Understanding the Essence of Identity Logo Design as a Vital Contributor in Winning Customers

You are waiting for your tube to arrive and you happen to come across a new poster on the wall with a logo on it. Would you be able to recognize what it stands for or what the organization behind that logo is selling after staring at it for a good few minutes? In my guess, you would be clueless, feeling lost and would look away.

Identity refers to the visual aspect of your organization which forms the overall brand. With such immense competition in each industry, it is important for your organization to win its targeted audience. Organizations spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on their logo designs and yet are unable to win their customers. The reason behind this is that their logo does not serve as an identity logo design which otherwise is also known as Literal Imagery.

There are three main types of logos; Literal Imagery, Abstract Imagery and Logotypes.

Abstract Imagery

In abstract imagery, the logo will reflect no link between the graphic used and the typography along with it. Rather, the imagery is more connected with emotions, feelings and moods. The identity logo design would serve no purpose in such logos. For instance, the logo design for ‘Warped Vision’ shows the name of the business along with an abstract image. Since abstracts are open to multiple perceptions, the organization chose not to make the identity of the business obvious in its logo. 

Logotypes

This is the most basic type of logo design whereby the business uses typography within its logo. These are simple and straight forward logo types that create a combination of a visual graphic and text to finalize their business logo. Companies that have more than one business running under their name use such logos. An example of this is the ‘Walt Disney’ logo, as the organization is involved in multiple businesses.  

Literal Imagery

This type of logo refers to putting an image of the product of the business and making it into a logo. This serves as an identity logo design because the logo itself represents the product of the business leaving no mystery behind. Even if the name of the business makes it obvious or not, the image will definitely convey the right message. An example of this is the logo of an eatery ‘Meat Lovers’ serving gourmet Meat Burgers. Within the logo, one can make it right away that they are an eatery symbolized by the meat in their logo and the typography. 

Adopting identity logo design strategy is often found in small startups and businesses. The reason for this is that they want to inform their target audiences what they are about and what they have to offer. This is direct targeting hits the nail on its head and gets you a strike. If they choose from either types of logo, they would get lost in the sea which is highly competitive and rough in nature. Thus, to avoid losing visibility, endorsing identity logo design is crucial in contributing towards sales turnover i.e. winning customers and generating maximum sales. 

“A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed." – Henrik Ibsen

Hit A Road Block While Brainstorming Logo Design Ideas? Seeking Inspiration is the Solution

At some point in a designer’s career, they are bound to hit a road block where the process of brainstorming new logo design ideas, thoughts and concepts will become difficult or non-existent. There is no universal fix for this problem; however, with time and experience, a designer will learn where to seek inspiration from which shall reduce the probability of this halt from occurring again in the future.

 

Supposing a new client has handed over a task to you and provided a general brief and you’re just sitting at your desk waiting for the perfect logo design idea to strike. But in reality, do you really think that the perfect logo, in its full form, will just pop up in your head? Believe me, this could be a long long wait! 

At this point in time, your primary task should be to seek inspiration which should generate new ideas in your brain and gradually, coalesce, into the fully formed logo you were looking for. The problem here? Knowing where to seek inspiration from. It’s a part of human nature to enter in a slump where productivity and creativity just disappears, but to get the creative juices back up and running in full flow, one has to inspire themselves so they could generate new logo design ideas in no time. 

Seeking inspiration can be a troublesome activity as you would not know which avenue to turn to. The first thought among most individuals would be to look up the work of other designers. This is the most obvious approach. However, you have to be very careful between ‘being inspired from’ or ‘copying others’. In addition, Eric Karjaluoto, in his book ‘The Design Method’ explains that ‘the issue with seeking inspiration is that it’s very random, which may lead you to focus your hope on outside influences one can’t rely on; these stimuli aren’t always relevant to your work at hand, available on tap or under your control. Thinking one can find logo design ideas elsewhere will leave an individual browsing through the web and flipping through magazines, in hope, that you will suddenly stumble upon a magic cure’.

 

Below are a few suggestions of avenues from where you might seek inspiration for your logo design ideas, but remember, this is not a permanent fix, as inspiration can be drawn from anything, anywhere.

• Continue Doodling: Don’t cut off your conscious mind, let your ideas flow, anything that you can put on paper. At the end of the day, you will have a page of pointless scribbling, however, within that disjointed mess; you might just find an idea which ignites the spark of inspiration. After all, a little bit of doodling caused no one any harm. 

 

 

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•  Research Online Material: If you are a professional logo designer, you would already have all the leading logo design websites bookmarked on your browser. But, in a situation where you are lacking in terms of logo design ideas, you might want to refine your search criteria and look for narrowed results pertaining to the inspiration or ideas you are looking for. 

 

• Study Your Client: Instead of wasting your time and energy, you would be better off studying your client and tracking their growth to pick up on hints and ideas. This might ease the brainstorming process by giving you suggestions based on your client’s previous logo designs. 

 

 

• Speak to a friend or a colleague: With an exhausted mind, there is nothing better than a fresh brain and a pair of eyes. Go meet a friend or a colleague and take your ideas with you. This should be someone who has no connection to the project you are working on. Often, someone’s untainted opinion can become your lucky charm. Let your friend have your back! 

 

In your opinion, you may disagree, but seeking inspiration in the context of stumbling upon a magic cure is a waste of effort and time. The sole purpose of seeking inspiration should be to fuel the source of brainstorming logo design ideas rather than looking for a quick fix.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it”. – Steve Jobs