Does Your Logo Support Your Brand?

Your logo gives an instantaneous message about your organization. Take a look at it. Is it unique? Memorable? What about color and proportion?

A logo can be just a name in a distinguishable typeface, or a name with a symbol. Either way, it should be uniquely yours.

Many of the construction logos we frequently deal with were designed many years ago. They frequently attempt to describe what the construction association or union does by incorporating tools and slogans, but this can get messy. Remember, the most effective logos are simple, easy to read and instantly recognizable.

Color can be an important, attention-getting factor in your logo, but you want to make very sure it tells the same story when faxed or xeroxed in black and white. One or two colors work best, and primary colors are easiest to match. Kellogg’s, Pfizer and Hertz all use one simple color and recognizable type. Don’t choose your color according to your personal taste, but rather by what it says about your company. Red is strong and aggressive. Blue evokes authority and dignity. Purple is royal and sophisticated. Yellow is usually perceived as bright and positive, green seems alive and peaceful, and black can be serious or bold.

The proportion of width to height is also important to keep in mind. You want it to work as well on a business card as a billboard, so keep the width from becoming too much greater than the height. Remember, your logo will be reduced and enlarged to varying sizes.

Fonts can be fun, but the most important job of the font is to be easily read. Your safest bet is to stick with a basic font like Times, or for a more modern look maybe try a sans-serif font like Arial.

Unique, functional, and representative of your brand – those are the considerations that will help your clients recognize your logo without even reading it.

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