Branding Archives | &Something Studio

July 31, 2023 — No Comments

Freelancer vs Studio

Marketing yourself as a freelancer vs a studio/agency

Here’s a question: how did you decide whether to run things as a freelancer or a design studio?

This is something I’ve often pondered, and the subject was raised again recently by a friend of mine, where we discussed the pros and cons of both options. Perhaps you’re reading this because you are trying to make the decision yourself or thinking about changing your growing business. For what it’s worth, here are some of the thoughts and ideas that emerged from that conversation.

How building a studio is different to freelancing

&Something Studio, and its previous incarnation as Severn Agency, were born due to a breakdown in partnership of an earlier business I owned with a friend. When we went our separate ways, I decided that I wanted to protect my ‘agency’ status – partly because it felt safer and more familiar, but also because I believe that it gives me more freedom in many ways.

But I’m skipping ahead – let me explain what the differences I see are between the two.

As a freelancer, you’re pitching yourself as an independent consultant. This means that when people hire you, they hire an individual designer and know they are getting a bespoke and personal service from one person who can get under the skin of their brand. If a designer operates as a freelancer, generally, they can have more freedom to pick and choose the kind of work they take on, be a specialist in a niche role or that safe pair of hands who can deliver, handle clients, understand how things work and help relieve the pressure in someone else’s busy studio.

However, while the studio set-up can be operated (like in my own case) by an individual designer, it also allows you the freedom to create an entity. I suppose it’s more a case of consumer perception, but marketing yourself as a studio, or an agency, gets more kudos from some people. When I introduce myself as &Something Studio, the initial perception is that I’m part of a bigger team, which gives the impression that I’m a ‘proper’ business and not just one person who designs websites and stuff.

Is a studio better than working as a freelancer?

I don’t mean to downplay the freelance option by any means – and I’ll openly admit that I have pitched myself as a freelancer, even under my current guise on occasion, if the brand I’m pitching to determines it. I never pretend to my clients that I’m anything more than an individual designer. My decision to brand as a studio is more about how I wish to market my business, work directly with the type of client I seek, and the opportunity to grow and bring in additional help when the need – or the scope of my business – arises.

If I’d chosen to work as a freelancer, my feeling is that my growth would be (perhaps) a little more stunted, as if in my future I wish to expand and bring in more people, then having a studio name makes that process much more straightforward. They’d become employees of &Something – and I wouldn’t have to completely reinvent myself or start from scratch under a different name.

I’m also an introvert by nature, so the ability to shelter myself behind the wall of my studio feels much safer.

All that being said, though, I enjoy the flexibility of the protection from my studio name while connecting with my clients on such an individual and personal level. Despite my brand status, in the day-to-day, I often think of myself as a freelancer, and I like the additional opportunities my situation affords me.

How does marketing as a studio differ from freelancing?

It’s all about perception. A studio or agency can operate under a protective umbrella, using ‘we’ in its branding. ‘We’ sounds like you’re part of a bigger team, giving clients the impression of an established, bricks-and-mortar business.

Like it or not, freelancers are sometimes seen as less knowledgeable, less professional, or jack-of-all-trades and often work much harder to establish themselves and build trust. The confidence and ability to build a solid personal brand is essential; they must be the face of the business and be able to show themselves as an individual personality.

What are your thoughts on the freelance vs studio debate?

Published by admin in Branding, Design Community, Lists, Marketing

July 4, 2023 — No Comments

Designers: What’s your pitch?

When I started out, marketing ‘online’ was still in its infancy. We didn’t really have any of the social networking sites that are abundant now – Facebook was for students, we chatted people up on MSN or spied on people from school on Friends Reunited; most business was still done the old-fashioned way. Print and traditional advertising were still kings.

I’m not talking very long ago here, but even up through the ’90s and early ’00s, much of the online space, as far as business was concerned, was untapped. It was emerging, but most companies weren’t really switched on to it.

All of the initial information we had when we set up our businesses back then came from Prince’s Trust, NatWest, the FSB etc. – guidance was as dry as yesterday’s toast, extremely generic and already becoming a tad outdated. And besides, we were young, vibrant new business owners – we didn’t want to be told how to do things. There were already clients on our books – we didn’t need to promote ourselves. That was until we did…

How marketing a design agency has changed

I’ve told the story before about how I rebranded my business, and in doing that, it became blatantly obvious how much things had changed. This time, I was starting from scratch and thrown into a world that was a little bit alien to me in terms of promoting and marketing my new (fledgling) studio.

Even though I had a lot of experience in the design field, my experience in modern marketing was pretty humble – and we’ve had to learn new ways to get ourselves out there in front of an audience that had never even heard of us.

In my last position, we had no online presence – from 2000 onwards, we managed for over 12 years without a website! We relied on return business from just one client and word of mouth now and again for others; things just plodded along. I was starting at the very beginning this time, and I needed to build from nothing.

If you think about it today, every purchase we make is first researched online. We seek out reviews before we go and see a film. We rely on stuff we see on our Facebook feeds to tell us which brands to trust. Online stores like Amazon back up every single item with a host of reviews – and if those reviews are negative, we can easily walk away and find a better option.

Pretty much every brand relies on having a strong online following to do well – and if you don’t have a website or at least a decent social following, you simply don’t get seen. But more than that, you need to present your brand with confidence – and to do that, you need to be able to answer the question…

“What do you do?” (What’s your pitch?)

It doesn’t matter what stage you’re at; this question will come up frequently. And whether that happens at a business group or a social event, you’d better have an answer because you never know where a new client might come from. That guy you meet in a coffee shop who asks what you do might seem like a casual encounter – but he might own the business down the road and be looking for your services. Having a quick, snappy pitch ready to go can be the difference between winning business and not.

I’m not exempt – I’ve fallen into this trap a million times myself. That rabbit-in-headlights response of “Oh, I design websites and stuff…”, which falls out of my mouth and makes me feel like an amateur. Becoming clear on what I do, who I serve, and my experience makes me unique (and you, too!); delivering the words confidently is the hardest part.

The secret of a good mission statement is not to think about what you do but how what you do helps people. Telling someone that you design websites, for example, while truthful, sounds generic. If you can find a way to phrase it to showcase the value of what you do, then people will see what’s in it for them.

On the surface, yes, you design websites, but from the client’s perspective, your knowledge of how to create websites that will convert and bring business and money through their door is what will grab their interest.

Focus on your unique offering – that might be that you have specific knowledge of their industry or that you specialise in a niche style. Use that in your mission statement, and the next time someone asks what you do, you can easily answer without stumbling.

Points to cover in your mission statement

I’m not talking about writing a long, 10-page report here; a mission statement should convey what you’re about in a short and concise way. It might just be a couple of sentences or one or two paragraphs. However you choose to present it, try to find a few highlights that best describe what you offer so that you can refer to those when talking to prospects.

Here are some points to get started with:

Your purpose – what do you do, and why does it matter?
Your USP – what makes you different from other designers/agencies?
Your Goals – where is your business heading? What does the future hold?
Who do you serve – do you have a specific client or industry in mind?

I hope this article was helpful. If you would like guidance on anything design-related, drop me a comment.

Published by admin in Branding, Design Community, Marketing, Promoting

Tags: Branding, Marketing, mission statement, Promoting

June 20, 2023 — No Comments

Branding for startups – where to begin

Often an afterthought for new business startups, branding is an essential element that sometimes seems overly complicated – and expensive to implement. But it doesn't have to be that way, and having some idea of branding can help you establish an identity and make all of your marketing so much easier.

Before we go into what branding is, it's important to consider the reasons why and dispel a few misconceptions around the discomfort you might feel in how much you can feasibly do yourself and when it's necessary to employ a graphic designer.

A little bit of research is always useful in planning your branding. Sure, you can use apps such as Canva to create a simple logo in the beginning, and many startups do. Depending on your business type, having a simple logo design and a portfolio website is enough to get you started. There are ways you can 'DIY' these things if your budget is tight. But bear in mind that there will come a time later on when you outgrow these, and then it would be beneficial to seek the help of a designer who can help you to pull all of the elements together in a neat package so that it all looks sleek and professional.

But let's start at the beginning. What is branding, and how does it work?

What it is, and why it's important for startups?

Branding, in a nutshell, is your business identity. It gives people a flavour of your business type, who you're most likely to appeal to, and your core values. Take advice, for example, don't demand a blue logo because blue is your favourite colour. Your brand, done well, allows you to stand out and be seen amongst other similar businesses.

These things are important in marketing yourself because they give you a unique personality that people will learn to recognise and seek out. Good branding also goes a long way in making you look much more professional and convincing people to trust you.

Is a logo the same as branding?

On its own, a logo is simply a badge that identifies your business. It is just a small piece of the puzzle but a necessary one, and often it's the first element of branding that's done.

While the logo is important, branding involves everything else – the colours, language, environment and tone of voice. All these elements come together to make the brand recognisable, whether people see you on social media, landing on your website, purchasing products or walking past your shopfront.

Any website you wish to visit will have its unique branding. Usually, you'll find the logo, but then if you look deeper, you'll see that there will be specific colours, font types, and image styles that become familiar throughout – and those things will translate onto every element of their marketing. In the same way, your branding should convey your own business style. That might be inspired by your logo, or the logo you come up with might be inspired by something else important within your business ethics and style.

How do I find my brand identity?

I find it useful to first define who your customer will be because you'll want your branding to appeal to the right audience. A brand that did this exceptionally well was one that I worked with, GlouGlou, where they knew their target audience very well and tailored their whole aesthetics, from the furnishings to their online presence, to suit. They could have easily become generic by trying to please everybody, but they clearly understood who they wanted to appeal to.

The 'who' is always a perfect place to start. If you're marketing to a young, vibrant audience, you don't want to use old-fashioned styles and a dry tone of voice. You want to be seen as youthful and use styles and language that appeal to that audience. The key is not to try and please everybody but to get clear on the type of person you'll target and learn to do it well.

From there, think about the core values of your brand. If you have a brand that focuses on environmental ethics, you might choose 'green' branding styles – not just in the colours you use but also in the imagery and language. Perhaps you want to push a more masculine, industrious type of image. The strong dark, metallic styles might suit – you get the idea!

Your brand identity will be largely influenced by your product, the people you're selling to, and the core beliefs and values you want to convey. Those things together will give you a unique style across your branding that will be recognisable and appeal to your audience.

The cost of branding – or not!

How far you invest in your branding depends on the type of business and its location. For example, a high-street shop or café would need to 'look the part' to the passer-by, using branding for the shop face, signage, interior décor etc. But for a service-based business, perhaps you only have an online presence, in which case your efforts will first go into your website and logo.

In both cases, having input from a designer can be worth its weight in gold – having someone to help create the right logo to go on to your website is well worth the investment and doesn't cost a fortune. Of course, a website is a necessity these days, but you don't need to over-complicate it.

To wrap this up, my advice to startups thinking about how to begin with branding is to do some research first. It's always best to get your style right from the outset, as it can be difficult to put these things right later on and can damage your reputation. And if you need help figuring out where to start, get advice. Even if you have a small budget, it's better to invest it in getting a professional to get the essentials looked at – and my studio is always on hand to give advice if you need it.

If you're considering your branding, or re-branding, call us. We are happy to help with all aspects of your branding, from websites to logos and everything in between.

Published by admin in Branding

Tags: Business Launch, graphic design, Startups

February 17, 2023 — No Comments

How important is graphic design in marketing?

Our online and offline world is saturated with images, graphics, photographs, animation, and video. We see evidence of the effectiveness of good graphic design all around us – yet it’s something many take for granted. It’s something that the average person barely even notices – yet it’s a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to brand recognition and marketing.

If you think about it, nearly every aspect of our lives is influenced by graphic design. We make decisions on what we eat, the car we drive, and the magazines we read purely by a brand’s logo and imagery. I have friends who refuse to eat baked beans if the Heinz logo isn’t on the tin!

Yet for businesses, particularly small businesses, brand design is often an afterthought. It’s just not something they’re willing to invest in. I believe that’s at their peril – if you can get your graphic design right and make your branding work well, then every piece of marketing you produce becomes instantly recognisable, and that is where the real magic happens.

What is graphic design?

In simple terms, graphic design is using visual tools to communicate. Subconsciously we are wired to seek out colour, shape and image before we even think about speech or written words. It’s important to remember that no matter what kind of marketing material you’re working with, the very first thing that people will notice is the graphic imagery, not the text – and that’s what’s going to make people stop and look.

Graphic design is vital in grabbing people’s attention – you’ve just got to know how to get it right.

Graphic design does boost business.

If graphic design communicates a message, then using it as a branding tool builds trust in your audience.

In the instance of online content, for example, providing you’re sending out plenty of quality content across mediums like social media, email lists etc., when people are constantly bombarded with stuff, making yours of great quality AND instantly recognisable is key to your success.

When people see your imagery consistently, they get to know you, they start to like you and seek you out – and then guess who they’re going to look for when they’re ready to buy what you have? Clue: it won’t be the person who produces boring content accompanied by generic, inconsistent Canva-style graphics.

Graphic design kills the competition.

Nowadays, everyone is a graphic designer thanks to tools like Canva, and everyone’s a photographer thanks to the phones in their pockets. It’s so easy for people to take a photo or grab an image online to use in their branding and marketing – but actually, very few people put thought into what they’re doing.

Good, professional graphic design is much more than that. As designers, we have vast knowledge about things like colour theory, composition, and even font design. The average person isn’t going to know how graphics will work, on a psychological level, to get their message across and persuade people to look at their products/website/brand.

And that’s exactly why most brands you see on social media are so easy to ignore. They don’t stand out – and they don’t know how to. Their graphics are all over the place, and every single one is different from the last – there’s nothing coherent about the branding they’re using if they’re using it at all.

In truth, graphic design isn’t a cost to your business – it’s an investment. I can’t stress enough how imperative it is to get it right.

Where to begin

If you’ve invested in your website, chances are you’ve already got the beginnings of a brand story. Perhaps you’ve already sorted a logo and have some kind of colour- and font theme. This will give you a strong marketing backbone, and it’s where you look for the tone and voice of the rest of your marketing.

If you haven’t got any of that yet, & something can help. Contact us for advice on creating your branding identity, and we can work with you to bring your vision to fruition.

Published by admin in Branding

Tags: graphic design

September 5, 2022 — No Comments

Using animation as part of your brand marketing

There has been a distinct rise in the use of animation in branding recently, making it more important than ever to think of branding and animation as two vital pieces of the same puzzle. By melting the two, you can create a much richer experience in your marketing that can be adapted for use across many different platforms.

When you think about animation, perhaps things like GIFs come to mind – but there’s much more to it. A while ago, I touched on logo animation in this article, where I mentioned how and why animation can work well for our internet-led world. I wanted to elaborate on that and share some more recent thoughts and experiences on it.

Why animation?

I bet if I ask you to recall something from your childhood, cartoons would be one of the things that come to mind. We all had those favourite characters that made us laugh and stick in our memories, didn’t we? Those of us with kids can’t deny that we secretly still enjoy watching some of them even now!

The thing is, animation tends to stick with us, whether it’s in the form of a humanistic character or a particular style, colour, or shape. It feels kind of familiar yet fantastical at the same time. Animation can be whatever we choose it to be and can create worlds that no other form of media can.

Animation is our imagination untamed. And there are so many places we can use it to share our brand stories.

The moving image

Next time you scroll through your socials, take note of where you pause. I’m willing to bet that in many cases, it’s down to some kind of movement, like a video or some type of moving image. We’re naturally attracted to movement and colour – it helps us to build a picture of the world around us. In the case of animation, it can help us to understand something, whether that’s a brand’s story or an instruction.

Rather than spending valuable time reading long tutorials, isn’t it so much easier to watch a 2-minute animated video showing how something works?

Animation is a great way to grab attention and tell your viewers who you are and what you do.

Different styles of animation

Depending on what you are using it for, you can experiment with lots of different animation styles. Even something like your logo can lend itself to 2D, 3D, or even whiteboard animation to great effect.

Don’t think that you have to overcomplicate, either. Even something as simple as creating a metallic or reflective movement over a logo or image can look amazing and really make your brand stand out. And I’ve seen plenty of wonderful effects with fading in, scrolling text, or an image that seems to ‘pop out’ from the screen.

Here are a few styles you might want to think about.

2D: I suppose this is what most of us think of when we think about animation, isn’t it? Though it’s very traditional, accessible and most commonly used, it is still very relevant due to its cost-effectiveness and adaptability.

Saying that, though, 2D should never be dismissed because its attraction is in its simplicity. People are familiar with it and can easily relate to it. And because of those reasons, these styles of animations are memorable.

3D: I’ve seen some amazing 3D animations around. Having that additional depth to play with can be used to great effect, and for that, they prove to be popular.

If you’re using your animated images to explain a product or tell a story, then 3D can do that very well.

Video animation: If you’re familiar with Instagram Reels, you’ve probably seen those talking head videos where speech bubbles or text boxes pop up as the person is talking. In its basic form, that is a type of video animation. But let’s think about how else that could be used…

Combining video with animation can add deeper insight into your products or services. If you’re demonstrating a product, you could add an interesting dimension by using animated arrows, for example, to point out components, or use animated objects or fun characters to help you to explain things.

In conclusion, animation can work in helping you stand out and add a bit more personality to your brand. It doesn’t have to be complicated – simple is often the most effective. If you’re looking for a design agency to assist with your branding, whether that’s animation, web design, branding or anything else, I’d be happy to help.

Published by admin in Branding

April 30, 2022 — No Comments

What’s in a name – and how does it affect your image?

I have a confession. I'd never really, truly, been happy with my original company name. I’m not saying it was a terrible name, it just didn't fit very well.

I lived with it, but there was always that little niggle in the back of my mind.

I won’t dwell on my personal thought process here – I’m all sorted now. But what I wanted to talk about today was how important it is to get it right – the correlation between your company name and your image.

As a graphic designer, I spend a lot of time thinking about company images and branding. And my plight has made me think a little deeper about the process. Where do I start when faced with a rebrand, or a web design, for a client? I think that actually, the name probably plays a more significant part than I previously thought.

Subconsciously, I’m often led at first by the name. It sets the tone for everything that follows. Colours, fonts, and the tone of voice are all hinged on the business name, even if it’s not that obvious.

A reflection of you and your market

A good business name reflects who you are and who your clients are. It’s usually the first item on the agenda when we create our business, but how much do we really consider the name when we start the design process for our websites and branding?

Perhaps, then, we should start by going back to basics. Who do you want to attract? By getting a clear profile of your perfect client, you can get into their heads and explore what attracts them. If your ideal client base is, for example, the CEO of a high-profile marketing agency, you don’t want to approach them with a name and image that more reflects a small business or e-commerce company.

Different demographics have different needs – by tapping into those needs, we can better design our business branding to attract them.

It’s good to visualise what your business name will look like under your brand. Does the name make you think of something modern and vibrant, or does it lend itself to something traditional or more subdued? We can do this in both our business name and our image – both should fit seamlessly together.

Of course, the type of industry will also come into play. Still, it stands to reason that if your company name includes something soft and feminine, you’ll want to consider soft colours and perhaps a more rounded font. In contrast, if you’re in an industry where your audience and product are universal, you’ll want to appeal by using stronger, bolder themes.

Imagine, for example, a classic motorbike restoration business using a pastel-coloured handwritten script in its logo. It doesn’t quite fit, does it?

On choosing a name

Your name is probably the most recognisable aspect of your business, so it’s actually pretty important to get it right. It should reflect your personality, what your company does, and most of all, be memorable.

It needs to be, first and foremost, a name that you’re comfortable with. Think of this – would you be happy to answer the phone and announce your company name, or would it make you cringe a little? There’s a good test right there.

It’s OK to have a quirky name if that’s your vibe but make sure it’s relatable and tells your customers who you are.

Something else to consider is the spelling. Is your name a play on words? Is it a long name, or does it include numbers or symbols? Replacing letters with numbers can look cute – but make sure it’s evident in your web address! Most of your customers will want to search for you online, so if there’s something a little different in your name, make sure it can easily be searched for online.

Simplicity is key

It can be easy to overcomplicate things in both the name and the design. There’s no real need to – often, the most straightforward ideas are the most memorable.

Make your business name easy to pronounce and communicate (“Severn… with an ‘r’… yes, like the river…”) and easy to translate into your branding, and you won’t go far wrong.

There are plenty of sources of inspiration if you’re stuck for ideas, and there’s nothing wrong with testing out a few ideas with people you know – perhaps set up a few mock-ups and see which your friends, family, and peers prefer. You might get feedback that hadn’t occurred to you, which can be invaluable.

Published by admin in Branding, Design Community

Tags: relaunch

January 22, 2021 — No Comments

Using graphics in social media in 2021

Compared to 10 years ago, when social media was still in its infancy, how we use it has changed dramatically. Back then, we only knew about Facebook, and as a platform, it was used in a much simpler, more personal way – we didn’t utilise it for business until more recently.

Looking at how things are today, we have a much more diverse landscape. There are several additional players, including Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Pinterest – and within those, there are several ways to communicate, with things like Stories being rolled out to almost every major social channel.

Over the years, social media platforms have become much more visual. As we scroll through our various social feeds, we will likely see less text and more images. Marketers have realised that having well-placed images on their social feeds helps to increase engagement – particularly now that most of us are using our phones.

In response to this, many new developments in online tech have allowed the average user to find their own images and even create their own. Apps like Canva are becoming the go-to for creating images and infographics that can be used on all social media platforms. There are plenty of websites where you can purchase stock images for content marketing.

I’ll get back to some of these a bit later. Still, I wanted to touch upon some of the ways we can use graphics in social media, some trends and fresh techniques, and the differences in using online tools versus having custom images created by a designer.

Why are images important for social media posts?

We process images much more quickly than words, so when we’re scrolling through our social channels, we’ll naturally pause when we see something stimulating our senses. Pictures, in particular colours, can convey messages to us on a different level.

In saying that, because there are so many images to process online, we need to plan what we post with care and attention. Finding that key element will not only stand out enough to make the viewer stop scrolling to take a closer look but allow them to instantly recognise you through that imagery. That will help create that ‘know, like, trust factor which is so important on social media.

Planning your social media images

It used to be adequate for us to take a snap and post it to our social media platforms when we felt like it. That’s no longer the case. If we want to get noticed online, we have a lot of competition; therefore, we need to plan out what we share and how we share it.

Social images, and social content as a whole, should fall into common categories, namely;

Entertainment
Educational
Inspirational
Thought-provoking

Think about how you want the viewer to react when they see the image. Do you want them to take a particular action, like clicking through to your website or blog post? Does it serve to give them a piece of information or news about your business? Does it help them in some way or encourage them to open a conversation with you?

There’s a huge trend, especially on Instagram, which is all about imagery. There will be some images that you might feel don’t fit into any of those categories – but if you’ve set them up correctly, then at the very least, they will serve as a recognition piece. Having a recognisable ‘pattern’ to the grid, and even a brand overlay, ensures that the brand has its own ‘look’, therefore being recognised by the viewer.

Suppose you can tie the overall look of your social images with other mediums, like your website and printed material. In that case, this will all work together as part of your branding, an important factor for content creation.

Stock Images or Professional Graphic Designer?

I get that many businesses want to have the ability to take ownership of how they post on social media, and part of that is being able to either use stock images or create images of their own. And there’s nothing wrong with that – if you have a clear idea and strategy in place.

The trouble is, many people don’t, and if you’re not careful, you could end up with a scatter-gun approach across your content marketing, which can be off-putting for your audience.

It all comes down to branding – and you must get it right across the board. It’s likely that you’ve paid someone to create your website, and tie all of your branding together, so don’t allow your social media to let it all down.

Yes, perhaps having a graphic designer on-call to create images every time you want to upload to your social media channels is overkill, but if you can get a set of templates, overlays, and brand colours set up and on hand, at least then you’ll have something to work with.

If you decide to use stock images (or take your own photographs), at least have some kind of consistency which will let your viewers know they are your images.

Get in touch if you’d like help or advice about anything you’ve read in this article. We’d be happy to help.

Published by admin in Branding, Digital, Other things

September 5, 2020 — No Comments

Tech-led logos – 2020 logo animation trends

One of the things that tends to cause to most concern during the branding process is the logo. Businesses recognise that the logo they have designed for their branding is the one thing that will dictate everything else – the colours, the fonts, the style…

Getting that one element right, even if the final design is a simple one, takes a lot of thought and effort on the part of the designer.

In the past, and in fact today, the logo for any type of business needs to become the most recognisable part of the business branding, and should tell the customer what the company is about without relying on the name or taglines.

Some of the most effective logos, from the big corporates, to the small local business, use clever design techniques and images that are instantly recognised with little more that simple shapes, colours, and images.

I suppose that, unlike in the past, today’s logo design needs to work even harder, because not only does it need to tell the customer who you are across your printed material, but even more so, it needs to translate digitally as well, and that can be a whole different task due to the fast-paced nature of the tech we use, and how we use it.

What I’d like to explore in this article is not just the simplicity of the ‘flat’ logo we’ve all been used to, but the way in which the technology we use, and the differences in print-to-screen, which have changed and evolved logo design. I’d like to look a little bit at some of the trends that are emerging right now in order for businesses to stand out, and take full advantage in new technology, and appeal to a new generation of customers, who largely read from a screen or smart device.

The Perfect Logo

A well-designed logo should always be uncomplicated. I find that in having something that looks relatively simple, it becomes almost like a symbol, a single image that the customer remembers and doesn’t have to spend too much time thinking about.

If you consider some of the bigger companies, such as Nike, or Audi, who use just a simple shape, but are know the world over. Designs like that don’t need to have a defining colour, words or slogans in order for us to recognise what they mean. Yet if you were to seek out the designer of those logos, as simple as they seem to us, I’d be willing to bet that hours and hours were spent on getting them to look how they do today.

Unless you’re a well know company, though, I would necessarily suggest using something quite that simple – although it’s not a bad idea to think about having some kind of simple structure or shape by which you can be identified as part of your logo design.

Looking at some of my own designs as examples, I’ve tried hard to use shapes and symbols within the logo images, or as part of the font, in order to tell the story behind the brand. I think that’s important to do, because you have to consider who you will be appealing to, and your logo is a big part of that.

And that is always where you start – with the logo at its most basic. Because in its basic form, it needs to be able to make sense on both printed material and on screen.

Animation is the biggest new trend

Something that I’ve been looking at more and more recently is the use of animation in logo design. I think that’s it’s becoming a necessity to stand out using movement as part of our logo design, particularly where we’re using social media as part of our content creation plan. The eye tends to pause when we see movement in an image, and so where there is such busy traffic such as social platforms where people are scrolling through such a large amount of content, having animation can be a good way to pause them and encourage them to read the post.

Whether or not you already have an existing logo, use of animation can greatly enhance your images and make them more memorable, and are a useful tool in getting your content noticed above the competition.

You could look at something as simple as having a moving gradient, or a light effect over the logo, or something more elaborate like fade-ins, moving characters, rotation/sliding, or video effects. The huge advances in technology means that we are able to add a huge number of animated images – much of what you can imagine can be done on-screen.

During 2020, it’s thought that many businesses will embrace animation as part of their designs, and could fast become mainstream.

By adding detail to the animation, the viewer tends to spend longer watching it, therefore making the experience more memorable, and too your brand.

Published by admin in Branding