Wondering how to make your business get noticed in a crowded marketplace and make an everlasting impression? You know how they say that the first impression is the last impression; it is exactly the case with any business. The first thing a customer sees of a company is a logo and the quality of the logo decides whether a customer will be more likely to choose your company’s services or not.

What is a logo?

Before knowing how to get a great logo, it is important to know first what a logo is. A logo is basically a graphical representation of a company. It builds the whole image of your company. And as mentioned above logo actually makes the first impression of your company. Logo mainly consists of texts and graphics. As it is said a picture says a thousand words, a logo shows the company name and the company’s products or services. A logo basically creates the first identity of an organization.

Why is it Important to have a Logo for Your Business?/ Advantages of Having a Logo

At first, a great logo creates a great image of your company; a professionally designed logo attracts the attention of your potential customers and builds trust. A great first impression will give your company that edge which will make the customers choose your company over others, thus you can rise above your competitors. A well designed compelling logo will help your customers remember your company’s name and they will consider your company when doing the next purchase. When your customers see that you have invested in making a good-quality visual identity they are more likely to believe in the quality of your services or products, thus building the very important ‘trust’. The importance of a logo lies in building brand awareness. A logo helps a customer recognize your core brand, as a logo appears on most of the marketing materials of your company such as banners, websites, advertising etc; it is directly linked to your business success. While a professionally designed logo can attract potential new clients, a poorly designed logo can turn off customers and they will be more likely to choose your competitors. Consider two companies, one with a professionally created logo and one with a logo created using Microsoft clip-arts. Which one are you more likely to choose? The answer is obvious, the first one.  A logo is very important to show your customers that your company is bigger and established. A logo also shows how committed you are towards your customers. It is said that an idea can be conveyed in the highest sense only by a symbol. If your company is a non-traditional company, and your products or surveys are not easy to explain in words, a logo can visually convey your line of work easily.

What Characteristics Your ‘Great’ Logo Should Have

Now that you have understood the importance of a logo in your business, it is time to know how to get a great logo to take your business above all. It is important to know the difference between a good logo and a bad logo. Today, everybody has a basic knowledge of Photoshop and many consider using this software for creating a logo. But, did you know that Photoshop is not at all the ideal software for making a logo? This basic difference is known to the trained and professional graphic designers. Now anybody can learn various software from tutorial videos. But there are several aesthetics related to logo creating which only a professional designer can understand. A logo can either bring total success or total failure in making your company’s image. Logos are supposed to be memorable and good logos are supposed to leave a mark on your customers’ mind. Some of the most famous company logos are very simple but they can be recognized by anyone anywhere. Some examples are the logos of bigger brands as Adidas, Nike, Pepsi, Microsoft etc. Such companies’ logos are recognizable even without the text; just the symbol is enough for anybody to recognize the logo.

Being simple is always better; this principle should be followed while choosing a logo. The main aim should be to make it memorable. A logo has various elements which are shape, image, style, size, and color. We live in a very fast-moving world, and you have very less time to impress your customers. Logos become memorable either because of their unique shape or color. Colors are believed to have an effect on the level of excitation and mental stimulation. For example, the red color of McDonald’s logo is believed to be appetite-enhancing, this effect is called chromodynamics. Again, some colors have a calming effect. You must always use simple colors. The principle behind this is to remember the several places it will be used on. It will appear on business cards, black and white newspaper ads, screens, banners, product packaging etc. As these places may use different printing technology, using gradient colors, fine detailing, using many colors will make the logo appear quite different in different places. Thus, bigger brands use less than 3 main colors. Also, you must use solid colors and not gradients. A logo must be created in a manner that it catches the customer’s eyes easily and they can memorize it easily. Keep this in mind while creating a logo that a logo should echo the current identity of the organization and also it should be made flexible for future growth. A good example will be of Mercedes Benz’s three-pointed star logo. It was designed in the 1900s and it was designed to symbolize design elegance and today it has come to signify superiority of their product.

The texts of your company name must be made super clear; it must be visible and readable from a distance, as they may appear on banners, posters etc. your logo must be easy to use, geometric shapes can be reduced to a very small size such as 1/16^th of an inch to fit on a business card, they are suitable for appearing on black and white newspaper ads, can be used for animation, and also can be enlarged to a billboard size.

If you want your logo to be remembered for a long time, you must incorporate some memorable element in your logo. It can be done by using interesting text or tagline, or by modifying part of your text in the logo to make it different from usual fonts. Another way of doing this is by adding a unique icon. When you have a unique icon it will become the identity of your brand and it can be used even without the text or the name of your company. For example, the swirling red, white, and blue design of Pepsi can be recognized even without the text ‘Pepsi’.

An analysis of some famous logos can help you in creating your logo. Here are some examples:

Microsoft– Microsoft released its most popular logo on January 5, 1987. This logo was created by Scott Baker. It was put down on August 22, 2012, but on older products and some portals, it is still being used. The next logo was used as a secondary logo and was changed slightly in 2011.This logo was used only for 1 year and was put down in 2012. On August 23, 2012, a new logo was introduced which includes four squares and it has the then-current Windows logo’s colors. This is also the present logo of the company.

Apple– One of the most recognizable logos of recent times. The logo of Apple represents the forbidden fruit from the ‘Tree of Knowledge’ as mentioned in the Bible.

McDonald’s– The ‘M’ of the McDonald’s logo stands literally for the initial of the name of the brand and there is no other meaning to it. This is a classic example of using simplicity in creating a logo.

Pepsi– The new logo of Pepsi cost them $1 million dollars. Later, the designer’s document was leaked and it suggests that the new logo was made based on Feng Shui, the Renaissance, the theory of relativity etc.

Google– Google used simple letters and colors in their logo. In their logo, four primary colors are used in a row and then it’s broken by a secondary color. This shows that Google doesn’t play it safe by following rules rigidly. This is an example of using simple colors and words cleverly to convey a message.

Adidas-The Adidas logo has three stripes which are slanted to make it look like a mountain. It represents the various obstacles that people have to overcome in life. Initially, they used only three stripes which did not reflect anything.

Thus, you can see that a good logo is always made in a simpler manner and used in a clever way to convey the company’s message easily to the customers.

How to Get the Logo for Your Company

As mentioned earlier, you must always get your logo done by a professional. With the growth in the industry in the last 5 years, we can find several logo designing services are available online. Many people are becoming victims of fraud. The way you can avoid this and find a good designer is by seeing the website of a company. Check if they have a good portfolio with lots of good quality logo designs. Both big ad agencies and small freelance graphic designers, or small designer companies produce good work. You can choose from them according to your budget. You might also want to check whether the company outsources their work or they have in-house designers, also check their contact information. The companies which do not provide the proper information must be avoided. But, it must be remembered that you must have a good idea about what you want and must give a good brief to your designer otherwise even the best designer won’t be able to create the logo you are looking for.

Thus, you can see that a good-quality compelling logo can be used to start, enhance, or extend relationships with your customers. A logo which is given much thought after it can attract more customers and can take your business ahead of your competitors.

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