Branding: 3 Easy Ways to Start (Part 2)
In the previous post, we looked at the importance of being strategic and intentional in choosing a business name. The goal there is to have your online presence in mind when working through this stage.
Check out Part 1: Choosing a Business Name for a more detailed look at he first easy step in starting to put together your brand.
In this post, I’ll present the 2nd easy way to start your branding efforts through visual communication.
That is your logo.
What is a Logo?
A simple definition of a logo is that it is the visual representation of any entity.
Marketing giant VistaPrint expounds on this by stating that,
“At the very basic level, logos are symbols made up of text and images that help us identify brands we like. But they can be so much more! A good logo is the cornerstone of your brand. It helps customers understand what you do, who you are and what you value.”
Let’s go ahead and unpack that to get a better idea of what that entails.
Elements of a Logo
Having a business name nailed down is a critical first step, since it often plays a huge part in guiding a company’s logo creation process.
Let’s go ahead and break down the most basic elements of a logo:
- SHAPE
- FONT
- COLOR
There’s obviously going to be room for differing opinions. But having created many logos, this is my experience.
SHAPE
It’s not unusual to go straight to colors when thinking of logos. But one of my core requirements when designing a logo is that it has to maintain its identity in black & white (BW) as it does in color.
A strong logo isn’t defined by color.
One of the arguments for this is that many companies still print out letterhead in BW. Additionally, photocopies are generated using black toner.
Thinking digitally, and mobile-first, a strong logo also needs to be scalable.
An important question to ask during the design phase is, “How does it look as an icon on a mobile device?” And on bigger screens, consider how it will appear on a browser tab.
A logo can be font-based, icon-based, or both. For the reasons given above, you should have a visual representation in both long form and as an icon.
FONT
If you decide to go with a font-based logo, then this section will be merged with the previous exercise. If possible, try approaching this with a different set of eyes. Look at fonts, not as letters, but as shapes.
Psychology
In fact, it would be beneficial to take a little time and become familiar with some basic concepts of the psychology behind shapes/fonts.
With some of this understanding, it’s now time to get into the fun part of browsing all the different fonts.
However, there is a primary consideration that needs to remain at the forefront of your mind during this time, and that is: Licensing.
Usage Rights & Licensing
When deciding to use a ‘free’ font for your business, make certain that the creator has given express permission for it to be used in commercial applications. If unclear, do not move forward with that font selection.
Even when purchasing a font license, be sure to confirm that it is acceptable for commercial use.
One way to avoid this potential legal liability is use your own penmanship to create a font-based logo.
This was the route that I decided to take when designing logos for my own brands.
Copy
Beyond choosing a font for logo usage, it’s important to begin thinking digitally, once again.
While browsing fonts for your logo, keep an eye out for complementary type. These fonts will be the copy used on your website and print/promo material.
Readability on print and screen is what we’re looking for. And less is more.
With this in mind, it is better to use the same font family in a variety of styles, than to deploy 3 or 4 different fonts in your marketing and branding efforts.
For example, the popular Roboto font family comes in thin, regular, bold, black, italic, and a few other iterations. But it’s all the same font and will present a visually cohesive design when deployed as copy text, headings, quotes, and more.
COLOR
You’ve got your shapes and fonts down – whew! Way to go!
It’s now time to choose a color palette.
Again, “less is more” should continue to be the guiding principle in choosing colors. But this is not a universal rule and can depend on your brand.
Palette Generators
For this phase, Coolors.co has become my favorite go-to app in establishing brand colors. But there are other similar generators out there, so find one that works for you.
The handy bits about using Coolors has been the ability to save and bookmark links to palettes. When designing for print and screen, the alphanumeric color codes are always within a couple of clicks away.
Color Psychology
As with shapes, there’s also some psychology associated with colors. But I’ve found this to be more subjective and contextual.
Still, having some meaning behind your choice in colors could give some depth to your brand, as long as it is relevant and adds value to your messaging.
For instance, beach themes drove the color palette for the SonshineSurf.co brand. So blues, greens, and browns represent water, trees, and sand when marketing and communicating brand values.
Having consistency of shapes, fonts, and colors in a logo is foundational to establishing your brand. It also speaks to the care and professionalism you put into your business – which will translate over to your customers.
Taking the same amount of great care and being intentional when designing a logo, as in choosing a business name, will soon pay off dividends. All that legwork can now be applied towards creating and supporting the company’s identity.
And that is what we will cover next in our 3rd and final easy step to start branding.