The Do’s and Don’ts of Making Wordmark Logos
It is no secret that a core element of a brand’s visual identity is its logo. Because of this, many business owners and decision makers take their time in the creation of an output that represents their organisations’ values fully, is unique, and looks good online or when printed on banner pens, flyers, streamers, posters, and other content marketing assets.
Another reason why business owners cannot come up with a logo for the companies they run right away has to do with the number of options available. These options are: a drawing of a product or service, a number of symbols, animals, flowers, motifs, a custom version of an existing logo, and logotype (also called a wordmark logo).
Some options can be combined together so a memorable, attractive logo can be made. But if you’re not a huge fan of fancy logos composed of different elements or symbols, or you just want a simple-looking logo for your company, one of your best alternatives is the use of a wordmark type of logo.
A wordmark logo is a logo made using the letters that comprise a business’s name. Making one is easy, and you or a designer can make it look memorable to old and new customers alike by perfectly balancing typography and illustrative elements together. To achieve this desired balance, it’s important to know the following do’s and don’ts of wordmark logo creation.
“The Dos”
* Put a few letters together.
If the name of your business is composed of at least two words, you can use the first letters of the words that comprise the name of your business to form a logo. When doing this, make sure that the letters look good when put together. Some examples of letters that look great together include H and K (put together in that order), and the pairing of I and R (put together in that order).
* The combination of upper case and lower case characters.
This is considered one of the safest options when it comes to the creation of wordmark logos. Also, it’s worth noting that you can have fun in the process of designing the logotype this way. You can play around with colour, style, and size to achieve an output that looks and feels unique.
* Strokes of colours.
The addition of colours to letters is a great option if you do not wish to try altering your business’s name so much. If you’re going for this option, you can use a combination of colours on all letters or set all letters to bear one or two colours. Just make sure to choose colours wisely, since different colours have different meanings. Bright colours show that you are a fun and lively organisation, while somber hues protray formality.
“The Don’ts”
* Overtweaking
One important thing to remember when creating a wordmark logo is ensuring that the final output is composed of letters, and that no letter has been altered too much to look like an object or symbol. Even one letter that has been altered too much will end up confusing your customers.
* Being unmindful of the kerning.
While kerning can add finesse to an output, one must take care to avoid kerning letters too tightly or too loosely. One should also ensure that the kerning between letters is consistent. Inconsistent spacing, as well as packing letters too loosely or too tightly, can cause the output to bear a chaotic or scattered apperance.
* Being unmindful of the font used.
Choosing the wrong font can result in an unreadable wordmark logo or one that can easily be mistaken for another word or phrase. As such, it’s important that, before selecting the final font for the logo that will be placed on marketing assets, such as those produced by Banner Pens UK, the font is tested to staff or anyone who could be a potential customer. One good method of testing typefaces is by letting a number of people read words bearing different typefaces.
