Which
type of logo design you ultimately
choose for your corporate identity
depends on a few factors, some
of which include your business'
industry, your company's personality
and your budget. But most importantly
is ultimately which method explains
the most about your business in
the most efficient way possible.
Let's take a look at each consideration.
Your
industry
Your logo represents your
business. Plain and simple.
So, by that token, your business
and what message you want to convey about your business
determines your type of
logo. If at all possible,
you want a potential (and
current)
customer to glance at your
logo and instantly know what
industry you are in: if you
sell chocolate, the logo's
design should say chocolate;
if you sell shoes, the logo's
design should say shoes.
In some cases, due to the
nature of the business you
might be in, what you sell
is not always easy to convey
in a simple logo.
As an example,
lawyers tend to
use strictly a text-based logo
of their name set in a serif
typeface (to
convey a professional feel).
Usually it's nothing special:
just the typeface and the
lawyer's and partners' names
below it. In those types
of professions where it doesn't
necessarily pay to advertise
a playful personality or
a creative side through a
logo, it makes sense to go
with a bare-bones type-based
logo design. Plus, iconically
representing a lawyer's services
is difficult to do in a simple
way without somehow involving
the overused scales of justice
or a gavel, and who wants
to do whatever everyone else
is doing?
On the flipside of the coin,
if you find yourself in an
industry where you are selling
a tangible product, the product
itself should by all means
be translated into a simple
logo. You run a toy car retail
shop. You sell nothing but
toy cars. Your business lives
and dies by toy cars. Can
you guess what should somehow
be included in the design
of your logo? Yes, an icon
of a toy car. A text-based
logo just wouldn't do the
business justice when you
have such a quickly identifiable
subject such as a toy car.
Most of the time, a company's
logo will fall somewhere
in the grey area between
defining the tangible object
or service that is at the
heart of the business and
expressing the personality
of the business through the
typeface. It's a balancing
act of saying as much as
you can in as efficient a
way as possible. But you
don't have to worry your
head about that part;
that's where us designers
come to the rescue!
Business
personality
The personality of your
business should shine through
with your logo. Sometimes
the product/service or industry
itself will automatically
give the business an inherent
personality, but sometimes
not. A toy car business will
most likely have a playful
feeling to it, unless it's
a vintage toy car business
that takes itself a bit too
seriously.
Other businesses,
especially startups or businesses
that want to market in a different
way from the competition may want
to dig deep to understand
what their business personality
is and how that can contribute
to their business strategy.
Your
budget
To be very broad about it,
text-based logos tend to take
less time to develop than icon-based
logos. That will normally translate
to a lower cost. That being
said, there are always exceptions,
especially with logos. For
example, you are starting a
high-end clothing line called
C Fashions. You want a very
simple circle with the letter
C in the middle of it. Now
that is an icon-based logo,
but it's simple, and overall
probably will only take a few
hours to develop. The cost
of a logo doesn't only depend
on time, it also depends upon
the business' prestige and
staying power, but that's another
article entirely.
On the other
hand, if you want a text-based
logo that requires each letter
to be painstakingly crafted to
look like they are ripples of water
(to give a very random example),
that will be a more in-depth example
of a text-based treatment.
Ultimately, if budgetary considerations
are at the top of the list, most
designers can work with you to
develop a logo within such constraints.
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