Whenever a business or a brand gets etched into your memory, it tends to do so as a fully-formed entity. When people think of Coca-Cola, for example, they not only picture a cool refreshing drink but also the brand’s famous logo with its cursive font and red and white color scheme. This logo has been used to cover everything from T-Shirts to Christmas trucks, so it has by now become a genuine part of pop culture.

That is the kind of outreach any company should aim for. While smaller businesses may lack the financial capabilities to reach the masses quite like a big-name brand can, they can still make a significant dent in their respective niches.

Apple, for instance, was originally a small-time player in a relatively invisible computer industry when it first entered the market in the latter half of the 1970s.

Needless to say, the word ‘small’ is hardly an apt descriptor of anything the software giant does anymore. Due to its savvy marketing strategies, Apple was able to experience exponential growth that surpassed even that of the industry it was part of.

And these days, who among us isn’t familiar with the iconic just-bitten apple logo that is so central to the brand’s identity?

This is the ultimate power of a truly memorable marketing strategy, one that begins with establishing that most central of a company’s tenets – the logo. In this day of lightning-fast Internet startups, logos are a dime a dozen.

But what makes a logo stand out from the crowd, and how do you go about creating one? Read on to find what the latest trends in marketing say about all these aspects and more.

Why Do You Need a Logo?

It should be self-evident that any company, no matter how small or niche-oriented, will need some sort of way to put out their name in a manner that communicates what their business is all about. Hence, the logo.

But whereas most companies are content to jot down their name and maybe add some coloring or a drawing next to it, others understand that their logo may be used to identify them for years and years in the customers’ minds. These companies are generally the ones that aim high right from the beginning, knowing that a good logo will:

  • Introduce their brand to the public in a memorable fashion
  • Tell a story by reflecting the company’s values distilled to their essence
  • Help kick-start specific marketing strategies
  • Obtain recognition for the company

In order to illustrate what smart logo design looks like, visit the homepage of Jenkins, the open source automation server written in Java. Jenkins with the express goal of helping programmers automate the certain process and make their lives easier, as a result, the brand’s famous butler logo would be intelligible even to someone who doesn’t speak code.

What Should a Good Business Logo Contain?

Once the need for creating a memorable logo has become apparent, the next step lies in figuring out just what makes a great logo tick. According to a 2015 report from Siegel + Gale, the global brands with the most memorable logos include the following:

 

 

And here are the charts illustrating the minor differences between the US and the UK:

Additionally, the report establishes that consumers are more likely to ascribe positive qualities such as trust and respect to logos they enjoy, something that unmistakably translates into higher sales numbers at the end of the day.

So what makes these logos work? Well, by analyzing their chief features, we can boil the list down to three essential aspects:

A Good Font Goes a Long Way

With the exception of Apple and McDonalds, every logo on the above-mentioned list also contains the company’s name written in a more or less stylized font. Therefore, aside from the name itself, the way the letters are written is essential with regards to how the logo will ultimately be perceived.

In this aspect, a well-chosen font can make all the difference. Luckily, any designer worth his or her salt has plenty of great fonts at their disposal, with these 10 representing the cream of the crop in the urban fonts category.

Consistency is Key

For the vast majority of businesses, logos aren’t simple one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, they need to be tailored to fit a variety of situations. Some companies even employ different variations of their main logo, with McDonald’s for example using their full name-containing logo in some instances and relying solely on their famous golden arches symbol in others.

Either way, maintaining visual consistency is essential, so work closely with your designer to establish how your logo should look like in different scenarios.

The Art of Keeping It Simple

Due to the sheer amount of information a logo typically needs to convey, it’s easy to go overboard and opt for complicated logos with a plethora of elements in them. But as you can probably tell just by glancing at the charts above, simplicity is key when it comes to creating a memorable logo. That being said, thinking outside the box like Apple did with its literal logo can also be a great solution as long as it doesn’t overshadow the simplicity of the logo itself.

How Do You Go About Getting the Perfect Logo for Your Business?

Finally, a quick word needs to be said about how you take a logo from the idea stage and bring it into reality. For starters, it’s important to note that logos are the domain of professional graphic designers. Research has shown that only by following a systematic logo design process does your final product stand a chance to succeed.

Do not make the mistake of assuming that, just because on paper creating a logo may appear to be a relatively simple and straightforward process, it can be done by just about anyone. After all, this is your company’s identity we’re talking about, so be sure to hire someone capable for the job and work closely with them until you achieve the desired results.

For all intents and purposes, creating a great logo is a challenge that all small business owners have to face before introducing their brands to the public. But as hard as it can sometimes be to create something new in this world, this task is definitely worth the effort it takes to get it right. Having a memorable logo is the first step towards making your business dreams come true, so take the time to really hit a home run, one that you can be proud of in the years to come.

About the Author: Tanya is blogger from Brisbane, Australia. She is interested in writing on various topics relating to small business and marketing.