We live in a fast-moving competitive world, particularly when it comes to products and services. The rapid advancement in technology has given a level playing field for every brand to advertise itself.
If we look around, we see branding everywhere, from online ads to product packaging to websites and even on personal items. In simpler terms, ‘branding’ depicts what people think about a particular business company’s products or services.
The first thing potential customers see is the brand ‘logo’ that forms visual identity or first impression about the business company. People mostly know about the popular brands and those whose products or services they consume. It can be pretty challenging for a startup brand to make an instant impression.
However, balancing brand elements can help design and develop a stunning logo that can grab the attention of the target audience. There are a few essential elements of the logo, and two of the critical ones are ‘color’ and ‘typography.’
The Growing Importance of Corporate Brand Identity
In a consumer market, there are not one but dozens of brands competing against each other. The most crucial aspect is presenting ‘strong visuals’ that can persuade a new customer to make a buying decision.
A corporate brand identity depicts the perception of the entire brand on consumers. When the word ‘corporate identity comes, then it means the overall face of the organization. It includes everything from logo, typeface, color, imagery, and tagline.
The best step is to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and see how you perceive the brand.
How many times have you picked the product just because of its looks?
As a startup business owner, you need to understand visual identity that can help you make thoughtful decisions. You may have a limited branding budget and may not be able to hire expensive logo design services. On the contrary, digital technology helps you to create logo online effectively.
You can get help from a custom logo maker and integrate all the essential brand elements such as logo, color, images, and typeface. The 5 fundamental components of the corporate brand design are
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Logo
One of the critical factors of a brand is its ‘logo,’ which is a graphical representation and represents the business company. Mainly a logo may include a brand name, but sometimes a logo consists of fluent lines, images, text boxes, and vibrant color. In this modern age, only a stellar logo can draw and hold the attention of potential customers.
A brand logo features everywhere from products, online and promotional merchandise. The logo is an indispensable part of every business company, no matter the market segment or industry. In recent times, one of the changes is the use of the primary and secondary logos.
The primary logo is essential on product packaging and online websites and ads. On the other hand, a secondary logo is not necessary but can feature on social media and for promotional purposes. The secondary logo can be an extension of the primary logo. For example, many times, a simple ‘M’ or golden arches is enough to indicate that it is McDonald’s; however, the name McDonald’s is often used for branding purposes.
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Color Palette
All the expert logo designers know the importance of color psychology before designing and developing a logo. In most market segments, the color of logos is already defined. For example, clothing brands love bright colors for the logo that means ‘enthusiasm’, and tech brands paint the logo blue, which depicts ‘reliability’. You need to pick corporate colors that form a certain emotional and psychological impact on the minds of consumers.
Defining brand colors is quite significant as it helps the target audience to relate and connect with the brand. In a retail store, there are hundreds of products with various colored logos, and people notice color and try to associate with it. Apart from the design, the color must reflect the brand message and value. If you create logo online, you have the luxury to search through dozens of colors and experiment with the design of the logo.
Using the best logo maker also makes it easy to scale the logo, which is very important. A scalable logo is one that you can put against various backgrounds, whether it is a website, product packaging, email template, or merchandise. The logo needs to be put out in color. However, it is necessary to check it in black and white, and against various backgrounds.
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Font
The second most crucial factor, along with color, is ‘typography’ or font. A few decades ago, there was little variety when it came to fonts. Nevertheless, today you can get hundreds of different and contemporary fonts. Most brands use the brand name as a logo, such as Coca-Cola, Visa, and Sony. If you use the brand name as a logo or add a tagline, you need a typeface that can authenticate your brand.
The general rule is consistently using the same fonts for online and printing materials. Most brands tend to use a primary font for titles and headers and then a secondary font for the rest of the text. The letters of brand name or tagline can be from the same family of fonts or can be different. However, the text needs to be visually appealing and stylish.
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Layout
Breaking down the elements and coming to a particular conclusion is easy. But the tricky part is integrating the logo design, color, font, shape, and image altogether. You need to add the elements in a clear and cohesive way to uplift the brand and help achieve business goals.
Many think that color alone can uplift the brand’s visual appeal and value, but it needs to be complemented by correct fonts and imagery. There are primary colors, and within those, there are dozens of variations. Each color conveys a different meaning, and you need to decide how you want potential customers to feel for your brand.
If you want to take advantage of digital marketing techniques, then you need to focus on imagery. In layman’s terms, ‘imagery’ is infographics and pictures for online branding purposes. Valuable imagery can help specify the right product for the right audience. Nearly everyone today wants to get all the information about a product or service in less time. Using creative visuals can help deliver the message and value proposition of the brand efficiently.
The key is picking out a visual or imagery that the target audience can connect with and relate with their interest and lifestyle.
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Consistency
The basis of logo design is carrying out extensive research and setting a particular logo as a benchmark. The next step involves making a rough sketch which you can further develop with the help of a custom logo maker. Experts say if you are making a logo on your own, then sketch 5 or 6 possible designs and translate them on software.
The innovative logo maker gives you the option to enter the brand name and get potential logo designs. However, you can pick a suitable theme and start the design work. You can easily pick from a wide range of shapes, styles, images, fonts, colors if you create logo online.
One thing you need to manage is following a set of style guidelines. There are different steps to take when branding across email, online ads and banners, social media, business cards, and merchandise.
Closing Thoughts
The brand identity elements differ from one business to another. But in most cases, the core features such as color, font, and layout stay the same. In today’s fast-paced world, visual branding holds the key to success for a startup brand. By making the right plan and incorporating the best elements, you can ensure a successful identity and value for the brand.
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