How to create great brands
Read through the pages of any magazine and you’re likely to see various advertisements, one maybe a Nike adverts which contains the easily identifiable Swoosh. Glance up at a advertisement boards and you could see an advert for Mastercard identifiable by the logo with dual circles staring down at you. Do you recognise these brands? What makes their logos work?
Of course, recognising a logo on its own is not a whole corporate identity, but just one part of it stands alone and can effectively represent an organisation. Considering this if you’re trying to establish a new brand or get creative with one that’s already well-known, it stands to reason that an effective logo is key. Context and style may vary over time, but the principles and best practices that guide logo design remain unchanged.
When thinking about the elements of an effective logos, some things need to be kept in mind.
Design principles for logo creation
Today the modern approach to logo design is to create an entire system (visual strategy) - a primary mark, a secondary mark, typography, and a colour scheme - that aligns with your overall brand. Will your logo be a word-mark (logotype), a stylised typographic logo without a separate icon, such as FedEx, 3M, or Coca-Cola? Or perhaps you will simply use a pictorial or abstract mark, like Apple, Nike, or Target. A logo system includes all these elements along with guidelines for when to use them individually or when to use a lockup (a grouping of several brand elements like an icon, word-mark, and tagline). Logos are often surrounded by and gain meaning from context, so the key is to think about how much or little your visual brand system needs to communicate.
Horizontal and vertical logo lockup
Ensure the logo works in multiple environments. The best logos are memorable, but they also have to function and work in a variety of modern environments and across digital platforms, communication channels, and physical objects. Great logos resize easily and can be reproduced across a variety of different contexts - they should be scalable, responsive (for mobile-first design), and identifiable across a variety of sizes, shapes, dimensions, and applications.
Find the sweet spot of complexity. Colour or black and white? Detailed or simplistic? Abstract or literal? The best logos can be reduced to one or two colours and resized easily. If it can’t, chances are it’s too complicated and not likely to be legible or memorable. While it’s not a rule that logos should be produced in one color, it can be indicative of whether or not it is at the right level of visual complexity. One way to test the utility of a logo is to envision how it would reproduce stitched on uniform. If it would work well there, it is probably simple enough for any application.
Watch trends, but aim for timeless. The “flat” design and minimalist approach may be hot now, but in a decade, logos in multiple colours with extra detail may be on trend. Design trends are seen through a moving window - timeless logos stand out visually by differentiating themselves from what has already been done in the past.
Great logos evolve over time
Making an unique logo and create its visual identity, should enable it to have real staying power, as it evolves over time. Ensure the design you have is unique enough to be trademarked, and then do it. This is important to prevent other brands from adopting a similar look and stealing your customers.
Best practices for a visual identity
Most good design starts with asking the right questions and obtaining a creative brief. In the case of designing a logo, developing a complete, concise creative brief is a great place to start.
A creative brief can highlight:
- The company’s personality that you will visually communicate. Is it playful or serious? Dynamic and energetic or secure and stable?
- Define the target audience and understand that audience’s visual preferences. Who are the customers and what are their tastes?
- Review competitors’ logos and designs and see how the brand can stand apart.
- Understand the logo will need to be produced across all media (I.e signage, uniforms, print and digital platforms).
- Understand the organisations vision for the brand, and give stakeholders a sense of ownership in what will become the “face” of their company.
Concept Development
A mood board can help you define a visual direction for a brand. This collage of visual examples should reflect the look and feel you want to create. Sketch a large volume of varied designs and explore ideas before narrowing in and refining the best ones.
Establish three or four top ideas and then refine them. Don’t rush this process.
Testing designs
Market test with a variety of people in your target demographic and ask for feedback. It can be difficult to break through people’s natural desire to be nice and artificially positive when reviewing your creation, but it’s essential to success. You might consider an anonymous web-based survey. You should also distinguish between helpful and unhelpful feedback. Helpful feedback will critique how well your logo communicates your brand identity and how it makes your audience feel about your brand. Try to make a distinction between people’s personal tastes and the objective effectiveness of a design. Feedback questions that focus on the effect of the design (for example, “Which of these companies would you buy from based on the logo alone?”) are better than questions that focus on personal taste (“Which of these colours do you prefer?”).
Designing a brand or logo that excites an audience doesn’t need to be complicated. With a few good tips, the right tools, and some creative inspiration, building a one-of-a-kind logo is easier than ever.
For advice and guidance on NHS branding related projects contact michael.simpson@this.nhs.uk
Published by Michael Simpson on 26.02.2018
Mike is our Graphic Designer and has been working within the Webteam since January 2013. His role focuses on brand creation and development and how it visually translates across all mediums. Mike has over 20 years of experience in creative design working in agency and in-house studios for Higher Education, Public Sector and Private Enterprise organisations.
