Branding, Identity And Logo Design Explained

A brand's function is to demonstrate the company's personality and set it apart from the competition. Generally, it is built around three complementary features:

Corporate vision - a company's strategic vision, setting out its values and goals

Employee belief - the employees' perception of the company's value system and aims

External perception - what the external world believes about the company

Good branding relies on these three core elements being in agreement with one another, to create a consistent corporate identity that is recognizable across different media - in print, online, in advertising and merchandise.

The elements of branding

Besides these core elements, branding encompasses a variety of others from brand name and slogan to more obviously visual elements such as signature colors, fonts and the logo. Good design can help balance to these different elements, combining them in a single visual identity.

The logo

A logo is probably the most instantly recognizable asset of a company's brand. It's designed to inspire trust and loyalty, and create immediate recognition. Take Apple's logo, for instance.

Notwithstanding Forest Gump's endearing reference to Apple as 'some fruit company', Apple's iconic logo is widely recognizable and indelibly associated with Apple computer products, plus obviously the iPhone and iPad.

Originally designed in rainbow colors to demonstrate*the ability of its computers to display color, since 1998 the logo has used monochrome themes, which make it easy to adapt. This simple logo also works equally well at different sizes.

Signature colors

In 2008, chocolate company Cadbury fought Australian-based chocolate manufacturer Darrell Lea over the right to use the colour purple.

Cadbury argued that that Darrell Lea's purple on its advertising, uniforms and products was too similar to its own and confused customers.

Cadbury lost the case, and Darrell Lea interestingly seems to have since switched from purple to blue, but the point remains. Colors holds powerful associations and is a crucial element of brand identity.

Colors can make or break a company's visual appeal, so it's worth doing some research about what associations certain colors evoke. Black, for example, is often used to sell expensive products such as cars because of its perceived boldness, seriousness and associations with power. For more on colors association, I recommend Ann Smarty's useful article.

Signature fonts

Signature fonts designed especially for a brand can set that brand apart from the crowd.

UK charity Cancer Research UK is an interesting example. The charity funds research into all types of cancer and provides an information service for cancer patients, as well as organizing nationally recognized fund-raising events such as Race for Life. Its tone of voice is warm, friendly and uses plain English to talk directly about cancer.

Cancer Research UK's strategic vision is "Together we will beat cancer" - a hopeful statement that reflects the charity's ethos and optimism.

Keep it versatile

Visual identity needs to be able to adapt to different media. For example, your color scheme, fonts and logo all need to work wherever they appear - on business cards, merchandise, TV, or online channels such as display advertising, web and social media.

Working for web

When designing for a website there are certain accessibility principles you need to bear in mind (these tools can help). Soft Grey fonts on a white background (for example) look cool, but will fail a basic web accessibility test because they are not contrasting enough to be easily read.

Likewise, if your logo works brilliantly for print materials but is too big for online advertising, think about creating a secondary logo for use online. The same applies to fonts - signature fonts work well for images and logos, but may need to be backed up by secondary, standard issue fonts for headings and body copy that can be built in HTML.

The acid test

Visual brand identity needs to be tied in to the first three elements of branding: corporate vision, employee belief, and external perception. If these three can be reflected in good design, you've got yourself a visual brand.

Remarkable Computer Logo Design Tips to Help Your Company Exhibit Success

If you think that creating an emblem for your computer company is easy then you are wrong.

If you think that your company's image and identity does not depend on your branding and logo designing strategy because your customers should be more interested in the products you offer than your business mark, then you are wrong.

The world of computers is a highly competitive industry and requires constant developments to just to keep your brand name in the people's memories.

Even the way your company logo is crafted impacts how the customers think of your corporation.

If you want your company to excel in the branding strategies and create a computer logo design that is distinct and memorable, then follow the tips below.

1. Keep the design simple and sizable:

Keep the logo simple so that it is easy to read and memorize so that whenever a customer looks at that image, he thinks of your company. Don't use intricate details so the customer finds it difficult to understand it. Remember the old Apple logo that consisted of the illustration of Newton sitting under a tree with a prominent apple above his head. That design may have consisted of a great concept but it was inappropriate for a technological monogram as it was too complex.

2. Use colors in the emblem but keep the background neutral or white:

Make your emblem colorful as it looks attractive for technological symbols. Many famous brands have used bright colors in their brand mark like red, blue, yellow and green. Don't be afraid to experiment with colors in your trademark. Only, make sure that you use colors that complement each other. For example the combination of maroon and dark blue is not flattering while the combination of red with yellow will be eye catching.

3. Use effects to make your logo look contemporary:

Effects give a very high tech look to monograms which is an essential for a mainframe symbol if it wants to survive in this cut throat industry. But an emblem also needs to be subtle and timeless and effects like 3 dimensional, origami and paper folding have the tendency to go out of style with time. For that, you can give a subtle effect look to your trademark. For example, observe the twitter bird that consists of bright colors but looks 3 dimensional with subtle shading.

4. Don't use obvious computer images:

Using computer images for a free computer logo is so cliché and generic. If you want to make your logo design distinct and memorable, then make sure that you use images that are innovative and different. For example, Apple has used an image of an apple which is distinct. You need to look at things around you to figure out what can be used as your monogram. Take inspiration from your location or your product's unique selling point or even a children's story that you think is appropriate to represent your corporation.

Logo Design - 3 Reasons Why Companies Need To Invest In Them

Many companies do not realize how important their company logo design is when it comes to marketing their products and projecting a professional image to their customers and to the public.

Have A Unique Identity

Although there are many companies out there who may be selling the same products, having their own unique style of branding could make a difference in how much revenue the company could generate. For instance, people are drawn to different types of brands. Take Apple for example. Apple's latest product is the iPhone and iPad which has been generating so many sales that other competitors are also following suit to sell their range of products that are similar in nature to Apple's products. But what is it that makes such a huge difference in profit margin? The branding. People are more familiar with Apple's unique identity and the company's promise of providing products with excellent quality. Therefore, it is important that each company make an effort to create their own brand of identity with their own corporate logo design that people could identify with.

Generates Customer Loyalty

If your company makes an effort to stick to their own creative logo design, they must also work hard to provide the range of quality products and services that will impress customers. Another example is Nokia, the global mobile phone company. Previously, Nokia was well-known for being a hand phone innovator leading the pack. People trust the quality and hand phone models that this company creates and there are still quite a number of customers who will continue to stick with this brand because they have tested the product and found them to be easy to use and reliable. So with a strong brand and reliable products, a company like Nokia is able to generate customer loyalty in the long run.

Project Professional And Quality Image

With a strong corporate logo design, companies are not only wanting to promote their range of products and services. They are aiming to project a professional image of their company that consumers out there are able to identify with. Companies such as Intel and Dell are renowned for their products and professional service to their clients and customers globally. These companies want to be seen as the market leader of their industry, not just a professional company. Because if you are at the top, you will be able to command a bigger size market share. That is why companies invest in having a good logo design that the general public could recognize.

Summary

If you are setting up your own company, please take the time to invest in having your own unique company logo design done by a professional logo design company. You will want to project a professional image to your customers and coupled with good, quality products, you would want your customers to remain loyal to you as they identify your brand with the products you create.

Logo Design

Before I talk about logos, let's focus our attention on art in general for a few moments. Trying to answer the question, "what is art?' will bring us closer to defining the role and the place of a logo in our everyday life.

Imagine yourself walking through a gallery; glancing over paintings and sculptures. You're overwhelmed with vivid splashes of colours, mysterious shapes and images of breathtaking landscapes. Or imagine yourself reading a book or watching a movie, seeing important people, falling in love with ravishing men and women, protecting loved ones, attaining impossible goals, and defeating wicked enemies.

Art, whether it is a painting, a sculpture, a book or even a film offers a simulation of life in the most condensed and purified form. It delivers an orgy of well-formed and defined shapes, colours or words, duplicating the experience of seeing real events in a magnified dimension. Depending on the medium, the illusions include: colours, shapes, words, sound effects and animation. When the illusions work, there is no mystery to the question "why people enjoy art?" It is identical to the question "Why people enjoy life?"

Art is a medium designed to defeat the locks that safeguard our pleasure buttons and press the buttons in various combinations. It is an imitation of life stripped of its monotony and dressed in its prettiest costumes.

Now, where do logos fit into all this?

Logos are an important part of visual arts and one of the most difficult to perfect.

Think of a logo as a piece of art with a very defined purpose and think of its design process as a 'conceptual and visual IQ test'.

Just like any artwork, logos can be a true depiction of reality; think of a human silhouette or a simplified landscape. They can be designed as abstract splashes of colours, shapes and letters.*Despite of their style, all logos are governed by the same underlying principle and they all have a well-defined commercial purpose. Their role is to aid and promote instant public recognition.

Various methods are used to combine images, symbols and words, to create a visual representation of ideas and messages.

Many logos earned their recognition through massive marketing efforts via popular media. This doesn't mean that all these logos aren't good. Most of them are good enough to do whatever logos are supposed to do, which is to stick with us and to remind us about the products they represent. There is so much fuss about logos like the Coke logo or a Nike logo but if you look at them closer and think for a while, it really is hard to find any other reason for their popularity then their repetition. Yes, we all know the Nike swoosh or the rounded script of Coke, but if ht wasn't for the millions of times we were bombarded with these logos, there wouldn't have been a real reason to remember them in the first place.

Apple logo is a different story. For someone who doesn't know the meaning behind the bite taken out of the apple, the logo is nothing but an icon, just like Nike's swoosh. However if you do know that the bite is a reference to the Bible story of Adam and Eve, in which the apple represents the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, your perception of the logo will change. From now on every time you see an Apple logo you will automatically associate it with an event that represents the company's mission delivered in a simple yet very unique way. And this extra level of meaning is what makes logos like Apple true pieces of art.

Tomasz Borowicz is an experienced strategist and designer providing award-winning identity programs worldwide. He not only creates brands for new enterprises, but also refreshes the brands of established ones.

Professional Business Logo Design Services

More and more companies are outsourcing functions that were once performed by internal employees. As a result the consulting industry is exploding like never before. So why does a company that is more than willing to pay a Human Resources consulting firm to handle its recruiting and other HR functions so unwilling to hire logo design consultants? Perhaps the answer lies in the availability of the technology to do it. Even the most basic Desktop Publishing program includes a sufficient number of features you would need to design your own logo. Or perhaps some small business owners just simply feel the need to exercise their creative juices. Or perhaps it is all a matter of cost. Search the Internet and you'll find a variety of online businesses offer a full line of logo design services.

If you're still not convinced, think of the best logos you've ever seen. Federal Express, Apple Computer, Nike Shoes, McDonald's Hamburgers, Pepsi Cola, Cocoa Cola, and NBC (National Broadcasting Company) all had their logos designed by professional design consultants. In addition, most logos go through a renovation process from time to time and the best of these "rehabs" are also produced by professional design consultants.

Advantages of Professional Logo Design Services

The purpose of a logo is to convey the essence of a company to its existing and potential customers. So if you're in a high tech business, do you want colors and what combinations of color convey high tech expertise? Professional Design Consultants do.

If you're in the financial services industry do you know what kinds of font styles and sizes convey stability and security? Professional logo designers do.

Have you and other key members of your business team ever sat down and actually thought through the nature of your core business and customers? Have you given thought to the kinds of customers you might have or are you too busy fighting daily fires? Good professional logo designers know how to sit down with you and tease out the essential nature of your business. They can help you identify the kinds of feelings you want to evoke from your customers.

Essential Business Logos

Logos are an essential part of the success of any business. They are found on all forms of a company's communication, from letterhead and marketing and advertising materials to promotional items. And they are not "forever." Many experts in the field of logo design feel the average life span of a well designed logo is about ten years. And this of course, assumes no radical changes in the company's management or the core of its business. Companies in rapidly changing business environments might consider renovating their existing logos more frequently. The impact of a logo renovation can be significant. Apple computer's logo used to have multiple layers of different colors. When Steve Jobs came back to Apple in the late 1990's he felt the logo wasn't functional enough. He knew to save the company he would have to introduce many new products and the multi-colored apple didn't work well. The current single color Apple has been reproduced in all sizes on a host of products, some of them very small. The renovation was done by a professional logo designer and it paid off.

Build your brand and get noticed with a business logo design. Joseph has been helping businesses build their brands and raise awareness by providing professional logo design services for new start ups on a budget.

3 Important Features That Makes A Winning Logo Design?

Before this article leads you on to reading what is a winning logo design, it will help you understand what it is and what purpose does it serve. In order to understand the elements that make a logo unique, it is important for a designer to be clear of its purpose. So here's a quick guide to that.

What Is A Logo?

In simplest terms, it is the identity of a company. It is also known as a brand identity; the image with which a company establishes its brand. Therefore, it's extremely critical for a company to have a fantastic brand image if it would like to stand out.

What is The Purpose of a Logo?

The purpose of a logo is to give a face value of the company to the customer. It tells the customer at the first glance, in the first impression, what the company is about and what its main domain is. Any design that fails to convey the domain the specialty of the business is considered doomed.

Now that you are familiar with the importance, let's move on to describing three basic elements that makes a winning logo design.

1. Simplicity

Almost every major brand has a simple logo. Apple, KFC, Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Dell are all some of the leading brands in the world and all of them focus on the simplicity of a logo design. Why? Because simplicity helps customers remember. They won't get confused over complicated images, text or colors. Just one simple logo is all it takes to have a customer attached to the company. Every expert designer out there would teach you the concept of simplicity as the first major pre-requisite of a winning logo design.

2. Expresses the Purpose of the Company

As mentioned earlier, a logo needs to clearly represent the message of the company; it should represent the essence of the company. It might have the best images and colors incorporated, but if it cannot deliver the essence; experts would consider it as a failed design. Example: Nike Shoes's logo is a simple tick/check. Which simply means it is the best, the most suitable and the most preferred brand for people who are looking for a "perfect pair of shoes."

3. Flexible Dynamics

Flexibility is a very important factor in logo designing. Newbie designers create heavy and complicated logos that do not have a flexible nature. The logo needs to adapt to all ratios and aspects. It should look great on an ad poster as well as on a shirt print. Hence, it is always recommended to design it in vector format for best results.

To make a winning logo, you need to be original, creative, inspiring, as well as market oriented! Logo designing is now not merely an art, it's a professional industry that requires subsidiary skills and not the main skill of designing.

A professional logo design can do wonders for your brand identity. And similarly, a badly designed logo can pretty much destroy any chances of making

A professional logo design can do wonders for your brand identity. And similarly, a badly designed logo can pretty much destroy any chances of making it as a professional organization. It takes a lot of consideration, hard work and some genuine brain storming on the designers' part before even the first line is drawn. And rightly so! A professional logo design needs to incorporate your business' corporate image as well as the marketing message to make it truly successful.

Brand Name Means Corporate Image

People identify a company by its logo. Apple wouldn't be much fun without the half bitten apple in its logo! It successfully depicts the company's image of being trendy and futuristic with the grayscale, metallic colors of the Apple logo.

The logo should be able to properly convey your message to help build a successful brand identity.

Here, an important distinction needs to be made. No matter how important it is, a logo is never the brand itself, but it is a part of the identity design and branding process. It has its own role in the process as it forms an image for your business and products in the viewer's mind.

Visual Devices

A company's identity and image is made up of the following visual devices. These are always decorated with the company logo design and help disseminate the company's brand image:

1. Letterheads, business cards, envelopes- the stationary

2. Products and their packaging

3. Clothes worn by employees for e.g. waiters at a restaurant, or flight attendants have a uniform

4. Flyers, brochures, websites and blogs- the marketing tools

5. Interior and exterior decor of the business place for e.g. in the logo colors or using logo as signage.

All these things, and everything else that represents a business, combine to create the identity. The logo is a culmination of brand and identity all rolled into one. It is a symbol of the business.

A logo is...

It is a means for viewers to identify your business. So what it depicts, what it means, is far more important than what it looks like. The perfect logo design should always be able to identify your business no matter what color, what size or where it's placed!

The business world is full of examples of successful logo design. They don't all successfully say the nature of business they represent, but are readily identifiable nonetheless. There are no burgers or fries in the McDonald's logo, just 2 golden arches. But who can't identify what they mean?

A logo is supposed to leave a mark on the subconscious. We never need to make an effort to know what Nike, Apple or the Olympics stand for. These logos are successful because they are simple. They have simply been etched into our subconscious, so that we can understand what they represent no matter what color, size or form we see them in. So a perfect logo design needs to identify a business or product. It should function as an automatic identifier of your business.