Branding
The easier something is to understand and use – the more likely it is to be adopted and engaged with. KISS, “keep it simple, stupid” is thus a great rule of thumb to be applied when considering your design work in a larger context of usage (KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) - A Design Principle 2017).
Before I attempted to create my logo, I did some research into the qualities needed to create a great, recognisable logo. Simplicity and versatility was frequently described amongst a number of articles written by experienced designers.
Companies expect their logo to appeal to a diverse spectrum of users. With such diversity, the audience is bound to have different types of tastes and preferences (10 Tips for Designing the Perfect Logo 2017).
It is for this reason, I will not try to create a logo that might polarise opinions but will aim to create a safe design which should be viewed upon well amongst the consumer population. I am selling boys and girls footwear and I will make sure that the design of my logo is gender neutral.
Pictured below is a selection of logos that are very well known brands, most of which are in the fashion or footwear industry. The logos all appear simple and easily recognised, the images would even be recognised without the brand name visible. Nike doesn't even have it's brand name visible in it's logo, yet it is still identifiable worldwide. A strong but simple image would enable recognition and (as I have learnt from my blog about site navigation) the principle 'Don't make me think' (Krug, 2013) should be applied when designing my logo.
Here are a collection of logos that represent some very well known bands.
In 400 milliseconds, a logo can trigger emotional responses and even behavioral change.(Taylor 2017). When a logo is seen the brain first see's the colour, followed by the shape and then provides some form of meaning, the meaning is created by previous experiences with the brand. The process being described is illustrated by the chart pictured below.
REFERENCES
10 Tips for Designing the Perfect Logo (2017). [Online] Available from: https://1stwebdesigner.com/logo-design-tips/ [Accessed 16 December 2017]
Fotor (2017). [Online] Available from: https://www.fotor.com/app.html#/design/d3cf6fb0-e01d-11e7-bf66-65ab488286f4/text [Accessed 13 December 2017].
KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) - A Design Principle (2017). [Online] Available from: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/kiss-keep-it-simple-stupid-a-design-principle [Accessed 16 December 2017].
Krug, S. (2013) Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability.
Taylor, K. (2017) The Incredible Way Your Brain 'Sees' a Logo (Infographic). [Online] Available from: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/238484 [Accessed 16 December 2017].
Before I attempted to create my logo, I did some research into the qualities needed to create a great, recognisable logo. Simplicity and versatility was frequently described amongst a number of articles written by experienced designers.
Companies expect their logo to appeal to a diverse spectrum of users. With such diversity, the audience is bound to have different types of tastes and preferences (10 Tips for Designing the Perfect Logo 2017).
It is for this reason, I will not try to create a logo that might polarise opinions but will aim to create a safe design which should be viewed upon well amongst the consumer population. I am selling boys and girls footwear and I will make sure that the design of my logo is gender neutral.
Pictured below is a selection of logos that are very well known brands, most of which are in the fashion or footwear industry. The logos all appear simple and easily recognised, the images would even be recognised without the brand name visible. Nike doesn't even have it's brand name visible in it's logo, yet it is still identifiable worldwide. A strong but simple image would enable recognition and (as I have learnt from my blog about site navigation) the principle 'Don't make me think' (Krug, 2013) should be applied when designing my logo.
Here are a collection of logos that represent some very well known bands.
In 400 milliseconds, a logo can trigger emotional responses and even behavioral change.(Taylor 2017). When a logo is seen the brain first see's the colour, followed by the shape and then provides some form of meaning, the meaning is created by previous experiences with the brand. The process being described is illustrated by the chart pictured below.
(10 Tips for Designing the Perfect Logo 2017)
After conducting research into the design requirements and the favourable features of a great logo, I designed three logos. I used Microsoft Powerpoint to design logos 1 and 2 and I used photoshop to create logo 3. I had picked the colours that I wanted to feature in my website and logo in my previous blog about colours. Many of the successful brands that feature in my collection of logos (image below first paragraph) are plain black but I wanted some colour since my brand represents children's footwear. I felt that plain black and white wouldn't appear 'fun' and would lose it's childlike impression. I wanted the logo to be simple and not too fussy, the images would have to be simple and in black and white to create this simplicity.
Logo 1
Logo 2
Logo 3
Now that I had three different logos, I decided to ask my family members their opinion. I asked my family members which logo they preferred, the results are shown in my pie chart below.
Logo 3 was preferred by the majority, the people that voted for logo number 3 said that the logo was simple but attractive. Logo number 3 would now feature on my website and become part of Mini Steps' branding. I designed the following banners (using www.fotor.com) and again asked for some feedback from my family members.
Banner 1
Banner 2
Banner 1 was preferred by the majority. The brand's logo being clearly visible made the customer aware that it was a discount code to be used for the site. The second logo doesn't have the brand's logo and could confuse customers into believing it was an annoying pop-up advertisement from a different company.
The research and feedback from my family members has been extremely helpful in helping me design my brand logo and banner. The branding is such an important element to marketing my products and it has been very useful to receive feedback and criticism from others.
10 Tips for Designing the Perfect Logo (2017). [Online] Available from: https://1stwebdesigner.com/logo-design-tips/ [Accessed 16 December 2017]
Fotor (2017). [Online] Available from: https://www.fotor.com/app.html#/design/d3cf6fb0-e01d-11e7-bf66-65ab488286f4/text [Accessed 13 December 2017].
KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) - A Design Principle (2017). [Online] Available from: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/kiss-keep-it-simple-stupid-a-design-principle [Accessed 16 December 2017].
Krug, S. (2013) Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability.
Taylor, K. (2017) The Incredible Way Your Brain 'Sees' a Logo (Infographic). [Online] Available from: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/238484 [Accessed 16 December 2017].
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