Launching a startup or running a small business? You must be aware of how vital graphic design is in building a company. You may also have an idea of how costly graphic design projects can be.
Almost 70% of small business are willing to pay $500 while 18% would pay up to $1000 for logo designing.

It takes just 400 milliseconds to our visual cortex to process the visual elements of a logo. This is essentially the time you have to capture (or lose) the attention of your customers.

For this reason, business owners should have a working knowledge of designs. This way, they have greater control over their brand’s appearance.

And the first and major graphic design product is developing a logo. A logo is more than just a color and font. On a deeper level, it reflects your brand’s personality. Logo design then is the process in which you communicate your brand’s personality to your consumers.

Considering there are several types of logos (abstract, emblem, word mark, etc.), how do you go about choosing the best one for your business? Continue reading to find out.

Consider Logo Design Types

There are 7 types of logo designs:
• Abstract
• Mascot
• Combination mark
• Emblem
• Lettermark
• Pictorial mark
• Wordmark

Abstract logos are not only imaginative, but they can immediately communicate what your business is all about. The DropBox logo, for example, is a blue colored box conveying the idea of safe data storage. However, there is always a chance of being too abstract with these logos.

Mascots are usually used by sports teams. Such logos are visually appealing, using images of animals, people or even imaginary things to represent the brand. Michelin Man is an example where a brand has positioned itself with a mascot logo.

Then there is the pictorial mark, aiming to convey the brand through an image. Examples include Twitter, Nike and Target. These logos are often used by global companies to achieve consistency in branding.

The complete opposite of pictorial mark is wordmark. Coca Cola is a major example. Lettermarks are also text-based, used to highlight companies with acronyms, like IBM. However, if you want the best of both worlds, you can go for combination mark, like Dunkin’ donuts or Baskin Robbins.

Emblem logos likewise combine design elements with text. Examples of this style include Mastercard and Harley Davidson.

Pick the Right Font

Typography or simply the choice of font goes a long way in establishing your vibe. When choosing fonts, you have to three main options:

• Serif

Serif fonts established trust. Think newspapers or academic journals. You find such fonts being used to share quotes, and there’s data to show that readers actually gauge the trustworthiness of a quote by the font used. So go for serif fonts if you want to create a professional image for your company. The downside is that such fonts can also make your logo look outdated. A major brand using a serif font logo is Gap.

• Sans Serif

San serif fonts are all over the internet. Even Google has a san serif logo. These fonts give off a clean, modern look. They are easy to read as well. You can use a sans serif font to create a fresh, new personality for your business. The downside is that you may end up looking like other companies. It is hard to stand apart with a sans serif logo unless you’re Google!

• Script Fonts

Finally, script fonts can be used to create an elegant, creative or even a casual image for your business. However, these fonts can be difficult to read.
Of course, you can always use more than one font in your logo.

Choose the Best Color

Finally, colors are also integral to projecting your business personality. According to a survey, 80% of consumers believe that color increases brand recognition. Colors are cool because they convey emotion:

• Red represents excitement, boldness, and youthfulness
• Orange represents confidence, happiness and friendliness
• Yellow gives off warmth, clarity and positive vibes
• Green stands for peace, health, and abundance
• Purple exudes creativity, wit, and imagination

Likewise, a combination of black and white can denote calm and balance. Blue, on the other hand, evokes trust and strength. In fact, more than 30% of the top 100 brands use the color blue in their logo. Gap, for instance, uses navy blue, whereas Google has a brighter blue. Research also shows that people find color combinations in similar hues appealing.

This again ties back to your brand personality. Once you know what kind of image you want to portray, you can experiment with different designs, fonts and colors to discover the right logo for your business.