Logos, Trends, and Brands, Oh My!
The Importance of Logos
We all know that a brand is the identity and story of a product, making it distinct and recognizable to its consumers. This includes a company's values, mission statement and other non-visual aspects. While all aspects of branding are important, how often do you evaluate the visual expression of your brand? Things such as your logo, tagline, colours, typography, and aesthetic.
Branding is the process of creating a distinct perception and identity of your business. The logo is just one portion of this, generally the first thing a customer sees and recognizes about a brand. It is the visual signature that represents your company or product and should evolve with the business. While a logo may be simple, it is not necessarily simple to design.
Making a Good First Impression
It is estimated that the average person sees 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements a day. That is a significant number of logos to navigate through. As a business, it is more and more challenging to stand out from the crowd. When thinking about your logo, consider your competitors and how you will differentiate yourself. This emphasizes the importance of completing a competitor analysis.
For consumers who may be new to your brand, your logo could provide potential customers with a sneak peek into your offering. It is the first and simplest way you can show what industry you’re in, what product or service you offer and even your values. The Textile Factory is a great example of this, including a historic building in its logo to represent its specialty in rejuvenating historic buildings into modern living and workspaces.
As a business grows, the logo becomes more and more recognizable. Your logo will promote brand awareness and will be one piece of the brand puzzle. It will be important that your brand identity is cohesive across all visual outlets such as your website, business cards, social media platforms, advertising and physical packaging and locations. Having a strong visual identity at the beginning will help ensure that, as your business grows, all opportunities for perception are cohesive to create a great impression.
Time For a New Logo?
You may notice some of your favourite brands and logos changing over time and wonder why the switch? There are many reasons why a company may decide it’s time for a change. A few reasons include aged design, company growth, changes in the market, and a shift in focus or offerings.
Over time, logos will eventually become outdated. Some elements like bubbly text or bright colours may make your logo look less current. When evaluating and updating your logo, consider if your logo has out-of-date styling. A logo may also require a refresh if there is significant company growth or the launch of a new product or service has occurred. When a business starts, the branding may reflect the smaller size of the company. As a business grows and provides new offerings, the original logo may no longer reflect these changes. With growth or new products, comes a potentially new audience. It is important to invest in your branding or logo to show the audience you are successful, genuine and reliable. Lastly, if there are shifts in the market such as competitors, or significant cultural events, this could trigger a logo refresh as well.
5 Questions to Ask When Redesigning a Logo
1. Has the business changed or grown?
Often we see clients who are expanding their business offerings with additional products or services. This is where a start-up logo or an initial design may no longer suit the business’ mission or represent the business.
2. Has your audience changed?
When a business offers a new product or service, the audience you are speaking to can change. A logo should appeal to all target audiences. This would come into play if you were re-branding and looking to capture a different market and audience. An example of this would be Crocs. They went from ugly to iconic (and still a little ugly, sorry Croc lovers). With this rebranding came a logo refresh and saying goodbye to the crocodile in the logo. They now have something more modern with just text and sometimes paired with a simple Croc shoe / crocodile face symbol.
3. Do you have new competition?
Has a new competitor entered the market? If too many brand-new competitors have a fresh, modern logo, you may run the risk of looking dated or not as professional or innovative in your offerings. This may trigger you to consider a logo refresh so that it is a more current reflection of your brand.
4. Has your brand’s values or mission changed?
As a business grows, it may change its values and as a result, change its mission. This is something to consider when designing a new logo to ensure everything is cohesive across all business assets.
5. Is your logo dated?
This question is one every business can ask themselves. While it may be hard to know when a logo is outdated, try to pay attention to the changing trends amongst other brands and competitors, even brands outside of your industry.
Trends in Brand Logos
There are many reasons for a company to freshen up their logo. Over time, we have seen logos get more complicated, then simplified, add colour, remove colour… the list goes on. One great way to know if your logo is outdated is to keep up with logo changes and trends.
The biggest shift in logo designs we have seen is the simplification and modernization of logos. For some of the large brands that have been around for years, the evolution of the logo is clearly present and it’s getting simpler. Some examples of this can be seen in the luxury fashion industry with Burberry, Saint Laurent, Balmain and the tech industry with Google, Pinterest and eBay to name a few. When taking a look over time we see flattened elements, elements removed, colours decreased, and more monochromatic looks. We also see more white space added.
The Simple Switch
There are two main reasons why the simplification shift is happening. The first reason, and the most closely connected to best practice, is reducing the complexity of the message. When establishing your visual identity, it is a best practice that a business avoids anything complicated with lots of intricate details. This comes down to the consumer's process of receiving information. By reducing the complexity, the consumer can take in a logo or information quicker which is better for the business.
The second and more current reason is due to the digital shift. Logos must live in a variety of locations. Some digital, some not. These logos must be rendered and reproduced properly across all formats. The more simple, and scalable, the easier it will be to apply across all mediums and formats. Think about it this way - will the logo look just as good on a tiny mobile screen as it would on the side of a building or t-shirt? A simpler logo would be better to communicate than a complex one.
Shifts in The Market
Shifts in the market can trigger rebranding, and more specifically logos. This can include significant cultural events such as Covid-19 or equity and stereotype progress that may affect consumer behaviour or brand perception. An example of this is Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup. The Aunt Jemima brand went through a name and image change due to the racial stereotype and to make progress towards racial equity. The 131-year-old brand has made changes over the years such as replacing the kerchief on the character's head with a plaid headband in 1968 and adding pearl earrings and a lace collar in 1989. After years of trying not to draw attention to the large market player, eventually, in 2021 it was decided to remove the image and change the name to Pearl Milling Company. This has triggered a review of the ConAgra Foods syrup brand Mrs. Butterworths and B&G Foods, Cream of Wheat packaging.
What to Consider When Designing a Logo
Once a business has decided it is time to create or refresh a logo, three questions should be asked.
What is working and isn’t working with the current logo?
What colours, symbols or design elements must remain?
What about the current logo resonated with the customer base?
After finding the answers to these questions, there is a foundation to start. From the beginning, try to be open-minded and think of the future rather than only the present. Marketing myopia refers to businesses defining their market so narrowly, that they miss opportunities for growth. A logo needs to resonate not just in the present, but also as the company grows, such as expansions geographically or to a product offering. Brand in a way that allows you to expand and make sense to your potential future audiences.
When branding your business, consider the colours that are selected. It is typically recommended that businesses select between 1-4 colours but 3 is preferable due to ease of memorability and recognition. It also creates a cleaner, more cohesive look. Another piece to consider is colour associations, and selecting colours that make sense for your industry and audience. Think about some of the brands you see day to day and the industry they are in. Do you notice any connections with the list of colour associations in the chart?
Logos, Context and Consideration
When designing a logo, there are a few things to look out for. The first is thinking about the conditions in which your logo will be seen. This includes placement and lighting. Is your plan to have the logo on a hoodie, vehicle wrap and pen? How is your logo going to look horizontally placed, vertically placed, really small or really big? If your logo is going on a clothing item, is your logo going to appear clear and visible? Will more consumers see the logo at a distance (van, building etc.) more than on their mobile device? The content and scenario of each logo is something that should be considered before finalizing the design.
As brands are simplifying their logos, be aware of brand design homogenization. While it is important to stay current and try to reduce complexity, brands can end up looking very similar to one another. Unless done intentionally, try to make sure when simplifying, your brand still stands out. It is a fine line between being complex enough to grab the viewer's attention and avoiding oversimplification.
Looking at Logos
Take Starbucks for example, you may remember the Starbucks logo including the double rings with black, white and green. The logo looks noticeably different now. Before we get into the differences, it is important to know the significance and symbolism of the mermaid / siren in the logo. Starbucks refers to the symbol as a twin-tailed siren which represents Starbucks's place of origin, Seattle and the sea. Many also believe it represents mystery, obsession and addiction that the company wanted to be connected to their business. With this in mind, the logo still includes the siren and two tails (easily mistaken for claw arms). What was changed was most noticeably the removal of “Starbucks Coffee”. Starbucks has become a household name and no longer needs their name on every cup and sign to be recognized. This also allows Starbucks to have the freedom and flexibility to apply it beyond the Starbucks cup. The simplified logo is easier for consumers to absorb and recognize. With the more modern, smoothed and slightly enlarged siren, it will make it easier for them to apply it on top of multiple background colours, shaped items or applications. It is also more visible from a distance on a store sign. This simplification made it easier for Starbucks to create a few solid colour versions of the logo to apply to different backgrounds and circumstances.
Another great example of the shift towards simplification and modernization is Dunkin' Donuts. Or should I say Dunkin’. Dunkin’ has gone through a rebranding and has removed “donuts” from the name all together. This allows Dukin’ and their consumers to focus on the entire product offering rather than specializing in only donuts. Overall, the brand kept its main colours, keeping it uniquely recognizable to consumers, achieving the goal of preserving the legacy but expanding its potential. The cup has also been removed to visually simplify the logo and remove any specific references to donuts or coffee allowing for growth.
Branding and Business
Branding is very complex and requires businesses to ask themselves a lot of questions. Whether building a brand from scratch or refreshing an existing one, it is important to evaluate the current positioning and what opportunities the future holds. If your logo is not strategic, eye-catching and memorable, you may want to consider investing in a refresh. Not sure if a logo refresh is required or where to start? Reach out to us. We love talking about all things branding and logos!
Sources:
https://www.coverwallet.com/business-tips/tips-for-logo-design
https://blog.fiverr.com/post/the-importance-of-updating-your-logo-and-why-you-should-refresh-it-now
https://www.vistaprint.com/hub/logo-redesign
https://bootcamp.uxdesign.cc/why-are-logos-getting-simpler-4af743781ffa
https://www.wix.com/blog/what-is-a-logo
https://www.superside.com/blog/brand-redesign
https://brightowlmarketing.com.au/what-colour-is-your-brand/