How to Create a Logo That Will Boost Brand Recognition

In a competitive world, brand recognition is what can keep you one step ahead, which requires a good logo above all else. So, how to design a logo that will make your brand more known and what elements should it contain? Below, we will answer these questions.

Start by Picking a Color

The color or colors you will use in your logo are much more important than you think. In a study in which more than 2,500 logos were analyzed in 2019, it was determined that the most recognizable logos used three basic colors. A good example is a Vulkan Vegas Slovenia brand’s logo. These colors (and their usage rates) are:

• Black – 34%
• Blue – 30%
• Red – 30%

Yellow, green, silver, orange, and brown are the other colors most frequently used, but their usage rates do not exceed 10%. Simply put, basic colors make a logo easier to spot. As a matter of fact, a different study showed that 78% of users can easily remember the color of a brand’s emblem. The choice of color will also help you to show the industry in which you operate. For example, the tech industry prefers blue, the automotive industry prefers red, and luxury brands prefer black. So, start by identifying your logo color and opt for red, black, and blue for the best results.

But don’t overdo it: just over 40% of Fortune 500 companies use two colors in their logos. The rate of those who use only one color is 37%. In other words, successful logos have at most two colors: don’t use more than that. The human brain processes visual elements within 400 milliseconds. Using too many colors will both prolong this process and complicate the message you want to convey. In short, when it comes to color selection, keep things simple and stick to the basics.

Decide on the Type of Logo

Color selection was just the beginning: you also need to decide on the type of your logo. Most people are not aware of it, but there is actually a wide variety in this regard. For example, did you know that there are seven different types of logos?

• Initials: It is the emblem that contains the initials of the brand, such as NBA, TLC, and IBM.
• Wordmark: It is a font-based logo. The brand name is used as the emblem with different fonts. Pepsi, Google, and Ford are among the best examples.
• Pictorial: Think of the Apple logo: you only think of a half-bitten apple, right? This type of logo uses an icon or graphic symbol.
• Abstract: Similar to the pictorial logo, but only geometric shapes are used. For example, the Nike symbol has only a curved line.
• Mascot: It is a type of logo that contains a character. This can be a real or fictitious character. For example, the portrait of the founder is used in the KFC logo.
• Combination: It is a type of logo in which a series of letters and pictures are used together. For example, both wordmark and geometric shapes are used in the Dominos logo.
• Emblem: The font is used inside a graphic symbol. We can cite the Starbucks logo as an example.

So, which of these is the better option? Actually, this is something you have to decide based on the industry your company operates in and the message you want to convey. But if we look at the statistics, we see that 60% of Fortune 500 companies prefer a combination logo. Wordmark ones are in the second place and initials are in the third place. Abstract and pictorial are the least preferred types. 

For most companies, a combination logo would be a good choice. For a company that has just entered the market, it would be more appropriate to stay away from pictorial and emblem logos. Because in one study, 45% of the participants could not remember that the Starbucks logo also contained a mermaid image. If even a global chain like Starbucks has this problem, the situation will be much worse for a new company.

An Expensive Logo Is Not a Good Logo

A logo doesn’t have to be expensive to be good. Sometimes even the opposite is true: Twitter bought its logo from iStock for $15. If the graphic design company you’re contracting is charging you a very high fee, think twice: the kind of design that will increase your brand recognition doesn’t cost a fortune. Small businesses should pay no more than $1,300 for a logo. The market for this job usually ranges from $300 to $1,300. (Average price is $500.) If more is demanded, work with another graphic designer: you don’t have to spend a lot of money for this job.The world’s most recognizable logo belongs to Coca-Cola, and the company never paid for this design. (The Coca-Cola logo was designed free of charge by Frank Mason Robinson, the company’s accountant.) If you make the right choices, your logo can be just as legendary and make your brand known worldwide.