According to a survey by Nielson, a leading global information and measurement company, a strong and easily recognisable logo can increase consumer recognition by up to 80%.
McDonald’s, Nike, Volkswagen, what do these logos have in common? They are simple.
When we talk about branding everyone wants their company to stand out and be unique, but rarely does the conversation of a memorable logo come up. Most business owners simply want something with their company name on it but rarely think about the long-term effects this will have on their target customer base.
People are far more likely to trust brands they are familiar with, so they need to be able to recall your logo easily. A bright and intricate logo may look impressive at first but it will be hard in the long run for consumers to familiarise themselves with it.
What makes a good logo?
Logos are one of the key factors that influence a potential customer's decision. Colours, typefaces and icons all have an impact on the communication of your brand to your target audience.
Fonts are essential when making your logo and making a website as the simpler more rounded fonts tend to be easier to read and navigate. Different typefaces also have quite a big impact on the brain and how it interprets them emotionally.
Serif: These are typefaces that have little tails at the end of each character. The best examples are Times New Roman, Book Antiqua, and Courier. Serifs convey emotions like class, tradition, respect, and royalty.
Sans Serif: Fonts such as Helvetica, Arial, and Century Gothic contain no tails at the end of their character. They show modernism, as well as, simplicity, straightforwardness, and sensibilities.
Scripts: They’re considered fancy but not too decorative. They’re cursive fonts like Edwardian Script, Vivaldi, and French Script.
Decorative: Decorative typefaces are fun, quirky, and unusual, perfect for casual events. They have swashes and exaggerated serifs to display an ornamental character. The best examples are Jokerman, Algerian, and Curlz.
Handwritten or freestyle: It’s a font style that looks like it has been created by hand due to its likeness. Some examples are Segoe, Catholic School Girls, and Freestyle. It brings fun and casual emotions from the viewers.
Like fonts, colours also have an especially powerful impact on the psychological response a person has, so picking the right one for your branding is very important. For example, warm colours such as reds and yellows evoke a happy more passionate response whereas cool colours like blues and green have a more calming effect.
Shapes overall have the most impact within the first ten seconds than anything else. Logos of course are visual tools to familiarise yourself with a business and we tend to see shapes before we see text.
According to a study conducted by UKPOS, angular shapes suggested competence to customers, whereas . round shapes and curves suggested friendliness and warmth to customers. So if you are a business looking to use more icons than text be aware that the types of shapes you use could affect the response you get.
In conclusion, many factors go into making the perfect logo. But from a web designer's point of view, I would confidently say. Keep it simple, pick the right colour and remember that the logo isn’t for you, it is for the customer.