Logo Arkansas

What is a logo? A logo is a symbol that is meant to represent a company, organization, product, service, entity, or person. Even certain places have logos. A good logo should encompass a company’s philosophy, their purpose, or their goal. A successful logo will do all this quickly and succinctly, conveying all these messages in a glance. It should be clear, memorable, and easily printed on a variety of media. *br>
A logo should be unique enough to differentiate itself, and therefore the entity it represents, from other entities, especially those in the same area of interest. This can be done through the use of color and other elements such as typography or imagery. The McDonald’s logo can be identified in any language due to its color elements and its iconic arches that form the trademark “M.”

A successful logo should also be functional in a wide range of uses. It should be easily incorporated, or at least adaptable, into the standard business forms, such as envelopes, letterheads, and business cards, as well as any signage that might be needed. It should be able to be easily transferred to other less “forgivable” media, such as fabric. It should also be easily identifiable in either full color, limited color palettes, or in black and white.

Of all the principles that make a logo successful, perhaps the most important is that it should represent the brand or company appropriately. If the business represented is a chartered accountancy, using a cartoon turtle as a logo element might not be appropriate. The whimsy of the cartoon image might give the impression that the accounting firm doesn’t take their job seriously. Similarly, a logo for a skate park would most likely not work well with a pink daisy for a logo element. Skaters, being mostly male, will not be very likely to patronize a park they see as “girly.”

Logos can consist of a number of important elements. The elements that can be brought together to create a logo are typography, or logotype, the icon, and a slogan. The logotype can be a simple name, or it can be a long name, such as that of a law firm in Arkansas. The icon or symbol can be simple and elegant, or it can be complex. The slogan can be short and sweet or long and descriptive. It all depends on the company in Arkansas represented. The most successful logos are simple and elegant, but there are many which have a number of elements in them.

There are logos that are simply the company name in a distinctive font. Sony is a good example of this. The type style is simple and basic and if used in any other context, is most likely not going to be associated with the Sony Corporation, but string those four letters together and they are instantly recognizable. This is true not only because one can read the name of the company, but also because of the font used. Coca-Cola’s script font is another example of a name and font as a logo.

Sometimes they consist of only one element. The Nike “swoosh” is a good example of a logo that contains a single element, yet is completely recognizable worldwide. Part of that recognizability is due to the success and influence of the company itself, but it can be argued that their logo is a part of that success. Their logo was successful in conveying the company’s image to the buying public. As we see with Nike, a logo that can be incorporated into merchandise is a good choice for some manufacturers.

Many logos call upon or rely upon their company’s history as a means of conveying their message in their logos. Often this means that simplicity is sacrificed for brand identification. A cluttered logo, perhaps one that the company made its name with, and is easily recognizable, can be more successful than a slick new logo, if the brand loyalty doesn’t transfer with the new image.

There can be many associations between a logo and the consumer. Sometimes these are difficult for company executives or even advertising agencies to grasp, such as the emotional attachments people can have to products. The things they might have grown up with, for example. A good example of this is Aunt Jemima syrup. The image of Aunt Jemima can be considered racially insensitive and has been accused of being just that, yet the brand loyalty to that image/spokesperson, albeit fictional, is very strong. It would be difficult for a company to shed that iconic image without the risk of losing a huge customer base.

That is not to say that a company cannot revamp an old image and make it “new.” The logo for Aunt Jemima, a company that makes pancake flour and syrup, has indeed been redesigned a number of times. Originally depicted as a slave on a plantation, Jemima had a polka dot kerchief covering her hair and was depicted as a hefty kitchen cook. This image has been much altered until her present image is more motherly. She has lost her kerchief for a more modern hairstyle and pearls, and she is also much thinner. The change is not so radical that the company has lost its iconic image, but it has managed to shed itself of the negative associations that came with the older image. Slow and small changes to a company logo are sometimes more effective and practical than a sudden and significant change.