Logos are an essential part of business marketing, plus it’s a visual representation of your brand or business that sticks with people. A logo can really anchor the availability of your products and services, and can make your business more memorable within the target market. A well designed logo is a vital part of any company’s overall marketing strategy, and here is why!
Mercedes-Benz and BMW are two companies with a powerful logo, message and brand identity. Just recently, Mercedes-Benz congratulated BMW on their centenary long competition.
Mercedes-Benz came to light recently with their good gestured advertisement, which had an open invitation for BMW to visit the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart, Germany. The museum covers the history of the Mercedes-Benz brand and the brands associated with it. No doubt, these brands also have brilliantly designed high impact logos!
There has been heated competition between the two automakers. BMW and Mercedes-Benz have been fighting for the top spot in their automotive fields for as long as they have been around.
The advertisement released from Mercedes-Benz (which can be seen on the right), says “Thank you for 100 years of competition,” which marks a first, since it’s not often we see the two competing champions come together.
It is very hard to establish yourself in the marketing world without a logo. And, it’s not as simple as you may think! Your logo should be appropriately designed so that it acts as the “face” of your business. From colors, fonts to images, your logo will provide essential information about your company. This allows customers to identify with the company’s core brand, which are essentially your products and services.
The most simple, yet most effective and universally identified logo belongs to Apple. There is a clear correlation between the business name and the logo icon, which is important because it has the stickability factor. It is worth having a graphic designer look into this job. Your logo should be appropriately designed, meaningful and memorable.
If you need to speak to an expert regarding your logo design, you can call us at Cloudnames by dialing: +90 (212) 243 7991 during our office working hours (9-18pm). Alternatively, you can send us an email with your enquiry at: salestr@cloudnames.com.
Take for example, the ‘Apple Bite’. This clean, simple and effortless iconic logo is the face of a globalised billion dollar business. The Apple icon has gained meaning and credibility over the years, which has made it more symbolic with a story of; The Powerful Production of New Technologies.
It’s often speculated that the Apple logo is a tribute to Alan Turing, the pioneer of modern day computers. Turing decoded the German enigma machine by building the first computer. After the war due to his sexual preferences Turing was forced to get hormone treatment, and he committed suicide with an apple laced with cyanide.
We cannot say if this is the true story behind the iconic logo, but in order for it to be speculative- like many popular things, there must be interest, likability and demand.
Logos are also a shorthand way of referring to a company in advertising and marketing. It’s easier to remember and identify a business through its logo, than by it’s actual name. So, you too should consider creating your graphical identity.
It’s speculated that some years ago,Twitter paid $15 for its iconic logo. Nike paid $35 for the swoosh. To design a good-looking company logo, you don’t have to spend tons of money in the beginning. You should instead, spend time and energy carefully considering what you want your logo to say about you.
Building a Strong Brand Identity
When you’re looking to build a strong business, a well-designed logo is definitely required. A creatively made logo can can result in achieving a loyal following through simplicity and memorability.
Having any logo is not enough to create a brand identity. A badly thought up logo can very easily destroy the image of your company. Whereas, a carefully designed logo can reach the buying public and communicate the worth of your company or product to them. Therefore, everything depends on the design of your logo.
Like we mentioned earlier; a logo is the visual representation of a company or brand’s beliefs and values. When designing one, you need ensure it will represent your business in the right way. There are a few basic points you should consider such as:
How your logo will look on products. Branding or logos on packaging act as an important cue to guide consumer choice in the retail environment.
From a psychological perspective, branding on packaging serves two important purposes, crucial to decision making:
1) It guides consumersʼ attention, drawing attention to certain brands.
2) It allows consumers to recognise and find familiar brands
How it will appear on advertising and marketing content
The thoughts and emotions it will provoke when others see your logo.
Certain colors, shapes, styles and words all trigger emotional responses which will translate into an emotional response to your business.
Take a look at some of these well-known branded logo’s. Think about how you feel when you look at them. This will give you clear indication about the kinds of associations you’ve built with it, and then apply your thoughts to the millions of others who are exposed to the same icon and message.
The Changing Face of McDonald’s
Let’s take a look at McDonald’s logo design, it’s instantly familiar and represents more than just junk food. McDonald’s is one of the biggest of top brands on the planet, it’s become a cultural icon ahead in capitalism, globalisation and profiling American fast-food culture.
Here we took early versions of the logo to show how the McDonald’s branding got to where it is has today.
Tubby chef Speedee was designed by Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1948 to help communicate their ‘Speedee Service System’. This logo was used for over a decade until it required a more modern look and feel. Barely unrecognisable to a McDonald’s goer!
Designed in 1961, this logo was inspired by the iconic architectural arches flanking each restaurant, Jim Schindler designed the first iteration of the enduring Golden Arches logo. This logo highlighted the building rather than the product, so it didn’t gel with consumers much.
The official McDonald’s Corporation logo was designed by Heye & Partner GmbH in 2003. ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ launched in Munich on 2 September 2003 (‘Ich liebe es’), with the English-language phase introduced to the UK, Australia and USA soon after. Today the official logo exists in a few shapes and sizes, but all feature the stripped back yellow arches accompanied by the official motto.
Many iconic brands have redesigned their logos once becoming popular as being a big revenue generating business demands more if you think about globalisation. A logo redesign is also reflective of the time, where an outdated design is modernised. You too may consider doing this, if your business and logo has been around for a while!
Some brands like McDonald’s wanted a fresh start, while others like eBay and Google, outgrew their initial logos while others like Starbucks, changed their focus. Logo’s are not forever, but it’s worth getting the design and impact right the first time!
A large body of evidence also suggests that consumers have far less control, and awareness, over their decisions than previously assumed. Which is why having a perfect logo design can change a lot of things. Furthermore, researchers have been measuring both accuracy and response time, whereby they are able to measure consumersʼ recognition with a high degree of sensitivity.
Scientists typically use various implicit response measures such as eye tracking and response latency (response time). These can reveal what consumers actually believe or think and how they actually behave, as they measure unconscious physical reactions.
There are a number of ideas about what a logo really is. Logos act as a visual mascot for the company’s identity. Think of it this way, logos appear on websites, business cards and in advertising maybe even stationary. For that reason, a well-designed logo can contribute to the success of your business. A logo that is not thought out properly or poorly designed can discredit your business and turn away potential customers.
Don’t forget, your logo is like a signature. It proves your legal ownership and legal safeguard against fakes and forgeries. Cheap forgeries of branded product are flooding the markets in the third world countries and very common in Turkey.
The Different Types of Logo
In reality there are a number of different types of logo “marks” you could choose from. In this article, we’ll briefly provide details on the five main types of logos as well as display some examples that you’re bound to recognise.
Iconic or Symbolic Logos
Symbol or Iconic logo designs represent your company in a simple yet bold manner. The image should have a “real” connection with your business and styled in away that is visually interesting. The power of a logo lies in its visual nature.
Research has shown that people recognise, identify and relate to images faster than text. In today’s world of social media, this rings more true than ever.
People are more likely to remember a simple form because it is much easier to absorb compared to a complicated logo. You should consider using a simple symbol or icon if you plan on building a large business. You probably recognise symbol logos like Apple, Shell, Cloudnames and Mercedes-Benz, they fall under Iconic or Symbolic logos.
Wordmark Logos
These types of logos are very popular, word mark logos are uniquely designed text logos that spell out the company or brand name. Many times, custom fonts are created specifically for brands to use across all their marketing and branding collateral. Some examples include Facebook, Disney, Tiffany & Co. and Sony.
Lettermark Logos
Lettermarks are exclusively typographic. They use a symbol representing the company through the use of its initials or the brand’s first letter.
Well-known companies that use letter marks include BBC, Hewlett-Packard and Chanel. Many choose to use this type of logo because their initials are better when graphically illustrated compared to using the full name.
If the name is too long, hard to pronounce, or if it’s just not distinct enough to carry its own weight, it’s ideal to go for this type of logo design.
Combination Mark
These logos combine a wordmark and a symbol or icon to give the flexibility for the use of either or both elements across a variety of applications. A well-designed combination mark looks just as good with the elements separate as it does with them together. You might recognise some combo marks like Adidas, Pepsi and McDonald’s.
Emblem Logos
An emblem logo has the company name within the design. It commonly includes; date, location, tag line and more. Many businesses use emblems as their permanent logo. Some examples include Starbucks and Harley-Davidson Motorcycles.
It’s time to decide what kind of logo would suit your establishment. Remember, As consumers or users get to know, like and trust your brand, they are more likely to respond positively when seeing your logo, which can potentially lead to increased sales or improved mind share within the target market.
Plus, a well-designed logo suggests a level of professionalism, your logo could be the reason for a customer to select your business rather than a competitor with no logo or a poorly designed one.
If you need to speak to an expert regarding your logo design, you can call us at Cloudnames by dialing: +90 (212) 243 7991 during our office working hours (9-18pm). Alternatively, you can send us an email with your enquiry at: salestr@cloudnames.com.
What we do at Cloudnames
Cloudnames can help you with everything you need to be your best online. We can manage your complete Digital Strategy, your website, Social media profiles, your Digital Marketing and all the complicated technical details to effectively grow your revenue online.
We offer a managed web design service where we manage your website and keep it updated and secure on a regular basis. We can also take care of your Search Engine Optimisation, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media Marketing and all other Digital marketing campaigns you need.
Please contact Cloudnames if you have questions or need help! You can reach us by phone: +90 (212) 243 7991 in office working hours (9-18) or send us an email directly with your questions: salestr@cloudnames.com or just leave your contact details below and we’ll get right back to you.
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