Your logo instantly introduces audiences to your brand. If you aren’t getting the results you were expecting from marketing campaigns, it may be time to rethink your logo.
At the same time, just because you aren’t as enamored with your logo doesn’t mean it isn’t effective. Check out the latest logo trends to see what strategy works best for your brand.
Should You Change Your Logo?
Altering your logo design is a major investment not to be taken lightly. However, many times in business, big risks warrant big rewards. Your identity is everything to potential customers navigating a market saturated with online options. The best way to become a household name is to develop a brand presence in lives of your target audience and watching that audience expand. Since the internet is such a visual medium, make sure your image is memorable while staying true to your brand’s identity.
Design Simplification
In recent years, there has been a major uptick in brands going for extremely minimalistic, borderline bland rebrandings, either for ease of unifying design across various digital platforms or because the logo isn’t really the centerpiece of their brand story. While it can seem like a lazy design choice, often the choice for simpler, more solid designs plays directly in a brand recognizing the need for higher accessibility across several platforms and uses.
Pros: Why Big Brands Go Minimal
Logos help solidify a brand’s image and identity and makes it (literally) iconic! For brands that have already long-established who they are and what they offer, logo design doesn’t have the same pull as it would for an unknown company. Google decided to change the font to a sans-serif font for additional accessibility but kept their “quirky” color scheme, as that element was much more critical to keep in today’s evolving internet landscape than anything else, it’s unclear how many average consumers would actually notice unless it was a stark change. Even then, users won’t leave Google over design aesthetics since Google has so thoroughly found its way into everyday life.
Cons: Branding or Bland-ing?
That being said, when starting out, it’s important to establish connections and relationships with your clientele, and your brand image still plays a major part in how your company is remembered. Just because bigger brands are opting for smaller images doesn’t mean this solution fits every company. For products and services that aren’t (yet!) ubiquitous or vital to consumers, every element of your first and lasting impressions needs attention to ensure you present your product in a clear, unified way. Some customers may even gravitate toward your brand because the image is more unique and relatable.
The Importance Logo Adaptability
Pros: Logo Changes Embrace and Reflect Business Changes
Changing your logo without a strategic reason is not a wise use of resources. However, if there is an innate inspiration to change the logo that even simply stems from feeling like the image no longer matches or serves the brand’s story, that’s more than enough inspiration to make changes. If your logo seems stale or stuck in a trend that’ ended years ago, rethinking a rebrand may be just the trick for regaining relevance and showing off the growth and change. If you have a feeling something is off about your brand, your customers will too, even if they can’t put their finger on the exact reason. Rebranding or creating a new logo might feel like a risky investment, but the impact of a quality image will echo over time and resonate with customers in unexpected ways.
Cons: Timid or Timeless?
Minimalistic design certainly has its perks for being easy to remember and equally easy to emulate across various platforms. However, thinking too simply may end up leaving your design unoriginal and defeat the initial purpose. Balancing sleek elements with eye-catching details would be a great way to get the best of both worlds and make sure your brand isn’t left behind. Consider how brands like Nike or Target are simple and yet a strong personification of the brand.
When contemplating designs for your brand, remember that the logo will represent you on all platforms in various formats. Too much complexity will get lost with size changes and too much simplicity won’t leave a lasting impact. Thoughtful design is crucial to maintaining a consistent presence and brand identity.
At the same time, through research, sometimes target demographics shift or the company itself changes and needs an image that can encompass the changes, such as Google and Pinterest keeping small homages to their original designs in icon form while making the rest accessible as a reflection of their dynamic growth and maturity. However, it’s rare to find brands going from simple to more creatively “out there,” so don’t be afraid of having an iconic original design that gets simplified as your name and brand awareness grows.
Bottom Line: Does the Design Tell Your Story?
The only constant in life is change, and being willing to adjust helps your brand retain its edge over companies too stubborn to acknowledge the need for modifications. Business, much like anything else in life, is no exception to an unexpected plot twist. Things don’t go as planned, and adapting in every arena, including logo design, is the sign of a brand prepared to stand the test of time. Maintaining the entrepreneurial mindset that every component of your business is “always in beta” or never quite finished makes you relatable to your audience. Knowing a company grows and changes alongside them solidifies the human connection and increases brand loyalty.
Ready For a Refresh?
Whether you need a touch up or a total overhaul, the design experts at ULS know the struggle of being a small business trying to stand out in the digital marketplace. Let our team research the best options for your brand a deliver designs that will captivate audiences. Book your free consultation to discuss your custom options for a logo that lasts.
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