Companies spend thousands (often millions) of dollars and countless man hours developing and marketing their products. However, a sale often hinges on a simple first impression, gut feeling or the customer’s memory. Often that first and hopefully lasting impression comes from your logo.
A logo is the centerpiece of your branding strategy. It defines not only your “look and feel”, but the emotive qualities that underscore who you are as a business. Your logo should instantly communicate that message in a way that connects with your target audience.
▪ Iconic / Symbolic – Uses visual imagery to relate to your product, company name or even communicate the intangible such as positioning, mission or ethics. Often these are the most recognizable brands in the world because a symbol can stand on it’s own, even without the brand name.
▪ Logotype / Wordmark – Uses the details of typography to communicate the essence of your brand. The subtle personality differences of typography should never be underestimated. What typography characteristics best represents your business?
▪ Combination Marks – The combination of the symbolic and wordmark logos. This is the most common type of logo because it combines the power and recognition of a symbolic logo with the awareness from being able to read the company name.
Many brands often have a version of each type of logo giving them versatility when using their logo in various space constraints. These brands have an approved symbolic logo, wordmark and combination logo that each have defined roles and uses. Some brands also evolve their logo over time. For example, Starbucks recently simplified their logo by dropping the type. Considering that my 3-year old (who can’t read yet) knows the Starbucks logo means coffee it’s safe to say they have enough brand recognition for a symbolic mark to stand alone.
Anyone with a pirated copy of Photoshop can choose a random font, draw a shape, and call it a logo. However, at MODassic, we are interested in building brands. That starts with developing a logo that communicates something. Being that your logo is the foundation of your brand and marketing strategy, we believe investing in your logo design is a smart move. If you’re looking for an agency to help rebrand your company – we’d love to chat!
There are many sites online where you can browse logos to get inspiration for your own. Logopond and Dribbble are great sources of design inspiration.
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