What is a logo? Definition and examples
A logo is a drawing or image that a company, organization, group, or person uses to mark their identity, i.e., who they are. Companies may use them on their letterheads, adverts, and the products they sell.
According to Medium, where people can search for their ideal logo designer, logos may consist of images or drawings of things, people, and abstract concepts. It may also include words or letters. When it consists entirely of words or one word, we call it a logotype or wordmark.
The world’s most famous logos are typically simple designs with very few colors. Some of the best-known ones are in black and white.
BusinessDictionary.com defines the term as follows:
“Recognizable and distinctive graphic design, stylized name, unique symbol, or other device for identifying an organization.”
“It is affixed, included, or printed on all advertising, buildings, communications, literature, products, stationery, and vehicles. Not to be confused with a brand, which identifies a product or family of products.”
Many schools, clubs, other non-commercial organizations, and even families have their own logo. The oldest form is probably the heraldic badge.
Video explanation:
Your logo and your brand
Your logo is a major component of your brand. It helps customers, prospects, and other consumers understand who you are, what you stand for, what you value, and what you do. A prospect is a consumer who you think has a good chance of becoming a paying customer.
A brand is the personality and image of a company, its products, or services. A product’s or service’s features, such as slogans or logos, make it different and unique. A company logo makes the business or product stand out in a crowd of competitors.
Employees who focus on logos, slogans, and brands are involved in brand management. Good brand management can help boost brand loyalty, which keeps customers coming back for more.
If a company has a good logo and brand, it is easier for it to increase prices and raise profits.
99designs.co.uk makes the following comment about the term:
“Perhaps the most fundamental function of a logo is giving your business a unique mark that differentiates you from other businesses. This is especially important if your business has competition.”
Creating a logo
Before you start designing your logo, you need to find out as much as you can about your customers, prospects, and your sector. You should also check out your competitors’ designs and slogans.
The message you want to send out to the market depends in large part on what sector you operate in. For example, a university or financial institution wants people to perceive them as professional, reliable, honest, and competent.
Toy companies or nightclubs, on the other hand, want the market to see them as fun places. The last thing they want is for consumers to consider them as serious and conservative.
Your logo should also be unique. However, don’t make it so unique and bizarre that consumers are unable to work out what you stand for, i.e., they can’t understand your brand.
The three components of a logo
There are three possible components of a logo: 1. Imagery. 2. Typography. 3. Color. Let’s have a look at them:
Imagery
Some logos consist only of an image. Apple Inc., the California-based multinational technology company, has a black image of an apple with a piece bitten off. There are no words.
Some logos have abstract geometric shapes or decorative elements. Ideally, your image should either reflect your market sector or the name of your business. In Apple’s case, it reflects the company’s name.
Typography
Typography refers to the appearance and style of printed matter, i.e., letters, words, phrases sentences, etc. Your logo may include a single letter, word, or a whole phrase.
A slogan is a good example of the use of typography to enhance a brand. They are either included as part of a logo or added alongside it and periodically changed.
Some famous slogans include:
- Nike’s ‘Just Do It,’
- Apple’s ‘Think Different,’ and
- McDonald’s ‘I’m Lovin’ It.’
Color
Your logo can be monochrome (one color), black and white, or multicolored. Apple, which has the world’s second most valuable brand, worth $309.5 billion, has a monochrome logo. Amazon’s is black and orange; its brand, the world’s most valuable, is worth $315.5 billion.
Is it a coincidence that the world’s most valuable brands tend to have very simple logos?
Most designers say that color plays a crucial role in making your logo meaningful and real. Many startups tend to choose any color. This could be a mistake. Colors trigger emotions, they convey messages to consumers regarding your brand.
Corporate events
Corporate events are great playing grounds for effective marketing campaigns. Competent marketing professionals can think up dozens of strategies to promote their company and sell their ideas.
Custom cookies, for example, with your company’s logo on them, can help increase the number of people who can identify your company.
If you offer free customized cookie during an exposition, trade show, conference, or other corporate event, you will be surpised at how many people will take one. Most of us love cookies.
In our article titled ‘Custom Logo Cookies for Your Next Corporate Event,’ we wrote:
“Every marketing professional’s aim is to get customers, prospects, and consumers to associate their brand with something pleasant. Nice tasting cookies with your logo on them can do just that.”
“When people attend a corporate event, most of them seek out the buffet or inspect waiters’ trays to see what goodies there are on offer.”
According to Etymonline.com, the term logo appeared in the English language with its modern meaning in 1937. It is probably a shortening of the word logogram, which means ‘a character or sign representing a word.’