Logo Design: The Smartphone Effect & Other Logo Tips

Watch Jack’s 4 -Minute Video About Logo Design

What is a Logo?

A logo is an identity. Basically, it’s a name with a bit of personality. The design of your logo should reveal your brand’s … We see this in big brands like McDonalds or Mercedes; their logo is easily recognizable and immediately conveys a brand identity with just a small icon. But what about your business? Even small businesses benefit greatly from having a unique and recognizable logo.

What is the Role of a Logo?

Your logo is an illustration of your name. It helps you stand for something. Think about the last time you were driving down the highway, even children can identify the golden arches of McDonald’s and make a choice to want a Happy Meal over a fast-food competitor down the street. All from one glance at their logo.

What Most Small Businesses Get Wrong about Logo Design

The biggest problem we see is that small businesses task their logo with too much. When you overcomplicate your logo with multiple images, a slogan, etc, it makes it really hard to recognize who the business is. These days, your logo is most often seen at the top of someone’s phone screen in a tiny space. The more complex your logo, the less readable it becomes. You definitely don’t want to confuse your customer. An easy to understand, recognizable logo will yield your business brand recognition and convey trust to your customer.

Your logo is often the first impression your business makes; sometimes, it’s the last impression if your potential customer doesn’t like what they see. We highly recommend investing the time to get your logo right the first time. We hear lots of businesses say, “We’ll just put something together and fix it down the road.” This could cost a lot of time and money, with reprinting business cards, updating your website, signage, etc. Getting your logo right the first time allows your business to build confidence from Day 1 and start building brand recognition.

How does KMA Help Clients Establish Lasting Logos?

1. We listen to who you want to be. Your logo should be unique to you so we want to understand the image you’d like to portray to the world. We start with a one-page Creative Brief where we get some important input from you.
2. We talk about how your logo will be used. If customer search via smartphone is important, and your logo’s first impression is often made in the small space at the top of a mobile website, that will affect the simplicity of design. If you are a fun beach bar where tee shirt sales are important, that guides our creative approach.
3. We create options for you to consider. Most of our logo projects result in 3-4 different design options submitted to the client for review, usually in about 3 weeks. We review the concepts with you and typically select one of the directions.
4. We refine the chosen concept into a logo you love. It’s not uncommon that a client would like to see a revision where an illustration from one of the concepts is paired with the font from another. Typically, 2-3 rounds of refinements result in approved colors and success.
5. We give you the proper file types. Most business people have used .jpg and .pdf files and placed them on their social media pages, etc. (you’ll get those from us). But, professional printers will need .eps, or vector files, when you want embroidered shirts or vehicle graphics. You’ll get about 5-6 key file types.

Whether it’s to dress up an outdated image or modernize your logo for the digital age, we enjoy helping businesses look their best and have hundreds of satisfied logo clients.

If we can help, just reach out! See logos we’ve designed at keriganmarketing.com/logo or contact us.