A logo is a company’s identity. It is often the first chance to communicate who you are and create a lasting impression on consumers. It is present on just about every piece of communication, from your business cards to your products. But why is it so important? How can a small image convey so much?

When creating a logo, there are a few elements you should consider carefully:

Font

Font plays a large role in how your logo is regarded. The font you chose can make your brand seem more modern, practical or elegant.

Block-like letters demonstrate your business is strong, official or accomplished; think about a university logo.

Fonts that appear more like handwritten text can appear more sincere, personal or luxurious, like the Cadillac logo.

Color

Color choices make a great impact on how your logo is perceived. Each color in the rainbow evokes different emotions in consumers. The color blue, often used in the healthcare industry (BlueCross Blue Shield, United Healthcare), brings about feelings of trust, reliability and loyalty, while red, used in department store logos (Target, Macy’s) creates a sense of urgency to provoke impulse buys.

It’s not a surprise UPS chose the color brown for their logo, as it elicits a sense of seriousness, security and protection.

Even color combinations can create different emotions. For example, the combination of red and yellow evoke a sense of hunger, which is why you see so many fast food restaurants using these colors in their branding efforts.

Graphics

Graphics aren’t always necessary to communicate your brand’s personality, however they can definitely enhance it. The graphics, and even the shapes of those graphics, you chose to represent your business also suggest your brands character. However, it depends on the quality,  and for the best graphics, click here. Graphics that use soft or curvy lines show a more playful personality, such as Pepsi, and the less curvy lines also create a sense of calmness. Hard and thick lines tend to show a more serious side.  See the Fox News Channel logo to the left for an example.

Logos are essential in telling a brand’s story. Every design element can convey a brand trait.  Some logos have become so ingrained in our lives that we don’t even need text to tell us who they are any longer. Perhaps Nike has done the best job with keeping their logo simple and consistent, so much so that a simple black swoosh appears and we all understand who that is.  What does your logo say about you?