“If you do it right, it will last forever”. -Massimo Vignelli.

When it comes to logo and brand designing, this couldn’t be truer. Once the brand identity design for your firm or business is just right, it will never fail to make an impact. The idea is to create such an impression on the consumer that you are not simply another name in the market. This becomes even more challenging to prove if your niche is advertising.

As a firm, you have to prioritize your brand logo above everything else in the beginning. Think of it as a selling factor that will convince clients and customers to work with your firm. Now, you might be wondering that if you already have a logo, what more can you do with it? 

If you are looking to add something extra to your advertising firm logo, you have come to the right place! It is actually possible to redesign your advertising brand with a little effort. Read on to know how you can make it happen.

Go Back to the Basics

If you are familiar with what goes into the designing process of a logo, then you should go back to those basics. It’s all about starting from the first step again and coming up with an entirely new image for your business. What you have to do is look at a logo design from a fresh perspective, as if you are beginning the process for the first time. So go back to figuring out the personality of your brand, brainstorming and visualizing the future of your firm.

Know Your Brand Thoroughly

The more you know your brand, the clearer the message you send out. As an advertising firm, if you are unable to express yourself in the best way possible, then you most probably cannot do it for anybody else. The client or customer has to be convinced that you are going to help them achieve their advertising and marketing goals. Once you know your brand thoroughly, you are able to come up with a logo graphic that captures its personality and appeals to the eye immediately. Take the McCann brand design for instance, it has carried the message of the company throughout the years and is now recognized globally.

Research Your Niche

Basically, this is about keeping up with industry trends and finding out what your competitors are doing. At the end, you do not want to end up with a redesign that reminds the customer of a competitor or has been done before. Your advertising firm should have a unique icon so that it stands out and instantly reminds the consumer of your brand. Look at Ogilvy’s rebranding in the recent years. They went from the founder’s signature to a new logo and it still manages to appeal to the customer and stay true to the brand promise.

Focus on the Visuals

The color, font and typefaces are very important when it comes to redesign the advertising firm’s logo. There are a lot of things to consider when deciding upon these factors which make up the visuals of your brand identity design. With the colors, types and fonts, you want something that is trendy, yet classic so that it never really looks outdated. You can look for contrasting colors such as red and white, black and pink, or go with solids like blue, green or purple as they will always be able to attract attention.

Similarly, the font and typeface should be able to engage the customer with its appearance. Do not overcrowd your design with too many symbols, objects or shapes. The visuals need to be simple, creative and able to connect with your customer. In the words of Christoph Niemann, “Get rid of everything that is not essential to making a point.”

Sketch and Conceptualize

When you are brainstorming ideas, try and put them out on paper so you can see how it might turn out. This will also help you when you get feedback and opinions from other people. Think about different texts you might want in your custom logos, alphabets or symbols, and then sketch them out on white paper. You can even have mascots or just the name of your advertising company in some form. Take BBDO or Engine Group for example. Both the firms have chosen to highlight their name through font and color, and have made waves in the industry with their logos.

If you find conceptualizing challenging, use tools like logo makers for ideas and inspiration.

Be Creative but Keep it Simple

The more complicated your design gets, the less effective it becomes. This doesn’t mean that you have to let go of your creativity in any way. It’s mainly how smart you are in carrying a creative design through without confusing anyone. You have to focus on creating something which requires minor changes through the years and is on trend as well. Consider the logo for Adidas, it may look different in a few places but the symbols and typeface have remained the same. Most advertising firms have been sticking to the trend of minimal graphics and designs with their logos, and usually it works.

Look for Feedback

You can ask the people around you or professionals for feedback and reviews on your creation. This will help you figure out whether the client or customer will connect with it or does it need to be tweaked further. When it comes to this, you have to be able to handle criticism and take it in a positive way. Do not take a lot of opinions or reviews, or you may end up with something that is completely different from your firm’s vision. Run your design by a few employees and friends and you will get any idea of where to improve.

Mylin Anne