Make your logo work digitally
How to create logos for next-level digital versatility
Over the next few months, digital design agency Resoluut will be spilling all secrets on digital-first branding — from strategy and design systems to motion design and UX writing. Today’s topic: logo design.
When you think about branding, chances are logos are what pops into your head. Which makes sense, since they’re designed to catch your eye. A good logo is instantly recognizable and speaks to the right audience, making it an essential piece of branding. But when your brand focuses on digital applications, you need to look at your logo in a new, different way.
A brand used to be comprised of carefully selected colors, fonts and a strapline, with a logo at the core of its identity. But today, logos are much less important — in digital products, they’re only a small part of the user experience. Brands, especially those with a digital focus, tend to define themselves using their content, tone of voice and UX.
For every size
There’s no denying that thoughtfully designed logos look great, especially on bus posters or billboards. Most of them look okay on laptop screens, too, but when you grab your phone, chances are that beautiful design work doesn’t translate. Which is a shame, since that’s the device most users encounter your logo on. As you design your logo, you should take all different screen sizes into account. That’s responsive logo design.
Just like a website, a digital logo has breakpoints, which are certain areas where the layout ‘skips’. Your logo should roll with those punches, but that doesn’t mean it should always be small, flat and simple. If you’ve got space, use it! Here’s the thing: during responsive logo design, you’re essentially tweaking the same image over and over. You’re always resizing, removing, realigning…
Here’s how New Balance tackled responsive logo design:
Word logos VS image logos
There are roughly two types of logos: word logos and image logos. A word logo expresses the brand name in a unique way. And, like its name says, an image logo is an illustrative representation of what a company does. Which option brands go for depends on application: where and how customers will see their logo, and what they want to achieve with it.
Whether you browse the internet on a big or small screen, you’ll often encounter word logos. Those work well on websites, because they instantly let users know where they are. App icons are a different story, however — for those, brands tend to prefer image logos. Firstly, because there’s not enough space for a legible word logo and secondly, the brand or product name appears directly below the icon anyway. For app icons, word logos just don’t make a lot of sense.
Generally speaking, well-known brands are better off using just an image logo, since most people know their name anyway. You’ll recognize Nike’s swoosh, Apple’s apple and McDonald’s’ golden arches anywhere. But new or small brands aren’t on that level yet, so they’ll opt for a word logo to create both awareness and recognizability.
Designing a good word logo, however, takes more than just typing out a few letters. Word logos express a specific mood and give you a certain feeling. Take Uber’s new word logo, for example. They went from uppercase letters with harsh lines and prominent spacing to round shapes and letters nearly hugging each other. The brand name hasn’t changed, but the logo gives off a much friendlier vibe. It’s much easier to read, too.
Brands aren’t defined by just their logo anymore
A logo used to be a brand’s main point of recognition. You could even say a brand was its logo. Now that brands are shifting their focus towards UX, their distinctiveness doesn’t come from their image or word logo anymore. In other words: today, brands aren’t defined by their logo alone. It’s more about what they do and bring about — a brand is its service. That said, even though logos are becoming less and less important, that doesn’t mean they’re completely redundant. Even digital-first brands need recognizable iconography. Just make sure it’s responsive.
Resoluut
Resoluut is an Amsterdam based digital product and brand design agency. We create products and brands that do what they are supposed to do. If you’re curious about Resoluut’s own digital-first branding, head to Resoluut.com.
