A logo forms the corporate identity of a company; it reflects its ideas, values, and profile. A good logo can help make a brand more recognizable and increase its reputation with clients, both existing and potential ones.
The rapid development of online business has popularized site logos; now they occupy a prominent place on any corporate website. How do you design and add these objects correctly? Read about it in our new article.
What is a logo and what are the benefits of having it?
A logo is a graphic symbol used to represent a company, structure, service, product or a particular person (a specialist or a celebrity). A relevant, memorable and original emblem helps the brand stand out amongst a crowd of competitors and become more visible in its industry.
Also, it will immediately become associated with your company and products, so any similar images will make the audience remember and, perhaps, contact you. A quality logo has to be universal so that it can be used not only on the web pages but also in printing, outdoor advertising, packaging, clothing and any other places.
It should also be multi-functional. Let us take a closer look at what functions it has to perform.
What tasks are assigned to a website logo?
Before creating and publishing a logo on WordPress, you should think about the way it is going to affect your business. A suitably selected sign:
- Forms the basis and sets the vector for the corporate style of the company; all corporate symbols will be "tied" to it.
- Increases the brand’s recognition, as well as its image and popularity among the target audience. It helps make customers more loyal and favorable towards your products.
- Is considered an important guarantee of the authenticity of goods, “licenses" them, protects against falsification.
- Makes the brand more vivid, noticeable in the market, and stand out from the competition. It distinguishes unique qualities and advantages.
All listed functions are closely interrelated with each other, and yet they directly depend on the specific type of logo. There are several types of logos, and we will study each type in detail in the next part of the article.
What are the types of logos?
There are three basic types of logos – Icon, Logotype/Wordmark and Combination Marks. What makes them different?
Combination Marks. This is the most common type, and it makes up more than 70% of current logos. It includes both an icon and a readable wordmark, and sometimes a company slogan. It combines a number of advantages and advertises not only the graphic symbols but also the name of the brand. According to experts, combined logos are the most suitable for WordPress sites and other purposes. However, it takes more effort to make the picture and text look good together.
Icon. This type of logo represents an image without any words which can be both a pro and con. Many successful global brands use iconic logos (Apple, Shell, etc.) that have made them recognizable all over the world. However, it is not easy to develop such marks because the designer needs to display the essence of the brand in one picture clearly and accurately without using any hints in the form of a name or slogan. Therefore, only about 5% of modern logos are iconic;
Wordmark incorporates a company or brand name into a uniquely styled type font treatment without any additional icons. The primary emphasis here is on the development of the original font, as well as the selection of the coloring of letters. Wordmark logos can be represented either by the full name of the company or by its abbreviation. It is worth noting a number of large and famous enterprises that use such logos: Coca-Cola, IBM, eBay, Disney, etc. On average, about 30% of brands use wordmarks.
So, as you have got basic information about the modern logos, now it's time to go to the recommendations for their design.
General characteristics of a quality logo
As we start preparing for logo creation, it is necessary to think about the details of the stylistics, the location and the interrelation of its details. This will help you place the logo on WordPress easily and harmoniously embed it in the design concept. So, a good logo should be:
Easy to read. All fonts should be readable on any surface – be it a website, a business card or a billboard. Do not make their inscriptions too sophisticated and confusing; your customers are unlikely to appreciate excessive pretentiousness;
Original. The most important principle of a successful logo is that it must be non-standard, attract attention and stand out in a dense stream of advertising objects. If you invent an original symbol, a big part of the marketing work will be complete and will bring tangible benefits to your business. Look at our collection of cool logos to gain inspiration;
Timeless. When you design a logo, you should not focus on fashion trends, because most of them will lose relevance soon. Think about making your brand look fresh and modern even in many decades;
Simple. A properly designed logo is always understandable and straightforward, and it embodies the essence of the business, without unnecessary elements. It makes it look attractive and recognizable anywhere.
Scalable. Another significant advantage of logos for WordPress or other purposes is their adaptability. They should stretch or shrink without any distortions, equally well displayed on any screens - from a mini player to a huge TV or a projector. To do this, you need a vector logo variation.
Next, let's move on to the details. The most important are the geometric shape, fonts and logo colors.
How to choose the colors and shape of the logo?
The color of the logo directly influences the audience perception. For example, most people associate red color with danger and aggression, and white, blue, black and gray colors - with peace, security, and stability. Therefore, many companies use these colors for their symbols.
We would recommend not to make your sign too colorful, but instead, choose one or two key colors that will form the basis of your entire corporate style. If necessary, they can be diluted with additional shades (maximum, 2). It is advisable to place your logo on a white background - it is calm and does not irritate the person's eyes.
As for the geometric form, it also has a specific value. About two-thirds of the modern logos (65%) are made in the form of a polygon, and a circle represents a third.
The next important step in the design of your symbols will be the selection of fonts. You will learn about it further in the text.
Selecting a font
Font is a very significant component of any wordmark or combination logo. Make sure that it aligns with the type your business, as well as with the logo icon (their dimensions should be commensurable). It is imperative that the font looks clear and readable at different screen resolutions - compressed, scaled, etc.
To do this, we recommend testing it on all available devices; this will help you avoid potential problems in the future. It is advisable to select one (maximum, two) fonts and then use them not only for the logo but also in other elements of corporate symbols. A wide variety of fonts can significantly degrade the readability of your graphic mark.
Having considered the main characteristics of high-end logos, it's time to move on to the practical aspects of their creation.
How to create a logo for a WordPress website?
Nowadays, there are several ways to design logos. You can create one on your own or use special services.
For self-design, you will need one of the popular graphics editors (Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop), as well as relevant knowledge and skills, at least at the level of a beginner designer.
An easier and quicker way to get a logo for WordPress involves the use of online generators, in particular, Logaster, with the following sequence of actions:
1) Enter your company or brand name (you can add a slogan as well) and specify the activity type;
2) Choose the appropriate option from various logo concepts - with different combinations of fonts and icons. If necessary, you can reduce the search area by entering additional keywords;
3) Edit and fine tune the logo- change its icon or fonts, color range or text, size or location of objects;
4) Download the final result as a full-size or demo version in any of the current formats.
If you need a logo for WordPress or any website, we recommend using a horizontal orientation, as it looks more attractive.
Now let us move to the final step - the publication of the logo. How do I insert a logo on a WordPress site?
Let us tell you how to change the logo in WordPress briefly but clearly.
This is a straightforward procedure consisting of several steps:
1) Click on the Site Identity section
2) Go to “Themes” and select «Customize» option
3) Click the «Add Logo» button and upload it to your website (it is desirable that it has a transparent background and PNG-format).
If you follow our recommendations, you will be able to put your new logo on the website easily, quickly and efficiently.
As you can see, anyone can create a logo for WordPress without any difficulties and by using advanced online technologies. Moreover, Logaster makes it simple and affordable. It’s efficient, has a wide choice of options, and costs little.
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