logos are recognizable even when scaled down. Thedesigns are simple enough that no details are lost when the logo is small, making itpossible for the viewer to instantly recognize the brand regardless of size.
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Are horizontal. A horizontal rectangle is the most popular layout for top brands, with a solid 50% using such a shape.
Top Brands Often Have More Than One Logo
Although we’ve just outlined what the logos of top brands have in common, it’s important to point out that most of these top brands, 72% in fact, have more than one version of their logo in use.
Think, for example, of Twitter’s various logos. They have a horizontal text-only logo, a square logo with a lower-case “t” and a third logo that depicts the brand’s iconic bird mascot. Each of the logos uses a particular shade of blue that unites them all, and each is recognizable as the Twitter brand.
Designing a Stand-Out Logo
The physical characteristics of the world’s most successful brands’ logos are just one piece of the puzzle. Besides considering colors, dimensions, etc., it’s important to think about what values and emotions your brand represents. Each element of the logo design should reflect some deeper meaning about your brand.
For example, IKEA is known for practical, modern furniture that is assembled at home. The font in the IKEA logo uses big, bold letters, almost like building blocks. Can you imagine the IKEA logo written in an elaborate, flowing font? You might expect to go shopping for tea cups and trinkets at a store with such a logo.
Before consumers even step foot in your store or start to explore your website, two things impart important first impressions: the company name and the logo. Are you a luxury company? Then you might consider using gold tones in your logo. Are you cutting-edge and modern? Then use shapes and fonts that convey that feeling. Are you a family-friendly company that offers baby supplies? Then rounder, softer shapes and brighter colors would help drive that point home.
In short, developing the perfect logo is an art. Start by brainstorming your company values and defining characteristics. An excellent graphic designer should be able to subtly combine everything into an unforgettable logo that truly represents your brand.
