Does Your Logo Serve Your Brand?

Logos are part of the visual identity of a company’s brand. A well-designed one, with regards to symbol, typeface and colour, will strengthen visual identity and generate an emotional reaction on the part of viewers.

About Logos 

Logos can be figurative and representational. They act as icons for your company identity and a new brand, over time, can become instantly recognizable if designed well. Stylized figures act as metaphors for your product. Colours convey mood. Choice of font, spacing and size are all important issues to consider.

Logotypes, or wordmarks, use lettering to represent a company in a memorable way. Some organizations commission a type family especially for their own use. Starbucks is an example and its unique lettering, in its particular PMS hue of green, is easily brought to mind.

Talking of Starbucks brings us to another element of logos: combination marks. These are, as is implied, a combination of logo and logotype and Starbucks has a very effective combination mark. The logo – image of mermaid with long hair – is often shown together with the lettering around it. However, both are also standalones, which means the consumer will know Starbucks even when the female image is not accompanied by wording: The logo is in the recognizable brand of green and is distinct in style. There is no mistaking what the image alone represents. The same is true of the lettering – it also has standalone capabilities. This combination mark is a clever piece of design work.

About Colour in Logos

My previous post discussed mood and image conveyed by colour. Let’s return to that topic and I’ll demonstrate colour in logos. I’m located in Oakville, Ontario, so will use local logos to demonstrate my points.

Halton Healthcare's design contains green - remember, this signifies harmony, fertility and health. It is combined with yellow for Spring or new beginnings. Blue is for meticulousness, and there are two shades. One would certainly want medical professionals to be meticulous! The logo signifies motion and activities; it hints at the sun, sea and hills, as well as a human figure swimming. Plenty of action in this logo.



Another logo related to health: Sunnybrook Hospital. The green here is similar to the pale greens found in hospital corridors and rooms and brings a mood of tranquility. The blue type is, again, meticulousness and intellect. It is a serif font, similar to the one above, and classical in design.

This is an interesting, warm shade of sea blue-green signifying nature and nourishment. Remember, orange is effective only in small quantities; the designer got it just right. The strong J is a sans serif font and a logo all in one.  Orange is invigorating and warm and signifies the comfort of this hospital. The all-capital, sans serif typeface emanates a modern, forward-looking attitude to healthcare.



Many educational facilities choose blue and/or yellow somewhere in their brands. As mentioned, blue hints at intellect. As well, it signifies serenity. The eye-catching yellow is represented as geometric shapes adding up to one organism, with one small square borrowed for the dot over the "i". This combination appears simple, but is deceptively so: it is a brilliant piece of work.

This university chose to be different. The grey is a sensible choice and a good complement to the attention-grabbing yellow and powerful red. These signal first steps, or new beginnings (yellow) and vigour and energy (red). The logo is actually a herald and the viewer feels the possibilities of soaring upward, the freedom and height of a bird.

Like Sheridan above, this university chose blue and yellow. The colours, again, signify intellect and meticulousness as well as positive energy. The typeface is specific to Ryerson; it's a beautiful serif and in very effective white uppercase. The placement of blue and yellow hints at several years of study followed by stepping out into the world.


WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN CHOOSING LOGOS 

A useful link to generic logo ideas - what to avoid:

http://www.gtgraphics.org/genericlogos.html