A logo is an important piece of any company’s identity. In fact, even if a business’ name is not featured within the logo, the majority of people can still recognise the brand - think Nike, Apple or McDonald’s.
Logos are everywhere, just look around you! They are embedded in our culture and our way of life. But what do logos do, and why do they matter…
Logos influence our decisions massively, communicate and show off a company’s values, and often contain lots of meaning. Trends and products come and go. Design tools and techniques evolve. What we see as a logo now may even drastically change with time.
What never changes though, is the goal of a logo: to identify a product, business, or service it’s designed for.
What’s the purpose of a logo?
Brand identification is the clear main purpose of a logo design. Fads come and go and trends and techniques keep evolving, but for eternity, the primary goal of a logo will remain the same - to identify the product, service, brand, person etc.
It is important to study the conditions in which the logo will be seen, so that we can come up with a culturally appropriate design which can be easily identified by the mass audience.
Logos reveal identity
Your logo communicates ownership. Whether it is through a brochure with your logo on the cover, through a printed ad in a newspaper, or through your website, having your company logo lets the audience know who you are.
The best logos are usually quite simple and clean in design, without making the consumer think too hard about it. A logo design doesn’t necessarily need hidden meanings. Any meaning or association will come over time through good branding, ongoing marketing, and strategic exposure, creating brand recognition and your overall brand identity.
Strategic tool
Good logo design is an art piece. However, it is also a strategic tool for a brand. We are always striving to design a logo that can act as a strategic tool for a company so it’s identified in the sea of the same. Instead of making art epics, we will go all out to create a logo that can create the maximum impression.
Why do logos matter
Logo design influences decisions
By simply looking at any logo, like it or not, everyone will immediately make judgements, and perceive a business, product or service in a certain way. Whether it is the friendliness of the business identity, or if it is corporate looking or not.
This is why it’s vital the logo correctly represents the business, as you want to make sure that you attract the right audience. You also don't want customers to come to you thinking you work in one way, that they have perceived from your logo and branding, and then find out you are completely different in practice.
Your logo forms expectations, and if it fails to meet those, or if it attracts the wrong people, things will start to go down hill - wasted time and money serving people that are unlikely to become customers, and potentially even bad reviews from disappointed customers… getting the logo right matters!
Communicate brand values
Logos don't only get a brand recognised, they can also be used to convey your brand’s values to your audience. That said, you shouldn't go overboard in an attempt to force it to happen.
When designing a logo, we stick to a single fundamental idea. Keeping it simple, but as significant as possible. This will create an identity with meaning and focus.
In conclusion, a professional logo design is more than just a symbol or an icon. It not only gets your business recognised in the market, but will also influence the decision making of your audience.
People perceive brands and make judgments by their first glance at a logo. Therefore, by recognising the purpose and role of logo designs, you’re able to build strong brand identities.
