In addition to guest posting on the UpCity blog, GrowME Marketing is featured as one of the Top Branding Agencies in Canada. Check out their profile here.
The average logo lasts for ten years, according to Logo Design Guru. So the pressure is on when designing a company logo that reflects your business and connects with your target audience. This is particularly true for your logo signature design.
Particularly when it comes to designing your logo signature.
What Is A Signature Logo?
Let’s start with a definition. A signature logo is the defining part of your business. It’s a type of logo that can be watermarked on images, used as a monogram, attached to the bottom of emails, and as defined by Medium, used in “a structured relationship between a logotype, brand mark, and tagline”. A great logo will be recognizable no matter the medium, whether it is on social media or a business card.
An example is Hyundai, as showcased below by Medium:
Is it important to get a signature logo?
Consider these facts: it takes five to seven impressions for people to remember your brand, but only 10 seconds to form an opinion about your logo.
This tells you one thing; that repetition and consistency are key for building your brand identity, but that can only be achieved by having a defining signature logo that can blend with corporate and public communication while remaining flexible with taglines and applications.
This means that having a strong, decisive, high-quality logo can be crucial for your brand. So how do you go about creating one? If you keep reading, you’ll find out…
What You Need To Consider When Creating Your Signature Logo
Don’t Over Complicate The Design
Let’s get this off the table first: a simple design goes a long way. Don’t use your logo signature to cram a lot of information. Keep it simple.
Why? Because simple designs are easier to code, and since our brains process images 60,000 times faster than we process words, it makes sense that more straightforward logos are easier to recognize than over-the-top designs.
Think of Target, the retail outlet. What better way to represent the brand than by actually using a target? It stands out because of its striking simplicity, the minimalist appeal to it, and the fact that you can “target” your search at their store.
So the message is clear: go for something simple.
Decisive And Reflecting Font
Through its visual characteristics, your font should display the values of your company’s name and the brand’s personality and style. But there is a fine line that comes with choosing your font. Selecting something too extravagant or confusing will lose your audience. It’s about finding the right balance that highlights your business and expresses what your company is about.
Take no better example than Coca-Cola. Universally recognized, the font used reflects classic Americana; cursive and fashionable lettering showcasing an energetic, flowing product that does exactly that – provides you with energy. It’s cross-generational and nostalgic, hence why it works with older and younger generations.
If you are starting a new logo from scratch and want to use tried and true winners, the sans serif fonts (e.g. Topography or Arial) are consistently winning templates for logo designs.
Use Colors Which Reflect Your Brand
Never overlook the color of your signature logo. Remember that there is an 80% increase in brand recognition with a colored logo design, so don’t settle for standard black-and-white designs.
Take, for instance, GrowME Marketing, a logo design company in Calgary. It has a unique lettering design (taking cues from Coca-Cola) and a distinct color pattern: dark grey and a bright red (which flows so well, as the red ‘Me’ highlights the booming growth a business will experience).
Significantly, the choice of colors works, which is something essential to consider. Remember that 29% of the top brand’s logos use the color red, 28% use grayscale colors, and 95% use one or two colors. So take cues from the big boys.
Try various shades and find different colors representing your brand, values, and what your business can offer. Not only will it help your brand name stand out more compared to the competition, but it also helps with the consistency and application of your brand, which we discuss more below.
Consistency Matters
According to Lucidpress, “customers appreciate it when a business has a consistent brand. In fact, consistent presentation of a brand has seen to increase revenue by 33 percent”.
Therefore, you should create a signature logo that can be applied to all avenues of your business (including email signatures) and is only amended within its design and structure.
Like FedEx.
FedEx has multiple arms of the company, such as Express, Freight, Ground, Office, and Trade Networks. Each of these arms of the company is clearly defined through clever use of color. The Fed maintains its traditional purple color, but it’s Ex is changed based on the product.
That ensures that the brand is always consistent and gives customers a distinction between each product. It’s something you can do for your small business.
Maximize Readability
Regardless of what font or design you choose for your logo, readability must be considered.
Considering that 93 of the top 100 brands use logos designed to be recognizable in small sizes, it highlights the importance of logos that can be recognized in any size. This stat shows that companies that have easily discernible logos, even in small sizes, have a greater impact on their customer base.
Want the best example? Consider Nike.
A simple tick that is recognized in every instance, regardless of its size and where it is placed. Its creativity is simple and readable, even without the name. And it is something you can incorporate into your signature logo.
Now Create The Best Logo For Your Brand
As you can see, a signature logo is important for your business and it does not have to be hard to do. As a small business, many resources are available to support this key marketing tool.
There are many free logo makers out there, where graphic design is not something that you need to worry about. Logo templates and color palettes are provided so that you can create the perfect logo for your company. An example of such a resource is Canva. So there is no excuse not to get started on your logo today!