With new startups popping up every day it’s easy for any company to get lost in the mix of competitor brands. So what is good branding and how can your brand stand out and make a lasting impression?

As a designer this is something I find myself asking most of the businesses I have had the privilege to work with. I find that most companies don’t have a plan or under-estimate the importance of establishing a strong logo design and color palette to enhance their brand.

I understand that companies are hiring me to assist them in these efforts. So I briefly want to discuss some of my personal experiences and the approach I like to take with clients to help them think about the design process, color theory and a good logo design.

Here are a few tips I would recommend they take to heart.

Colors

It is said that people see and recall elements about a design in this specific order,

  1. Colors
  2. Shapes or Symbols
  3. Numbers
  4. Words

Color is usually the first thing that most people see when looking at a logo/brand and usually sets the tone or general feeling of most designs.

Color also plays a huge part in marketing. There has been a lot of research done on how color and typography play a role in ad campaigns and e-commerce. Research has shown that 60% of the time people will decide if they are attracted to a message based on color alone.

Color increases brand recognition by up to 80 percent. That alone should be a great reason to take color seriously when it comes to good branding.

source

Logos

Sycamore Cabinetry Logo
A logo is probably the most important design feature for any company. It gives companies an Identity and allows potential customers  to recognize your company from amongst others. Good branding communicates the “underlying meaning” of a company or product which can help make a lasting Impression with the customer.

When designing a new logo for a business I will first try to get some information about the company. Some of these things might include:

  • What type of products and services they offer to their customers.
  • What type of person do they foresee purchasing their products or services, is it a niche market?
  • What kind of emotional response or feeling would they like their brand to portray to people, clean, minimal, classy, high-tech, colorful and active, etc.
  • Do they have any design features or elements that they want to capture within the logo design?
  • Do they have any color preferences they are wanting to use or not wanting to use?

Understanding the business and their preferences can help inspire Ideas when it comes to the actual design of the logo. Once I have some basic information I will then begin to concept some ideas for the client using different shapes, colors, and typography.

Here is a real world example of how a logo design evolved throughout the design process:

  1. Here is a sketch provided by the client upon first meeting and discussing logo ideas.

 

  1. Working with the sketch and the notes taken while meeting I then provided them with different concepts of the logo based on different color combinations typography and shapes.
    Logo Evolution

 

  1. Here is the final logo concept that the client decided upon.
    Suzi's Organizing Solutions Logo

 

As you can see a logo concept might go through a number of design revisions and Ideas before a final version is decided on.

I have found it to be good practice to let friends and different types of people see all the concepts to see which ones they like the best as well. These results can sometimes be the most surprising and reveal things you never thought about.

So in conclusion, I hope that you will consider some of the things mentioned in this post before beginning your next design Journey. Some decisions should not be made lightly when it comes to branding as it could have a direct effect on your marketing goals, brand recognition and bottom line.