How to choose the right logo...

Everything you need to know and think about when considering developing a new logo and brand for your organization.

A logo is a graphical element (ideogram, symbol, emblem, icon, sign) that, together with its logotype (a uniquely set and arranged typeface) form a trademark or commercial brand.

The logo is one aspect of a company's commercial brand, or economic or academic entity, and its shapes, colors, fonts, and images usually are different from others in a similar market.

It’s important to realize, when your are choosing a logo design, that your logo is more than just the visual representation of your business name, it's will become one of your most valuable commercial assets.  Opinions about your company, its integrity, personality and reputation can be formed at a glance and with the presence of your logo on every business card, letter, advertisement, brochure, website and product that your company goes on to produce demonstrates just how vital it is to choose the right logo, the first time.

Most people hire a graphic designer or agency to design their logos and there are plenty of very qualified candidates with top-notch skills to choose from.  But it’s still down to you and your company to make the final decision.  So how do you make an informed choice?

The following will take you through the process of designing a new logo and the considerations you need be aware of when reviewing the designs so that you can choose the right logo for your company.

The brief

Before starting any project it’s essential to have clear vision. Your designer/agency will most likely ask you to brief them on the project (verbal or written) but even if they don’t its best that you have thought about how you would answer each of the following questions:

Your company:

• How would you describe your company and the products and/or services it offers?
• What are your long term goals?
• Why do you want a new logo?
• If you already have a logo - why do you want to change your logo and what do you want your new logo to achieve?
• Who are your main competitors?
• How do you differentiate yourself from your competition?
• Who is your target market?
• Do you need this logo to translate globally?

The project:

• Do you have a ‘tag line’ or specific marketing message you want to include?
• Do you have any images or image ideas you want to incorporate?
• Do you have any color preferences or existing brand colors?
• Do you have any colors that you do not want to use?
• What adjective do you want your logo to project?
• What feeling or message do you want your logo to convey?

The next step is to consider what type of logo works for your company.

Types of logos

There are typically three types of logos:

• Text logo
• Symbol logo
• Text and symbol logo

Text logoWords in their purest form ARE images. Fonts come in all shapes and sizes, which convey different impressions on the audience. A thick font conveys strength and power. A script font conveys elegance and austerity, and a slanted typeface conveys movement. Your company name thus can be your own logo, provided the font you use displays the intended qualities of your business.

Symbol logoA symbol uses an image or images that convey an actual or abstract representation of a business. Because a symbol alone is less direct than text, it leaves itself open to a wider interpretation of what the business is about. Using a symbol in your logo has several possibilities.

The symbol may be a take on a company name.  One of the most famous examples is Apple Inc.’s apple with a bite taken out of it.  Or the symbol may create an entirely new symbolic meaning. For instance, people did not originally associate the Nike "swoosh" with the company. However, due to its corporate rise and presence everywhere, people have immediately grown to think "Nike" whenever they see a swoosh. The same is true for the McDonald's golden arches.

Text and Symbol LogoA brief amount of text, or sometimes just an abbreviation, compliments the symbol and provides that extra bit of clarity of what the business is about.

Whichever style of logo you decide to follow, remember it's not just about what you want your logo to look like, how your audience will perceive your logo is even more important.   Interflora is an example of this type of logo with the word “Interflora” accompanied by a symbol depicting a person on the move carrying a bunch of flowers.

Design characteristics

There are a few design characteristics to consider:

Color
Color is considered important to brand recognition, but it should not be an integral component to the logo design, which could conflict with its functionality.  It is best practice to:

• Keep the number of colors used to a minimum - aim for a maximum of two colors (not including white) and avoid subtle tonal changes
• Avoid metallic colors as they require expensive inks/stock and don’t translate well on computer or television screens.  For example; copper will convert into a murky brown on your Web site
• Test that the colors you select still work when you convert your logo to a purely black and white version.  An easy way to do this is to print it, fax it and photocopy it

Also take note that color can symbolize human behavior and feeling. This is especially important if you plan to market your company to various countries as some colors may represent negative cultural connotations.   Typical associations are (although they will vary by country):

• WHITE:  is the color (or lack thereof) that represents purity, neutrality, sterility and youth.
• BLACK: is a multi-dimensional color that can mean classic or new, it has an ominous characteristic, symbolizing death.
• GRAY:  is a blasé color, security and reliability—two important features businesses will need to adopt in the future.
• RED: makes the heart beat faster, strikes a chord with more cultures than many other colors because of its intensity, passion and invocation of an inherent physiological response.
• BLUE: is the best color to wear to an interview - non-threatening, yet confident, stable and loyal, the color of corporate and technology.
• GREEN: will continue its rise in eco-conscious businesses.
• YELLOW: echoes the duality nature of red. Though yellow evokes feelings of happiness, when we are confronted with too much yellow, we can become annoyed or angered.
• PURPLE: in Thailand is considered to be the color of mourning. Not so in western cultures. Purple is the color of royalty and wisdom.
• ORANGE: is energy, enthusiasm, get-it-done and balance.
• BROWN: is the color of dirt, giving it an earthy, environmental quality popularly coupled with green.
• PINK: a sister of red, is a tranquilizing color, symbolizes innocence and child-like flirtatiousness.

Font
Making the right font choices for your organization's brand identity is absolutely critical to successfully capturing the image you want to project. The careful choice for fonts is very important, because fonts display emotions and bridge communications with the onlookers. For example, if you are running a financial company, you need to choose a font that brings a thick and squared looks so that it makes your logo design communicate stability and security to your target clients and build confidence and trust even before they try. Whereas, a marketing company, needs to choose a font that gives creative, trendy, and outgoing impression.

While options may seem overwhelming, fonts can be broken down into several groups:

• SERIF FONTS: connotes stability, timelessness, classicism, elegance and a sense of history. Probably the best known serif font is ‘Times Roman’. Be warned when considering the use of a serif font is that the serif fonts are designed for print and they do lose some of their subtleties when used in Web pages
• SANS SERIF FONTS: suggests a contemporary, innovative more forward-thinking brand.  Arial is a good example of this type of font.  As they are cleaner in their design than serif fonts they are good to use even at a small size
• SCRIPT FONTS: looks like handwriting, which conveys an elegant feeling.  Often found used on perfume bottles or for wedding companies
• DECORATIVE FONTS: fun and attractive.  You can find them on products for children, entertainment companies etc.

Font style is also an important consideration:

• Heavier weights project a more industrial feel; lend themselves to carrying a weightier, more solid feel to the message
• Lighter weights project a cleaner, crisper look, ideal for architects, consultants and analysts
• Italic Fonts can be more relaxed, or more graceful than other fonts. Some of the more popular italic families may suggest an image in motion, to connote aggressiveness and forward-thinking

Having chosen a suitable typeface with your designer/agency, ask them to show you how it looks in different styles. Caps, lower case, upper and lower. Look out for interesting letter pairs or combinations that can be exploited to make the logo more distinctive and memorable.

Shape
A distinctive logo (or icon) has a recognizable shape, so that it is still recognizable from its outline. Your brain loves to use shape to identify things, because it can do it very quickly- this is also the main reason why white space is important.

What gives a logo its distinctiveness? The outline should be simple, but not too simple, and clear. Also, meaningful elements should be clearly differentiated, with the use of white space where required.

Presence
Your logo has good presence if it fills much of the available space with shapes that carry meaning (e.g. words, recognizable symbols). This makes it bolder and clearer, and hence more recognizable. The more space you fill with elements that don't either help recognition or add meaning, the less presence your logo will have.

Weight
Good weight means that a logo (or icon or logotype) does not rely on fine (slim or light) features in order to be recognizable. If a logo is bold, it can be effective in more environments. The best logos have a weight of presence and are recognizable when viewed alongside other strong images.

Contrast
Contrast aids shape-recognition by making the edges between elements clearer. Good logos (and icons) have lots of contrast on the edges of meaningful visual elements. The squint test is great for checking contrast. Also consider that users may be colorblind.

Usability and suitability

A logo is more than just the individual design elements - it also needs to be reviewed as a whole.  When doing this the following will help you assess its usability and suitability to your particular company and market.

Your logo should be compatible with your image:
If you are a financial or legal institution, you will probably want a logo that is more conservative in design and color. Navy blue, maroon, and dark teal are good color selections for projecting a conservative image.

If you are an artist or a state-of-the-art computer company, you may want a logo that is more abstract and contemporary. Shapes and symbols are good choices for an abstract look. Even using black and white as colors on a unique design gives a contemporary look and feel.

Your logo design should be simpleOne reason your logo should be simple is that people process an image in their mind more readily than words alone. The other reason that your logo should be "simple" is that the simpler your logo is, the easier it will be for your graphic designer to resize and recolor it for various design purposes. Always plan beyond your initial design purposes for your logo since the ultimate goal of your business is to expand.

Your logo should be unique and quickly recognizableThere are two reasons you need a unique logo. First, you want people to see a visual representation of your company or business. When people see your logo, you want them to immediately associate that logo design with you and no one else. You don't want your logo to be a piece of clip art because someone might associate that clip art with your competitor. Using an image or a typeface that is all too common defeats the purpose of having a logo, and can even have a negative backlash among your audience who would view your company as unimaginative.

Second, a unique corporate identity is important because you don't want to violate any copyrights or trademarks of other companies. If your logo is too similar to another company's logo, it is in your best interest to modify or redesign the logo. What it would cost you in time and money to have it redone would be very small compared to winding up in court for a copyright violation.

If your logo is simple and unique, and if people visit your web site repeatedly, people will associate your logo with your company. When done properly, a logo is one of the simplest ways to make a brand name recognition impact.

We will explore the legal considerations around trademarking in greater detail later shortly.

Flexibility
You can use you logo virtually anywhere and under any circumstance to spread its positive message.  It can appear on every email, letter, business card, envelope, promotional item and advert to name just a few instances.  So you need to be confident that your final decision is going to still be as strong in each appearance.  Here are some tests to see how flexible yours will be:

• Does it work well in black, reversed out and in full color?  Make sure that when you take out the color you don’t lose the concept too
• Does it work well in various sizes? It should work well in both large and small sizes
• Is it adaptable?  It needs to be able to work both horizontally and vertically
• Is it ‘vector-ized’? Logos should be created using vector-based software which gives the ability to save the logo as various file formats and makes it scalable
• Readability? Not only does the logo need to work at various sizes but so does the text

Legal tips

Once a logo is designed, there are two things you or your designer/agency need to do. 

Firstly, make sure your design/brand hasn’t already been trademarked by someone else.  If it has been and you try to use it you can be sued in court for damages and may be required to pay compensation.

If no one has then you need to do so quickly as some trademarks go on to be worth millions.  The value of your logo can only be ‘locked in’ by actually protecting them by trademark registration.

Trademark registries and application processes vary from country to country so it’s advisable that you (or ask your designer/agency to do so on your behalf) contact the appropriate Trademark Office/Bureau for assistance, such as: 
* The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USA)
* The Trademarks Bureau (Europe and the UK)
* IPA Australia (Australia)

If working with a designer/agency, make sure the copyright ownership is documented and signed by both of you.

Final files

The following is a list of deliverables to ask from your designer/agency once the final logo design is approved.

File formats:

• eps - for business cards, brochures, advertisements and anything else to be printed in high quality (make sure it’s a vector eps)
• jpg and gif - Websites, on-line adverts and banners, email marketing and digital signatures and anything Web related
• tiff - Microsoft Office programs and standard printing for common use (i.e. invoices, letterheads)
• Other - If they have used software such as Adobe Illustrator or QuarkXPress to create the logo as vector artwork, in addition to the above file formats you should also ask for the ‘originating file format’. So for example even if they have exported the above file formats for you from Illustrator, also ask for the Illustrator (.ai) file and the same if they have used QuarkXPress (.qxp). This way you can be confident that you or another designer/agency will be able to edit or manipulate the logo in the future. As an example say you want to do a promotional video and the video company would like to produce some video animation around your logo. Having the source file would make this much easier.

Sizes
You’ll need to work out specific sizes that you need but in order to get you started make sure you have a good spread of sizes for the bitmap formats i.e. jpg, tiff and gif files. This is because when you scale these formats up or down you will lose quality. So it’s better to make sure the exact sizes you require are created directly from the originating software.

Colors:

• Full color:
  - CMYK ( eps and tiff file formats)
  - RGB (jpg and gif file formats)
• Black and reversed

Also ask for a “Favicon”.  It’s a ‘little logo’ that appears in the corner of the address bar in a Web browser.  It’s a great way to compliment your logo on the Web and it should only take them a few extra minutes to create (in most instances)

Logo usage guidelines
Something that’s extremely useful to have is a set of guidelines for how your logo should be used. This is something you can also ask the designer/agency to create for you. The usage guidelines will cover such information as the exact colors used within the logo, how much white space should be around the logo, which logo to use depending on the background color of the document it is going onto. This way if someone else has to use your logo for example in an advert or on a third party Web site, you can provide the logo (in different formats) and the usage guidelines to make sure they represent your brand correctly.

And when you have all of this...

Don’t be shy! Make sure that it appears on everything possible as familiarity creates trust. Go on - stamp your brand with confidence!

Psychology of color: projecting a professional image with color

Color selection is a very important element in your web image because colors have an effect on your visitors before they begin to read the content of your web site. Thus, it is very important for you to consider your target audience, the psychology of color, and the corporate image you wish to project BEFORE you construct your web site.

When color is used correctly, it can add impact and clarity to your message and highlight important points. When color is used incorrectly, it can compromise your message and confuse your target audience.

Color can work for your web site and printed materials in various ways:

1. Color emphasizes, highlights, and leads the eye to important points or links.
2. Color identifies recurring themes (i.e. titles and subtitles are usually the same colors).
3. Conversely, color can differentiate, such as different colors in pie charts and bar graphs.
4. Color symbolizes and triggers emotions and associations.

The interpretation of a color depends on culture, profession, and personal preference. In general, the colors red, orange, and yellow are "exciting" colors and the colors purple, blue, and green are "calming" colors.

Interpretation of color is not always a matter of personal preference. For example, in Western cultures the color white symbolizes purity; however, in China the color white symbolizes death.

The type of profession you are practicing also influences what colors you will select for your corporate image. The following table shows just a few examples of how the same colors are interpreted in different professions:

Color	Finance	Engineering	Medical
Red	Loss	Hot, danger	Danger, emergency OR healthy, oxygenated
Yellow	Important, substantial	Caution, warning	Jaundice
Blue	Reliable, corporate	Water, cold, cool	Death, poison
Green	Profit	Safe, environmental	Infection
Cyan	Cool, subdued	Steam	Poison, lack of oxygen

To summarize, it is very important for you to consider your target audience, the psychology of color, and the corporate image you wish to project BEFORE you construct your web site, printed materials, and logo.

The Psychology of Color Selection in Web Design & Graphic Design...What Message Are You Sending?

The way different colors influence our mood, state of soul and body is really exciting. Most of us do not realize how it works and only a few probably pay attention. Though the influence of the colors may be some what overestimated, we can obviously feel it in some situations (imagine yourself in a dark red room or in the room in the sky colors). Today we’ll be speaking about color perception and color psychology in website design, the way different brands use colors and what’s their message.

The colors are divided into two basic groups – colors in the red area of the color spectrum known as warm colors (red, orange and yellow) and colors in the blue area known as cool colors (blue, purple and green). The warm colors evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth, comfort and coziness (the fire burning in the rainy cold evening) to anger and aggression. Cool colors are as a rule described as calm and tranquil but can also be associated with sadness (being in blues) or indifference.

In the ancient times people believed that colors can cure from different diseases. This science was called Chemotherapy, and some of the basics were as following:

• Red increases blood circulation and thus stimulates the body and mind
• Yellow stimulates the nerves and purifies the body
• Orange increases your energy
• Blue treats pain
• Indigo alleviates skin problems

Though the majority of psychologists take color therapy sceptically big brands don’t seem to agree with that. They create huge marketing campaigns based on the way we perceive the colors and make people buy. Below is the table with the colors and emotions/feelings they are widely associated with. Let’s try to analyze the websites of some world-known companies and see how they implement color techniques.

Color	Emotions
Black	Symbol of menace or evil, popular as an indicator of power. Associated with death and mourning, unhappiness, sexuality, formality, and sophistication.
White	Purity or innocence. Cold, bland, and sterile.
Red	Evokes strong emotions, associated with love, warmth, and comfort. Still considered an intense and angry color that creates feelings of excitement, intensity, sexuality.
Blue	A favorite color for many people and the color most preferred by men. Gives the feelings of calmness or serenity. Described as peaceful, tranquil, secure, and orderly.
Green	Symbolizes nature and the natural world. Represents tranquility, good luck, health, and jealousy. Symbol of fertility, has a calming effect and relieves stress.
Yellow	Cheery and warm, but can also create feelings of frustration and anger. Most fatiguing to the eye (that’s why you’ll rarely see a bright yellow website or a room painted with yellow with the exception of playrooms for kids) yet most attention-getting color (so great color for important details or calls to action- remember the yellow stop/caution color).
Purple	Royalty and wealth, wisdom and spirituality, sex and relationships, exotic and special.
Brown (all of us love wooden backgrounds).	Natural color that evokes a sense of strength and reliability, warmth, comfort, and security.
Orange (banner color of the counter-culture).	Blatant and vulgar color, makes you feel excitement, enthusiasm, and warmth. As a combination of red and yellow it’s often used to draw attention.
Pink	Associated with love, romance, youth, freshness and may have a calming effect. Pink effect depends on the type of pink (strong, light, deep etc).

Now when we know what colors mean and what feelings they evoke, let’s try to make a simple analysis of the color schemes used by 20 world-known brands on their corporate websites. That’s really exciting and you start taking things differently.

1. Coca-Cola

Primary color is red on a white and light gray background for better visibility and contrast. The red is supposed to create the feeling of excitement and energy. “Open happiness” text in the main menu corresponds to the color perception.

Though the white is probably used to make an accent on red, as a cold color it’s supposed to give the feeling of coolness “For refreshing ideas” as they say in the moto. An excellent job!

2. McDonalds

Though the McDonalds restaurant colors we are used to are yellow and red (to cause children excitement, a bit of irritation and craziness), the website looks pretty formal in black and white. And no wonder, being visited by parents who would like to know what their kids eat and how fat is that, black and white is the perfect solution to make the website look strict, formal, informative, clean and somewhat sterile.

Now imagine it would be mainly in yellow and red (causing excitement and the most fatiguing to the eye)- that would make parents mad. Frustrated parents = Less money

3. M&M’s

The M&M’s colors that we usually see in the TV/bigboard ads are yellow and red (double excitement). The website itself is a mix of all possible colors, from light blue on the background to dark-blue, purple, green, yellow, orange, red in the banners and header area. The M&M’s guys are extremely smart, everyone can choose a candy to his liking :) There’s one problem though- the website looks very clumsy and kinda created from pieces that do not match.

4. Colgate

Red, white and blue- the colors of world-famous 3-colored toothpaste and the only colors used on the website (even mother and kid on the photo in the header area are dressed in red and white on the blue sky background!). Red for energy and happiness, white for shine and sterility, blue for cold freshness of stream water and confidence. Though I like the toothpaste, the website color scheme is not pleasant to my eyes. The abundance of bright red makes me feel uncomfortable and makes it almost not possible for me to focus on the texts and information.

5. Nestle

Nestle slogan says “Good Food, Good Life” and the white-gray-blue color-scheme makes you feel calm, secure and in some way sure that’s everything is gonna be okay. You will remember this feeling subliminally and buying something produced by Nestle next time you’ll be thinking “somehow I know this is a reliable company producing good products, I might have read this somewhere”. Another great example how marketing is closely connected with the color perception.

6. Nescafe

A product of Nestle company, Nescafe website is however designed in deep plum colors- a mix of red associated with the cozy warmth, energy and power and purple- making you feel so special, exclusive and unique. I love this color scheme, it’s not so annoying as red and not so exquisite as purple, it makes you feel special yet very comfy.

7. Cadbury

A website made of all shades of purple. I guess it is supposed to say that Cadbury products are very special, but it makes me feel playful for some reason. That’s an interesting approach, while the chocolate is usually associated with energy (like Snikers) or sex (dark black chocolate) the playful approach definitely makes the brand stand out from the crowd. Or am I the only one taking it like this?

8. Nokia

Blue, green, gray, white and a little bit of pink. Blue for serenity, green for tranquility and nature, gray to nicely mix blue and green, white for clarity, pink is probably to attract girls :) The website is designed in the colors to make you feel sure of the quality, yet they stay away from the standard blue-gray-white color scheme.

Green is knows to relieve stress and will have a calming effect on somewhat frustrated with daily heap of things to do business people who have come to check for the updates.

9. Kodak

Though the Kodak products are usually associated with yellow (yeah, they catch the attention) the website is designed in the classic gray-white-blue color scheme, so pleasant to the eye and allowing to focus on texts and information. You feel that you will get all the info that you need in a clear way, yet you do not feel too formal, just professional approach to things.

10. Gillette

Blue is the color most preferred by men and guys at Gillette perfectly know this. “The Best a man can get”- the favorite men color and a bit of red and orange on promotions to catch attention. They know what you like guys and they know how to sell their products to you.

11. Marlboro

Red, black and gray- power, sophistication, sexuality and strong emotions- features of a “real” man. However if you visit philipmorrisusa you will notice that the company corporate website is designed in blue color scheme- peaceful, tranquil, secure. That’s an excellent example how the colors work, if you still don’t believe it, let’s move forward.

12. Ikea

The header of the website is designed in bright colors- yellow, yellowish-green and sky-buy – which makes your feel somewhat excited (and willing to buy something?). The photos used in flash animation are bright as well which makes you even more excited. The website body is pretty simple- black and blue text on a white background to give you full access to the information.

The special offers page has a huge red banner on top and you can’t keep your eyes from it! That same moment your brain keeps reading “special offers” over and over again … and Ikea has you.

13. Budweiser

Same as the Marlboro the Budweiser website main promotional page is designed in red and black colors, meaning “Hey Dude- drink Budweiser and you’ll be a “Man”. The inside pages all have different backgrounds- white, red, black, gray. I don’t think that there’s some separate marketing campaign behind this but rather a non-standard design approach (though most of the pages still remain in red).

14. L’oreal

Not much to say about L’oreal website- being designed in all possible shades of purple it makes you feel really special. With L’oreal products you’ll be sexy, stylish, sure of yourself, and really-really special.

15. Kellogg’s

Since 1906 people have known Kellogg as a company they can rely on for great-tasting, high-quality foods. All the website speaks of fun and excitement (lots of yellow and red) and the smiling families on the photos in the header area make you feel even happier. Yeah, your kids gonna love Kellogg’s they are so fun and cool! Even the text on the website speaks about it “We’re excited to offer fun promotions related to our products.” It’s fun, fun, fun!

16. Gucci

Natural light brown colors make you think of the Gucci products as very natural (and in some meaning they are since they are made from leather). Similar to L’oreal, the website is designed in a single color where different shades are used to make accents. Though I’m against killing animals for fur and leather, I like Gucci website, it’s so exquisite and natural.

17. Heinz

The website home page has a huge photo used as the background, and you can see the sky, the field and tasty tomatoes- simple yet effective. The background of the website inside pages changes from page to page: brown which resembles of land, blue which resembles the sky and the gray like the sky before the rain. Heinz guys are using colors very effectively, since the core of their product is what they grow (or buy from third party) they use all the natural colors and photos to show that the product is the essence of what beautiful nature gives us.

18. Converse

While the converse products are available in all possible colors, the website is designed in grunge style and colors resembling the pavement and old jeans. The accent here is made not on the colors but the audience which should be attracted by the according design style, hand-drawn elements and the seeming carelessness.

19. Kleenex

Kleenex is another great example of the website designed in the natural blue/green colorscheme (to make you feel confident the product is natural and reliable) with the orange elements to grab attention. It’s pretty interesting that I have never paid attention earlier how many of big corporate websites are using this same colorscheme and still don’t resemble each other. Probably that’s because we do perceive the colors in some other way than just knowing and recognizing what color is that, I think that we see it as an integral part of some system.

20. Duracell

Duracell website is designed in 3 main colors and their shades: black, orange and green. Black- to make more contrast for the orange and to add some formality and solidity. Orange- power, energy, joy. Green is natural and works great with the orange. “Smart power” as they say in the product, and the whole website makes you feel as if Duracell products are just what you need, the batteries are powerful and you can rely on them in any situation. BTW, I do buy Duracell :)

What colors do you use in website design? What are your favorite colors?