The Importance of a Great Logo Design

At Bearfoot Graphics we believe a key factor to building a successful business is creating an appropriate and effective brand identity. As part of this it is really important to have a great logo that communicates your brand clearly, but is also unique and appealing and sets your business apart from your competitors. We believe that a successful logo is one which provides a clear, positive and professional representation of what your company does and what you stand for. Your logo should attract the attention of your target customer/consumer, through a design that either appeals to them visually, or demonstrates that the company provides the service that fulfils their needs.
There are a number of elements to consider when creating a new logo
1. The name of the business, this is the core of the design, other elements should work to enhance the representation and meaning of the name.
2. The brandmark or illustrative element that is included in addition to the text.  This element acts as a visual signifier of the brand and in many instances is also used to give more context to the brand name. Although there are some very successful brands with a purely typographic logo, most tend to be made up of at least these two key parts.
3. Alongside the brandname and brandmark, a possible strapline can be used and then there is the consideration of a colour palette and typeface choices. The aim of all these elements is to collectively communicate the desired impression of the business that the company wish to make on the viewer in order to attract their target market or consumer.
Logos which have stood the test of time
Nike chose a brand name with a great deal of meaning behind it. Nike, Greek goddess of victory, her siblings representing force, strength and rivalry; all qualities or goals to which their stereotypical target consumer aspire, whilst also representing Nike’s own brand values. The typeface chosen for the word “NIKE” was specifically selected to represent the key traits of a sportsperson, such as to be strong, solid and bold. Italicisation implies movement and speed. The iconic Nike “swoosh” brandmark clearly relates to the brandname, it is meant to symbolise the flight of the goddess. Cleverly, this “swoosh” is also shaped as a tick, automatically associated with positive connotations, as if to imply the brand is a great choice. The specific shape and design of the tick also gives the impression of speed, smoothness and streamline, which again would be appealing qualities to athletes that Nike would hope to attract as customers.  The “swoosh” is a perfect example of how a brandmark has become so widely recognised that it can stand alone as an icon of the brand and still be easily recognised by many. This has then enabled Nike to use it as a signifier of the brand that they can manipulate to target more specific markets; such as gender or type of sport, by altering the colour or adding additional elements to customise the “swoosh” to have greater appeal to the particular market. Alongside these two main elements the strapline of “just do it” is well known and gives an added sense of energy, power and drive, all key brand values that attract the attention of their target market.



We have implemented these successful theories and methods within our own designs. Examples of how we have done this can be seen in our brand identity and creation for our friends at Smart Talk. The main focus of the logo is the name “Smart Talk”, this has then been enhanced and reflected by the added speech bubble design element, which adds context to the name. The logo is designed within a square, allowing for the bubble to be formed, and bringing the elements together to form a workable structure which can easily be placed onto a range of designs and layouts. This creates synergy throughout all the businesses branded materials, as seen with the business card and compliment slip.
If you need something new and are thinking about a rebrand, or just a refresh of your identity, give us a call or drop us an email, we would love to show you what we can do!