What does a logo do?
Answer: Most of the heavy lifting.
A logo is important for a number of reasons. Mainly, it does these five things.
- Makes a great first impression, which invites customers to interact with your brand
- Helps you to create a brand identity
- Gives your company a symbol through which people can better remember you
- Distinguishes you from competitors
- Fosters brand loyalty
So, creating a logo should clearly be high on your list of priorities when starting a business. But what are the elements that you can use to make it happen?
If designed correctly, a logo can make future branding efforts a walk in the park
What are the components of a logo?
Color
Colors go way beyond aesthetic appeal. They’re the core communicators of your message, telling your audience if you’re playful or serious, innovative or wholesome, cutting-edge or timeless and stable.
Your logo color palette can be made up of a single color or several (although we recommend staying within a two- or three-color combination). The colors you pick will later seep into other branding materials you create as well, so choose wisely!
(Check out this post for more about what your logo colors mean.)
Typography
This is basically what all of us non-design folks think of as a font; typography includes the letters you’d see in a logo, arranged in some kind of consistent design.
You’ll find logos built around a single letter, a monogram, or even the full name of a business.
Image
An image can range from the simplest arrow to a detailed rendition of an abstract orangutan. It can be an icon or a symbol, perhaps a picture that represents something you sell or a value you stand for.
If you’re choosing to go with an image, remember that your logo will likely need to be resized depending on where it’s being placed; try to use something that looks clear and scalable.
Tagline
Situated under a logo, a tagline typically consists of a sentence or catchphrase designed to hook your audience, or clarify what your company does.
Logos don’t necessarily need to be accompanied by a tagline, but it’s something to consider if, say, your logo image alone is an abstract interpretation of the concept of harmony. While it may communicate your values, it doesn’t actually tell your customers anything about your business.
What makes a logo stand out?
Obviously, this depends on the company, audience, intended message, and logo design. Logo effectiveness can be pretty subjective and variable across industry or business. However, regardless of how you create a logo, be it with a logo maker like ours or from a freelance designer, there are four broad goals you should aim for when creating a logo.
1. It should be audience-appropriate
The best logos aren’t the flashiest, but rather those that resonate with their target audience. Logos represent not only your company, but also the people to whom you speak. For example, you wouldn’t use bright and peppy colors (read: bright yellow) for a funeral home, in the same way as you wouldn’t use depressing grays for a children’s party planner.
2. It should be easy to read
This is particularly true for wordmark logos (logos that consist of text only) but applies to every design style. If your target audience is forced to decipher what your logo means, they’ll be gone faster than you can say “conversions.” Make sure your logo can be easily understood from just a glance.
3. It should be distinct
Drawing inspiration from industry trends is always a good starting point, but remember that the goal of a logo is to differentiate your brand from the competition. Distinct = memorable, and that’s what will remind customers why your brand is the one in the industry that they should be loyal to.
4. It should be scalable
We mentioned this above, but it’s worth repeating. Your logo will be placed prominently across several media channels, and in varied sizes; because of this, the best logos are versatile ones that can easily be scaled to fit any branding need you may encounter.
What are the different uses for a logo?
The first rule of branding is that logos should be placed anywhere your product, company, and brand are represented.
Websites
Displaying your logo at the top of your site increases your brand visibility and instantly tells consumers who they’re visiting.
Business cards
Your branded (read: with logo) business cards are an excellent way to get your name out there and give your customers a tangible way to remember you.
Marketing materials
Ads, brochures, product packaging, social media posts, newsletters: any time you create a marketing tool or material, your logo should be standing at attention.
Presentations
On the business side, your presentations should always include a clear indication of the brand you represent, symbolized by your logo.
Company communications
Including logos in letters, emails, memos, and other communications reinforces your brand, not only for customers but also for your employees, ultimately connecting your company culture with the brand representing it.
Some of the greats
Here are a few examples of iconic logos and how they get the job done.
What did you do on Twitter? You tweeted, and so did this bird.
The bird logo, used until the platform rebranded as X in 2023, was simple and easily understood. Everyone could tell it was a bird, and it communicated what you could do on Twitter in a single image. Its size and color made it attention-grabbing, while its simplicity subtly reminded the audience that using Twitter was easy.
McDonald’s
These golden arches would be recognized from a mile away, which is the point. The arches started as an architectural feature of early McDonald’s restaurants, meant to capture the attention of passers-by, and were later incorporated into the logo.
The colors are bright and happy, and the shape of the “M” might even remind you of those famous Mickey D’s fries, the ones you just can’t wait to get your hands on.
Amazon
The name of this retail giant was inspired by the Amazon River (the largest river in the world by volume), which is why it makes a great basis for their logo.
While adding a little zest to the logo, the arrow underneath the name also implies that Amazon sells every product from A to Z, in the curved shape of a smile, because they keep their customers happy.
Apple
We couldn’t not mention our favorite techies, whose classic yet simple logo has become globally recognized as a symbol of innovation and panache.
Like the old Twitter logo, the Apple icon is uncomplicated, but rather than representing an action, it stands for the name of the company. Its single-color look is sleek, and the bite taken out of the fruit makes sure it reads as an apple rather than a cherry. Many people also see a playful nod to the computing term “byte.” Not bad for a mere icon!
Final thoughts
Now that you have a clearer understanding of what a logo is and the role it plays in your brand image, it’s time to start your own brand journey and design your logo with Tailor Brands Logo Maker.