Constituents of a Logo
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007
Symbols, signs, emblems, and slogans are all the important constituents that compose a proper logo. Each of the following elements of a logo plays a decisive role in making any logo a household name.
SYMBOL:
A symbol is used in a logo to attract the viewers and inspire them to be the company’s customers. It gives the general perception of the company’s products and services to the masses and explains the inspirational values behind the company’s creations. Furthermore, a symbol results in the worldwide recognition of a brand.
SIGN:A sign is an artistic expression and a creative element used by designers in logos to signify a particular direction or position of a company and its achievement(s) and can also be used as a form of creative expression. A perfect example of a sign can be seen in the FedEx logo in which an arrow is located in the negative space between the ‘E’ and ‘X’ pointing rightwards symbolizing forward movement and thinking of the company.
EMBLEM:Many companies prefer the use of their emblems in their logos. An emblem is a graphical image or an object that represents and symbolizes a quality, state, person or class of persons, etc. Its use gives a distinctive yet authoritative look to a brand.
SLOGAN:For successful brand advertising, a strong slogan or tagline should be used with a logo. The simplicity and metaphorical character of a slogan often projects a unified and broad social expression of a brand without citing much detail.
5 Characteristics of a Highly Successful Logo
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
Logos are a great way to endorse a brand. Though it is hard to predict the impact it has on the overall success of a brand, logos are perhaps an important element of any brand’s marketing strategy. Thus, it is safe to conclude that a successful logo results in a successful marketing of a brand. However, being ‘successful’ does not merely imply a good logo design. It refers to a more versatile approach of employing appropriate characteristics in it that make it a hit.
1. Uniqueness:
The uniqueness of a logo guarantees brand’s recognition. Thus, it is important for a logo to be distinctive and at the same time, should be appealing. This leads to the success of a logo, and ultimately of a brand, on a broader scale by presenting viewers with something different that has not been built on the art or style of other already existing logos.
2. Relevancy:
A successful logo expresses many aspects of its brand. It also provides visual recognition of a product. Therefore, a logo must be relevant to the brand’s concept and portray the true values of the company.
3. Appealing:
The core idea behind the creation of a logo is to give worldwide recognition to a brand and its company. If a logo lacks the appealing quality, it can never accomplish its goal of attracting customers towards its products and services.
4. Consistency:
A visually attractive logo has a consistent use of elements. A successful logo has an alluring yet relevant consistency to it. This helps a logo to look good on anything it is placed.
5. Contrast:
Contrast helps a logo in differentiating its elements. A successful logo consists of a compelling color scheme, artistic text and alluring style. Hence, with so much going on in a logo, the possibility of damage to the overall image of a logo is overwhelming. Thus, a successful logo should incorporate the contrast factor in it to avoid being diminished. Each element of a logo should compliment the other to restrict damage.
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LOGO-ing
Monday, March 12th, 2007
With the progression of ‘globalization’ since 1944, many companies have understood how important consumer advertising is for the success of their products worldwide. For this particular reason, companies have started giving special consideration to their products’ branding. And for branding, the best way to globalize a product is through proper ‘logo-ing’. ‘Logo-ing’ refers to establishing a strong corporate identity for a company and ultimately to its products. It includes all the necessary steps involved in creating, registering and marketing a company’s logo, and eventually making it a house-hold name. Hence, proper logo-ing performs many important functions for the success of any brand. Let’s look at some of the various functions of logo-ing:
1. Visual Representation:
Logos are the visual representation of the nature of a company. That’s why, logo-ing constantly offers the viewers a general perception about the company’s products and services and provides the company a chance to attract new customers.
2. Corporate Identity:
As a business progresses, logo becomes its corporate identity. Logo-ing not only protects the products from being copied by others but also, provides the company with worldwide recognition.
3. Adaptability:
From stationery to products, logo goes with everything that a company possesses. Hence, logos
should have the tendency to look good on any and everything on which they are placed. Thus, the flexibility of logo-ing cannot be neglected.
Logos are often the only marketing strategy for companies to advertise their products. That’s why it is important for the companies to do proper logo-ing of their brand for the continued success of their business.
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Color Psychology of Logos
Monday, March 5th, 2007
Color is an important part of visual arts. It represents the nature and mood of an entity. That’s why colors are an important aspect of visual representation of a company too. Though colors have different meanings in various cultures and countries, they are generally used in logos to convey a specific message/s.
RED:
Red is an extreme and emotionally intense color. It evokes aggressiveness, passion, strength and vitality. It also grabs attention of the viewers because of which, it is widely seen in many different logos.
PINK:
The color pink induces femininity, innocence, softness and health. Due to its tranquilizing nature, pink is extensively used in logos related to spa, health care and cosmetic products.
ORANGE:
Orange represents energy, enthusiasm, flamboyance and demand of attention. This particular vivid color is common among the logos that offer sense of openness and friendliness to their viewers. Its attractive, bright and cheery nature captures the attention of the spectators and gives the logo a contemporary look.
YELLOW:
While it is considered as an optimistic color, yellow is the most difficult color for the eye to take in. On the other hand, yellow color symbolizes positivity and buoyancy. But its use should be minimal as it can be overpowering if overused.
GREEN:
Green is a calming, refreshing and conservative color. It signifies tranquility, nature, health, and freshness. It is widely used in healthcare, construction, golf and real estate logos due to its relevance with the mentioned businesses.
BLUE:
Blue evokes authority, dignity, security and faithfulness. It is one of the most popular colors among logos and can be seen extensively in education, medical and government logos.
PURPLE:
The color of royalty, purple connotes luxury, wealth, spirituality and sophistication. It also symbolizes rank and authority. However, because it is rare in nature, purple is rarely used in logos.
BROWN:
Brown suggests utility, earthiness, woodiness and subtle richness. As it is the color of earth and is abundant in nature, brown is used in logos related to construction and development. It is also widely used in legal logos due to it simplicity and character.
WHITE:
White is the universal color of peace. It represents purity, simplicity, sterility and refinement. Its frequent use in logos is due to its simplistic nature and radiant character. The color white in logos is often used as text because it illuminates on other bright colors.
GRAY:
Solid, intelligence, modesty, practicality, conservative and maturity are some of the attributes of the color gray. However, it can seldom be seen on logos as it also represents old age, sadness and dullness.
BLACK:
Black is a powerful color that evokes authority, boldness, elegance and style. It is broadly used in almost all types of logos for its boldness and sophistication.
These colors, though not necessarily, but are generally used in logos to communicate a specific point. So the next time you are looking or designing logos, be sure to understand the message behind the colors used in them.
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Top Logo Softwares
Friday, February 16th, 2007
At a time when corporate identity is as important as the brand itself, certain businesses have taken a visible shape and go by the name of ‘Logo Design Companies’. These companies, usually online, refer to a developing business category of offering customers with logo design services and facilities. Depending upon the expertise and nature of a company, the logo design service can cost you as low as $100 and go as high as $5,000 when ordering from a high profile company. However, for an individual with a small business who cannot afford to have a logo designed by professionals; or have a specific vision towards the design of your logo that only you can portray, the cost maybe high. There is however, a solution.
First you need to understand how logo design companies operate. Logo design companies hire professional designers that are trained in the use of specific logo software/s.
Logo designers use logo softwares that help them create original and unique graphics. These logo softwares are manual tools rather than auto logo generators.
1. Adobe® Illustrator®:This is the most widely used logo designing software. It is simple to use and the final outcome of this logo software will provide you with great results. It is the best and most highly recommended tool for creating logos, as you can adjust the exported files to any size without losing quality. Though this logo software is expensive, it sure is worth your money.
2. Macromedia FreeHand®:Another milestone of Adobe® in graphic designing is Macromedia FreeHand®. Freehand is an advanced tool easier for beginners to get the grips off. Despite being similar to Adobe® Illustrator® in scope, intended market and function; this logo software suffers from lack of compatibility with various tools which is why it is widely criticized.
3. CorelDRAW:CorelDRAW differentiates itself from other logo softwares for two major reasons. Firstly, it is created as a graphic suite, rather than just a vector graphics program. Secondly, it consistently contains a large collection of clipart and fonts, making it a prime choice for many users.
4. Open Source Programs:
If the above professional logo softwares don’t come in your range, then you should consider the use of Open Source Programs like g-logo, Inkscape, etc., which can be found at www.sourceforge.net. The logo softwares, present at this website are multi platform and go with different standards. And yes, it’s FREE!
But remember to keep simplicity, relevancy and proper symbology in your logos. For more information about logos and logo softwares, check out: www.logoblog.org.
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