If you need to design a clothing company logo, where do you begin?<\/p>\n
A lot of different things go into creating a new logo or redesigning an old one. The clothing business is competitive, and a logo matters. Eight years ago, Gap attempted to redesign its classic logo<\/a> with disastrous results.<\/p>\n It cost the company millions in design costs, focus groups, and bad press. The company underestimated the attachment people had to its logo, and the reaction was so strong, the company reverted to its old logo just a few days later.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the potential impact your clothing logo has on your customers. How do you design a logo that stands out from the crowd? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll be surprised to learn that the most important step in designing a logo isn\u2019t designing the logo itself, but rather the planning and research that happens beforehand.<\/p>\n What you learn in the research and planning phase will inform your designs, and actually, make it easier to apply design principles because you know exactly the look and feel you want to create.<\/p>\n Before you start designing, you have to have in-depth knowledge of two things: your company and your customers.<\/p>\n We\u2019re not looking at sales figures or anything like that. Rather, we\u2019re going to look at your company\u2019s vision and mission. You want to make sure that the reason why your company exists aligns with your company\u2019s brand and your customers.<\/p>\n If your company\u2019s mission is to create upscale business clothing for older women, you want to be sure that your logo and brand reflect that.<\/p>\n One easy way to go about this is to describe your clothing company as a person. Is it a man or a woman? What do they wear? What do they drive? What is a typical day like? Treating your company as a person will help you describe what your company is about.<\/p>\n Once you know why your company exists, you want to be able to describe the brand\u2019s promise in a few words. For example, Nike\u2019s mission<\/a> and brand promise are to \u201cbring innovation and inspiration to every athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n Volvo\u2019s is to make driving safer. What does your company promise its customers?<\/p>\n When you have your company\u2019s mission and brand promise down, you want to make sure that you understand your customers as well.<\/p>\n When they\u2019re looking at different clothing companies, what do they want? Are they shopping for value or status?<\/p>\n You need to be sure that your customers\u2019 expectations line up with your brand promise. That\u2019s how you\u2019ll create loyal customers who are attached to your brand.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re designing your clothing company logo, you have to know what goes into a good and bad design. When people look at a logo, they subconsciously process the colors, fonts, shapes, and symbols to create meaning.<\/p>\n Those meanings may vary across cultures, which is why it\u2019s so important to know your audience. If your customers are largely based in the U.S. and Canada, they\u2019ll perceive colors and symbols the same way.<\/p>\n Color is one of the bigger impacts on design. Different colors are processed in the brain and they have psychological associations with different emotions.<\/p>\n Blue is used throughout many classic brands. Blue is associated with safety, reliability, and security. That\u2019s why so many companies from IBM to Gap use it.<\/p>\n Black is a color of power, mystery, and strength. It\u2019s used a lot in retail for this reason. Black can also be associated with sadness and death, so you have to be careful about how you use it and the color combinations you use.<\/p>\n The fonts that you use also have an impact. Block fonts tend to convey something that\u2019s bold or strong. Retro fonts can take people back to another time, as their childhood.<\/p>\n Some fonts are playful, and others are more conservative. You want to choose a font that matches your clothing brand\u2019s promise.<\/p>\n A good example is a logo for this company<\/a>. They sell modern clothing, and the fonts chosen reflect that.<\/p>\n Even the symbols and lines that you use in your logo have an effect<\/a> on people. A round logo can be seen as warm or soft. A logo with direct lines has the perception of durability and reliability.<\/p>\n The question for you is how approachable is your brand? Do you want to be seen as reliable or flexible?<\/p>\n You can do additional research to scope out what your competition has for a logo. Note what fonts they use and what they\u2019re trying to communicate with their logos. You can use this as an opportunity to position your clothing company in a way that the competition doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\nThe Most Important Step Isn\u2019t The Design<\/h2>\n
Knowing Your Company<\/h2>\n
Who Are Your Customers?<\/h2>\n
Know What Makes Good (and Bad) Design<\/h2>\n
Color<\/h2>\n
Font<\/h2>\n
Symbols<\/h2>\n