Over the years I’ve worked with some highly competent and creative marketing agencies, including this one – based in Parnel, Auckland. Its “A-Lister” clientele includes the following brands: Farrimond client brands
I’ve been involved in brand design for around 20 years, and have contributed directly to the design and development (and sometimes redevelopment) of a good number of brands.
Time after time I see simple mistakes made in brand design, and I’d like to try and help prevent these from happening. I’d like to share what I’ve learned about effective brand (emblem/ logo) design. The following are the properties/ elements/ qualities that I’ve come to learn matter most when designing a brand – irrespective of whether the brand is to apply to a business, a service or a product.
Most importantly, brands are created in the mind. Image and perception help drive value – without image and perception there is no value. Hence the term “perceived value”.
An effective brand possesses these qualities:
- Is distinctly unique in its design
- Is simplistic in its construct – and comprises only a small number of elements and range of colour
- Is easy for a viewer to distinguish what it is
- Is easy for a viewer to associate it with the nature of business that it represents
- Is memorable
- Stands-out…has cut-through among other brands
- Is easily scalable (whilst retaining legibility) and can be applied to a wide range of usage situations (e.g. QR Codes, banners, car signage, print advertising, etc)
- Has “values” and a “persona” associated with it
Always, after finalising your brand design ready for commercial application, register your design as a Trade mark with the Intellectual Property Office. It doesn’t make sense to invest considerable time, mental effort and $ to create a business brand logo/ emblem, only to then overlook protecting your intellectual property interests in relation to it.