What makes an effective logo design – 5 ways to check your logo

What makes an effective logo design, is it good enough? 

Being uncertain is unnerving and affects our ability to feel confident. Knowing how to measure how effective a logo design and brand style is will help build confidence in how the business looks.

In this article, we look at ways to check whether your logo is just fine or if it needs updating. You can do this using a few simple steps outlined below.

In order to discern the effectiveness of a logo design and brand style you need a method, something to measure it by.

5 ways to measure the effectiveness of your logo:

1 – Do you and your team love your logo?

This may seem super obvious. It is important to ask that question because if you do not love your logo, then you will not be enthusiastic about it and that will show. People are more likely to buy from enthusiastic people who love what they do and their business, including the logo.

Include any employees in this exercise. Humans long for a sense of belonging. If they belong to a company that presents itself brilliantly they will feel proud of the job they have landed and the community they are part of. You don’t want to work for a company that doesn’t care about its appearance. Who wouldn’t want to work in a smart, well presented office with beautiful branding. Employees are more likely to share company posts, shout about the business to friends, if they feel proud of it.

If you and the team do not love your logo that is the first indicator that it could be better. Why settle for mediochre when it could be great. Looking the best you can will get you more attention. More attention = more awareness = more engagement = more sales.

Spend some time with your team. Do a survey to see how people feel about it.

2 – How do your customers feel about your logo?

Conduct a customer survey and ask them what they think of your brand materials and logo design. It is a great way to interact with your customers on a conversational human level. People are flattered to be asked their opinion.

If you sell products, they may have valuable feedback for you. Imagine if despite loving the product they hide it in a cupboard because they don’t like how it looks. Imagine them recommending your product with the caveat that it works well but looks ugly. Why settle for that when they could be saying its a brilliant product AND it looks amazing, it is a pleasure to own.

The brand image has a different job to do for prospective customers as opposed to current customers. This is especially true for service businesses.

If possible conduct a small survey of potential buyers as they will have a different perspective. They are looking for answers and are at the decision stage. Emotion counts for 95% of the decision process. If they love your brand image, they are more likely to buy.

If your customers are not in love with your brand image, you have an opportunity to update it to something great that customers are proud to buy into.

3 – Does your logo provoke the feelings you want it to?

How you want people to feel when they see your brand style?

Look for the adjectives that your customers use in testimonials and feedback. Write down the words you want your customers to use to describe the business. Note how they feel when they experience your product or services.

Describe the personality of your business in three adjectives from your perspective. Scrap any generic ones like ‘professional’ and ‘reliable’. These are expected of all businesses. Look for the ones that might set you apart. Individual words may not create that difference but unusual groups of words can communicate your uniqueness.

Pick three brand keywords that work for you and your customers.

Does your logo provoke those same feelings? If yes, you are spot on with your brand style. If no, you have a reason to update your logo and are clear on the problem that needs to be solved.

4 – Is your logo easy to use across different marketing materials?

Gather together all your marketing materials both on digital platforms and in print. How do they look all together. Do they look like they all belong to the same family. Does the logo fit harmoniously in each setting. If you are finding it hard to use your logo across all your materials there is a problem to solve. There is no need to struggle. The logo should not feel like an afterthought or get lost on the page. Make it easy to use with an updated flexible design.

5 – Does your brand image get lost amongst its competitors?

Look at your competitor brands. How does your brand image sit in the sea of brands in your industry? Are you following industry trends with a similar look and feel? Does it get lost because it is safe, generic and comfortable hides amongst the others? Or does it stand out as meaningfully different?

Your logo does not have to be loud and shouty to stand out. Showing up as unique and different for the right reasons will make it stand out. If your logo blends in you lose impact and it become less noticeable.

Get help to find out what makes an effective logo

I’ve helped many people go through this process.

It’s hard to do a review for yourself without the help of someone who is not in the business. People have found it really valuable to employ me to guide them through the process.

I offer a 90-minute for £90 logo review. There is some prep work followed by a 90-minute call with a follow-up summary and recommendations. There is no obligation to take it any further.

Find out if your logo is working effectively for your business. Find out more about the Brand design review. If you have questions, get in touch.