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Ramotion Talk About The importance of a distinctive logo in branding a business

BY READERS DIGEST

14th Oct 2020 Down to Business

Ramotion Talk About The importance of a distinctive logo in branding a business

When getting a business off the ground, business plans and finance are probably more at the forefront of your mind than the look of your brand. You may even think that you do not need a logo, certainly not at the beginning of your business journey, not to mention not considering unified branding. 

However, your branding is your business, and it is worth investing in the first impression your logo and branding makes from the get-go. 

Memories are short

When it comes to making that impression, you have got a couple of seconds at most to grab the attention of your potential customer. Even if your potential customer can’t remember the name of your business, a distinctive logo – even a distinctive colour palette – can stick in their mind and make it easier for them to track you down over your competitors when it comes to making a sale. 

A well-crafted logo and on-point branding can also communicate so much about a company and its core values without a consumer knowing anything else about the business. Take Ramotion’s rebranding of Mozilla Firefox, for example – the entire colour palette and sense of movement in the logo defines the three areas of research that the Firefox team asked Ramotion to think about – Fox, Fire, and Free. Obviously, a logo was already in place, but the entire brand needed an overhaul, and that included subtle yet significant changes to the logo as well. 

Ramotion paid close attention to the fact that the look of the brand was long-established, and used a Design Funnel approach to make sure that the solutions worked for the existing brand, and yet presented something new which represented the company. It also makes the design team justify their decisions and helps to quickly discard ideas which do not work or have different meanings in different global areas of operation. 

Ramotion’s own logo, the subtle ‘R’ formed from a right-angled triangle also subliminally tells you a lot about the company; the brand is strong, but at the same time doesn’t get in the way of what they do for their clients. 

Ownership

Logos also denote ownership over a business, and even the product or service you are selling. Again, Ramotion’s own logo has a strong ‘design’ message with a geometric feel. 

Branding that is successful will make more than a visual connection with your clients; it will make an emotional one as well. A point of identity that is visually pleasing makes an instant connection between your company and customer memory. 

We all have logos and indeed television advertising that stick in our minds from childhood where the branding of the company has been so effective that the memory of the company has lasted decades – in some cases, we can’t even remember what the product was, but a particular hue or font will recall a specific point in time and the company that goes with it. 

Your logo also separates you from your competition, even if you are one of several businesses in your area that offer exactly the same product or service. A good logo and exceptional branding will set you apart from them by communicating your mission and your unique values as a company. 

Your customer also wants consistency, so even if you do undergo a rebrand, such as Ramotion’s work with Mozilla Firefox, your logo should incorporate the old into the new. 

What makes a good logo?

Although a logo should be eye-catching and attractive, do not just go for looks; it has to convey what your company is about, even if that is just a feeling or an emotion conveyed by colour or shape. For example, the Nike logo conveys movement and speed, which is ideal for a brand manufacturing and selling sporting goods. 

By the same token, a logo should be simple and graphical rather than strictly pictorial. Again, the Mozilla Firefox logo suggests the sweep of a fox’s tail, and the circular motion the global reach of the worldwide web. 

Your logo should also be scalable. It is not just going to appear as a small corner of a webpage – think large screens at industry events, your business card, and even merchandise – if your logo is simple and graphical, then this should work. A scalable logo is also a versatile logo. 

You might also want to consider whether your logo will work in black and white. The likelihood of it not appearing in colour at some point is quite high, so this may be something you want to consider. 

To conclude, back to Ramotion and the Mozilla Firefox rebranding; the brief had to cover more than just the browser, and the emphasis on fire with a sweep of foxtail covers the more comprehensive set of file-sharing and other services the company now offers. It is a logo you will recognise instantly.

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