What’s in a logo?
Starting your own business is exciting, daunting and expensive. There are so many aspects of your business to consider and one of the most important things to get right from the outset is your logo. You’re asking a lot from a simple graphic / icon / symbol;
- Be your first impression
- Encompass your brand
- Create a connection, a feeling and need to belong
- Be memorable
Before a graphic design agency can initiate the creative process to build you a logo they’ll need to understand the personality, values and unique corporate identity of your organisation. This will help them to create something that truly fits your brand identity.
Brand and corporate identity is established through communication with your audience and encompasses your business cards, promotional materials, advertising, website, emails and social media presence.
It is important to be coherent and consistent with your fonts, colours and images to create reaffirm your identity. This is why larger organisations insist on stringent rules and regulations as to how their logos are used and displayed by third parties.
Of course, as a small business you won’t have the same budgets as multinational corporations to spend on your logo, but you can still achieve great things on a smaller budget with these things in mind. This is where hiring a Virtual Assistant with a creative background is ideal. Click here to read my blog on ‘What is a VA?’
- Keep your logo simple
- Select graphics which best suit your industry and can withstand the test-of-time
- Use colours and fonts to express the appropriate feeling
Using intricate and detailed graphics with more than a couple of words will make your logo difficult to print and keep intact on some merchandise (consider clothing or promotional materials). Also, multi coloured printing can be costly. When visualising your logo always consider how it will look in greyscale (black and white).
When it comes to choosing a font you’ll be bedazzled by the sheer volume and range available to you. I have classified 4 major categories of fonts, please see below:
Serif: Generally used for large volumes of text and considered to be conservative, dependable and trustworthy.
Sans Serif: Modern fonts which are often used as headings rather than the body of text. Sans Serif fonts are modern, simple, clean and minimalistic in their nature.
Handwritten / Script fonts: As the name suggests these fonts have handwritten characteristics. These timeless fonts are ideal for adding a touch of elegance and femininity to your brand.
Display / Decorative: These fonts are great for grabbing attention, being bold and adding fun to your logo. They are not designed to be used for large amounts text.
Using a combination of fonts works really well if you want to say something like, Serious but Fun or Casual and Strong.
Just like choosing the right font choosing your logo colour(s) can be a difficult playing field to navigate. Again the possibilities are endless but one thing to remember is consistency! Make a note of the colours you use (each colour has a unique reference number) and replicate them when setting up your website and liaising with graphic designers.
| Colour | Characteristics |
| Red | Passionate, exciting and stimulating |
| Yellow | Optimistic, positive and warm |
| Pink | Feminine, fun and delicate |
| Green | Healthy, productive and nurturing |
| Orange | Friendly, happy and confident |
| Purple | Wise, sophisticated and luxurious |
| Blue | Calming, reliable and trustworthy |
| Black and white | Classic, timeless and modern |
If you need a little inspiration or would like us to create a stunning logo for your business, get in touch today to see how we can help.
Good luck, Lucy-Anne x
Lucy-Anne 