Brand image is an important entity when establishing a business. Your brand’s image and logo register you in your audience’s subconscious and build loyalty in their minds. Take, for instance, the three-pointed star in the automobile world needs no explanation as you can readily associate it with Mercedes Benz. Consumers can also do the same for your business if you get your logo right. According to https://www.clovercreativegroup.com/, the right logo can make you a brand favorite.
Designing a creative logo requires a lot of things, including time, creativity, patients, and an understanding of your audience. If you’re looking to establish a new business or rebrand an existing one, here are the steps to design a new creative logo using multiple techniques.
Understand your needs
Understanding your needs is the first step to a creative logo that resonates with the target audience. Remember that your logo forms a major part of your brand identity and should leave an impact on whoever is seeing it.
It is important to decide how you want your audience to feel when they see your logo or what you wish to be associated with. If your business is in the healthcare industry, you certainly want your audience to associate you with love, compassion, integrity, care, and overall quality service.
Since your logo will be appearing on all brand materials, including social media channels and in prints, it is best to take your time in designing it.
Have a brand identity
To design a perfect brand logo, you need to ensure the logo itself complements your brand. You need to know your brand’s core personality and values to do this.
Answer these questions to determine your brand’s personality and core values;
- Why was the company created?
- What are the basic principles/core values your company holds dear?
- What differentiates your company from others?
Find inspiration
The key to a creative logo is inspiration. Inspiration can be derived from many sources, including established brands, nature, conversations with other people, etc. You must ensure that your inspirational ideas are carefully documented, as the final logo may be a fusion of one or more ideas over time.
Some of the best ways to inspire the perfect creative logo design include;
- Brainstorming
- Thinking like the consumer/outsider
- Running A/B logo idea testing on a close group
- Create a mood board
- Seek ideas from others
Research Competitors
As a business owner, your ability to carefully study your competitors, their mistakes, and what works for them can impact your business. You can take one or more inspiration from what your competitors are doing and reinvent it to target a higher class of audience.
With respect to logo creation, study what the thriving brands in your business are doing. Ensure that you aren’t obsessing over a particular competitor; instead, select the most successful ones and look for the common denominator.
After identifying the common denominator in their logos and brand identity, fuse this with your inspirational ideas to create a new entity that stands out yet has all the ingredients of success in it.
It is important to note that you may be subconsciously drawn into doing what others are doing. However, this is a recipe for mediocrity as your business or brand will remain in the shadows of those already known to your audience. Do what others aren’t doing to stand out and make a difference.
Develop a design style
There are many design styles out there to draw inspiration from. However, as a formal establishment, some styles aren’t suited to you, especially if you wish to communicate the highest level of professionalism.
For example, a tattoo shop can do well with a casual, classic, vintage, or quirky logo design style, whereas an attorney may not find the same professional. You must understand the market you’re playing in and how it influences your design style.
If you’re in a professional market, you can deploy creatively fun designs that do not discount the brand image you aim to portray. As a service-based business, you can choose something casual and relatable to give your customers a sense of belonging.
Choose the appropriate logo type
There are seven types of logos you can draw inspiration from to design and develop yours. It is possible to mix and match the logo types to create something unique for your business.
The seven types of logos include;
- Emblem
- Mascots
- Abstract logo marks
- Lettermarks or monogram logos
- Pictorial marks or logo symbols
- Combination logos
- Wordmarks or logotypes
Following these steps can help you identify what is missing in your existing logo and create the perfect logo that speaks about your brand and resonate with your audience.