You can’t get through a marketing lecture these days without a great deal of attention dedicated towards branding.
Most people might believe that refers to the appearance of a company name, especially its logo, which if designed well, stands a good chance of being indelibly stamped in the minds of those who see it.
They’re partly right, although branding is certainly much more, incorporating everything from company function to its standing in the market and overall community.
And to reflect those features, a good logo design should be more than a clever assortment of text and graphics. It should also take into account the same features demanded by branding.
The problem is that when it comes to logo design, many companies can’t get past the superficiality of its look to consider the essence of a company’s existence beyond profit. Qualities like service, reputation and culture may not be too obvious in a logo, but more discerning eyes have no problems detecting those traits in a design.
Don’t get too complicated
That’s partly why logos today are veering away from fancy graphics in favor of a no-nonsense and simple look. Other reasons figure heavily into a design, such as fearing the likelihood that a logo design might look too ugly if too many ingredients are added. Then there’s practicality such as how the same logo will look on a sign, company letterhead and on the splash page of a website.
Simpler designs spell versatility when a company considers the multiple platforms that are available to facilitate a logo. Additionally, cleaner, bolder appearances featuring easy-to-read text also have old-school applications, such as being mounted on a sign that easier to read from a considerable distance.
What are the big players doing?
A sterling example is Enterprise Rent-A-Car which has had seven different logos throughout its more than 60 years in the business. The most recent change came in 2006, a year before the company was about to celebrate its 50th anniversary. They opted for a clean appearance with the biggest change involving an increase in size of the Enterprise name. Recognition was top of mind for the company, bent on making the most of name awareness to further connect with consumers.
Avis also adopted a cleaner look when it changed its logo in 2012. Like Enterprise, its appearance is bolder with the lettering wider than ever to symbolise its growth over the years since its start in 1946.
There’s one more thing about both the Avis and Enterprise logos: neither of them mention their function as a car rental company, since they seem satisfied the customers already know what they do. In contrast, when both companies began, they included logo text indicating they were in the business of renting cars.
What can small companies do?
Companies that don’t enjoy the status of being well-established might find it best to include their function in a design, however.
A professional logo designer would already have taken that element into consideration when called to create a graphic identity for a customer.
The designer also has to consider the strength of a first impression on everyone from customers to investors. A contemporary look is necessary to indicate that a company is keeping stride with the times. It should also be unique enough to make it stand apart from competitors.
Wrapping up
A picture might paint a thousand words, but a great, dynamic logo can help by bringing in thousands of customers and dollars to a business.
–
Thermeon’s 30 years of global experience in car rental software gives us the skills to understand your requirements, building systems that suit. CARS+ is the complete software solution to link your rental business directly to customers, partners and brokers.
Call us today at:
Europe, Middle East & Africa: +44 1293 864 334 / Americas: +1 (714) 731-9191 / Australia/Asia: +61 2 9846 0860 / New Zealand: +64 22 177 6242
Or email us at sales@thermeon.wpengine.com