A logo (logotype) is the chief attribute of a company’s brand style. It is essential to develop a logo if the company wants to attract attention to itself and to its goods or services. A logo would be a visual interpretation of the concept and idea behind the trademark. A logo development is about creating a symbol, which is not to be complicated and which is to evoke a sense of harmony and the right associative chain in the mind of the intended consumer putting together an image of the company’s product in his/her sub-conscience. A good logotype would be a symbol that makes it easy to read the brand idea, the company mission, the firm’s attitude to customer and the way it positions itself in the market. There are millions of logos. The best of them are those that get stuck in the memory. It is the designer’s task to develop a logo that would stand out, be memorable and be consistent with the company’s marketing strategy. A logo cannot exist by itself for its must inscribe perfectly into the marketing concept. For the consumer, the logo would be a gateway into the company, a welcome to its products and services.
The following is a list of some of the major criteria that are to be guided by when developing a logo, a symbol or a trademark:
¤ Identity – this property is essential for the logo to stand out in the market and become competitive. This feature is a fundamental condition in the development of logos. It also allows for the symbol to be registered and then used without violating other businesses’ rights.
¤ Originality – this is image of the logo, the one thing that distinguishes it from its competitors. This feature is to bring forward positive emotions and associations in the minds of the potential consumers of the goods.
¤ Functionality – this is an important criterion that to be taken into consideration when creating a logo. Given that a logo or a trademark would normally be placed not only in company’s templates and web pages but also in fax pages, corporate souvenirs and advertising flyers, it is essential that the logotype be easily scalable and relatively plain. This aspect of the logo development work is recommendatory. It implies that the different bits and pieces that are used in the design are to be easily identifiable by the consumers of the intended stratum. The easy perception of the logo would normally be achieved through staying within the average erudition level of the intended consumers and through remembering to limit the sheer number of elements that go into the one logotype. There is one more requirement to developing a logo. This one is not a fundamental condition but must be taken into account anyway. The thing is called associativeness or associativity.
¤ Associativeness is a quality of a trademark that means that the there are indeed links and mental associations connecting the symbol and the various features of the goods or services of the company.
All these requirements to developing logos or creating trademarks are closely intertwined. Identity, plainness and attractiveness that are minded in logo development are together a sure way to have the result of the work stay in the consumer’s memory. The individuality and easy recognition of a trademark facilitate its protectability, with the individuality helping it at the stage of mark registration and the recognizability doing it afterwards, even in the case the logo has acquired publicity and is widely used in common speech.
The first impression cannot be repeated. This is why no image of a company is to make the consumer doubt or feel ill at ease. A logo is the foundation for the future trademark. It is its main feature. The task of creating a logo or developing a trademark is to be approached with as much care as the task of selecting the designer for the job.