When customers consider a brand, they generally link it with a lifestyle it represents.
Because of this, lots of startups fail, as they don’t develop an emotional connection and representation of their brand names.
Regardless of the lifestyle a brand represents, it is one of the key marketing tools to help stimulate emotional engagement and to advance your startup.
Some startups disregard the value of an efficient logo design. Sure, it is not as significant as raising investment and hiring staff, and logo design should probably not be a key priority on your agenda when initially planning out your new business. However, when you start to consider the identity of your new brand name, that’s where logo design comes into play.
In this post, I will share with you some reliable logo design tips to help you create a brand name with a strong and clear identity, so let’s take a look now.
Why does a startup need a logo design?
There are many answers to this question.
A good logo helps make a good first impression, which is extremely important for new companies just starting out.
According to stats posted by CrowdSpring, it takes people only 10 seconds to form a first impression of the logo and they need to see it at least 7 times to remember it, so the more appealing it is, the more likely people are to remember you.
Clearly you don’t want first impressions to be bad. If clients find the logo unappealing from the start it may stop them purchasing anything from you.
A logo can also be the tool that motivates people to trust your brand and use your products or services. If customers don’t feel attracted by the logo, they may not engage with you as your brand is not clearly represented.
In today’s business, solid relationships between brand names and customers are extremely important, so do not underestimate the power and significance of your logo.
What should it look like?
Any knowledgeable marketeer will say the very first thing your logo needs is individuality. Check out this post on Design Contest to learn more about why originality in logo design is so important. There are countless brand names out there, and each of them has a uniqyue and memorable logo. You have to get creative these days and think outside the box – or forget the box is there altogether – to create a fantastic style. Most people have seen thousands of logos in their lifetimes, so yours must be memorable!
Logo designers usually recommend following certain guidelines for a logo design. Too much complexity should be avoided to make it as simple as possible and don’t copy other logos or your brand may get confused with others. To be honest, it’s just not good practice to steal other people’s ideas!
What colours should I use?
Colour is one of the most important factors as people are highly responsive to visual stimuli.
To make the colour work for your benefit, you should choose colours that help get across the right message, harnessing the power of colour psychology (yes, it’s a real science!).
Every colour you pick has implications on the overall logo design. Select them carefully and use the ones that get the most attention.
Figures in this infographic from LogoFactory help you understand the popular colours are used in logo design.
Here are the significances of some of the most popular colours used in logos today.
Red (29%)
Usually used to indicate passion, energy, warmth, aggressiveness, and risk. This colour is often used by food companies (think McDonalds, Burger King, KFC and Coca Cola) as it’s meant to to stimulate hunger.
Green (8%)
UIsed less often than red as it indicates that the brand has ethical or natural qualifications. Food companies use it to make customers feel safe engaging with the company as well. WholeFoods is one of the best examples of using green in this manner.
Purple (1%)
A lot of companies use it ( FedEx, Craigslist, Taco Bell and Yahoo) and the color suggests majesty, abundant creativity, royalty, and uniqueness.
Blue (39%)
Evokes authority, trust, consistency, and professionalism. It is often used by corporations and big businesses, such as Samsung, BMW, IBM, and Boeing. Start-ups offering products for men often have blue logos to represent it’s “masculinity”.
Orange (10%)
Can show enthusiasm, forward thinking and innovation. Companies like SoundCloud, Mozilla, JBL, and other high-tech brands are using it. Orange is also believed to promote appetite, similar to red.
Yellow (25%)
You should be careful with this aggressive color as it can symbolise cowardice. Used properly, it csn suggest happiness, warmth and friendliness. Famous brand names using Yellow include IKEA, Ferrari and Nikon.
Black (37%)
Used primarily by high-end brands, it is commonly associated with sophistication and power. Many people also view it as a color of death and villainy. Famous companies with black logos include Apple, Adidas, Chanel and Gucci.
What if I want to use several colours?
That’s an OK choice too. Often multiple-colours are used to evoke the friendly, easy-going nature of your brand. Google, Microsoft and eBay are among the most well-known business to adopt multiple colours in their logo design.
Multiple colors for a startup logo can be quite eye-catching is done correctly, but another common implication of using multiple colours is that the companies they represent have a large number of items and services. The examples of Google, Ebay and Microsoft back this point up. So, if your startup focuses on a limited variety of product and services, it may be better concept to opt for a only one or two colors to keep it simple.
What font style should I use?
First of all, it is recommended to include either the name or the initials of your brand in the logo design to clearly tie it to your business. Nobody will know about and understand your business to start with so won’t have any association with your logo yet, so keeping it simple and including the name will help people remember it. As soon as you establish yourself, you can potentially drop the name in the logo as people will hopefully recognise it.
Regarding the font style, try to come up with something unique and easily readable. There are so many businesses out there, meaning most fonts have been used hundreds, if not thouands, of times already.
Have a look at this Entrepreneur post to get a few ideas.
The Bottom Line
Starting a brand can be a challenging and demanding project and the logo design is often overlooked until the end. I highly advise you to make sure your logo design is given proper thought and you try at least a few ideas out. It will vastly increase your brand success if your logo is momorable, attracts people and helps to clearly identify your brand quickly and effectively.
You can also go to a logo design inspiration library like LogoSpire to see how specialists style beautiful logo designs.
If you need help producing a bespoke logo design for your startup, please contact us and we’d be happy to help!
About the Author
Ed Solman
enqore Founder and Digital Expert
Entrepreneur and Blogger. Passionate about helping people and businesses develop and grow. Daredevil sportsbike enthusiast.
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Source
The post Startup Branding Tips: A Logo design Style Guide for Startups appeared initially on Magnet4Blogging.
