As the saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Understanding why a logo is important can help businesses ensure that their first experience with customers conveys the right message from the start. While the logo is just one part of your company’s brand identity, it acts as an instant elevator pitch.
A strong design must resonate with your audience and contain iconography that emulates the value of service, product quality, and company mission.
Every element of your logo, from color to font choice, should be a strategic decision that differentiates you from the competition. Why?
Logo Design Evokes emotion, color impacts mood.
Each individual element conveys a story about your brand. Customers unconsciously perceive these messages and draw conclusions about who you are, which is why these design choices should be made strategically. There’s a lot more to consider.
Logo Placement & Variation
Keep in mind that your logo will appear in many different places, from brochures and mailers to social media graphics and apparel. Regardless of the application, a logo should be clearly discernible and fit appropriately in the given space. That means the size of your logo may have to change.
For this reason, it is important to develop variations to fit any scenario.
You may consider building stacked, horizontal, icon only, and/or text only designs. Having multiple, yet consistent versions of your logo help to ensure that regardless of the placement, your brand is never tarnished.
You may encounter scenarios when your logo may need to change color to suit the surrounding design. An example of this would be applying a white logo over a dark background. No matter the placement, the logo should always be displayed clearly and prominently. It is a standard practice to have full-color, black, grey, and white versions of your logo.
Increase visibility, Increase Recognition
The goal of repetition is to remain at the forefront of a customer’s mind. Each interaction with your company’s logo is an opportunity to build a positive association with your brand.
That’s why your logo should be on all marketing collateral. When it’s time for potential customers to make a purchasing decision, the hope is that your brand will be among the first they turn to.
Exploring File Formats
For easy editing and scaling, you’ll want to have access to your logo’s design file(s). Ideally, your logo would be created in Adobe Illustrator (EPS or AI). This gives your logo the ability to be scaled to any size without loss of clarity. You will also gain the ability to convert the file into other formats.
There are many cases, like when working with a printing vendor or news outlet, where you may also want to have JPEG, PNG, and/or PDF file formats on hand. Having your logo available in various file types ensures you can apply the logo in many different situations. This is paramount to maintaining the highest quality of your logo.
We recommend exporting logos in all color, designs, and file format versions.
Consistency
While a certain level of variation is expected, your logo design and brand image should not be changing constantly.
Is It Time For A Change?
Changing your logo shouldn’t be a decision made lightly, there are several factors to consider. First, determine sentiment, or how customers feel about your company. If the sentiment is largely positive, stay the course. If, for whatever reason, your customers have a negative association with your logo, it might be time to switch it up.
Here are just a few other scenarios that might prompt a change:
- Competition has become stiff and you’re struggling to reach your target customer base
- The company’s values and/or mission have shifted
- The logo is old and looks outdated
- The initial design was thrown together and does not appear professional
NOTE: If the logo changes, it’s essential that the new design replaces all copies of the old one to avoid customer confusion.
Building Brand Awareness
A customer’s perception of your brand is based on their personal experiences and/or the experiences of those they trust. Repeated exposure builds awareness and, when you consistently offer a good experience, you earn trust and loyalty.
Customers should be able to identify a logo easily, associating it with your company and its offerings. That’s why it is important for your logo to remain consistent. To ensure consistency across your organization, we recommend developing a set of brand guidelines.
These standards keep a company and its employees adhering to a set of rules. They create brand cohesion, compliance and consistency. This, in turn, will boost the perceived value of your company.
The Key Takeaways
Understanding why a logo is important is essential because a logo sends subconscious messages about your company to customers. Just a glance at your design can indicate the quality of your product and service, changing a customer’s perception for the better or worse. If you’re not approaching your logo’s design and usage strategically, you risk alienating customers and losing out on business.
Bet you didn’t know a logo held so much power.
Essentially, each interaction customers have with your logo will contribute to their overall perception of you. Be consistent with your approach and ensure the integrity of your brand is upheld.
Over time, you not only build awareness, but gain repeat business and loyalty too.
