A logo is a six second short story that communicates and distinguishes your brand’s identity. Composed of either visuals, words, or both, it is a powerful vessel that carries meaning and fully engages intelligence, imagination, and emotion to signify who you are as a brand. It is the first thing people notice when you introduce your brand, and will be forever ingrained in their minds as the symbol that embodies who you are.  

Think of your brand as a room in a building. Your logo is your door, and your brand is a room among many rooms in that building. As people stroll through the halls, they can only see the doors. To get people in the door and into your room-- your brand, it must be seductive, striking and unlike any other. After all, there won’t be anyone to appreciate the beautiful interior of your place if no one wants to open the door.

But what makes a logo one of a kind? Read on to learn what makes a logo unique, how it tells a brand’s story, and how it’s processed by our minds.

The brain understands a logo in three sequences…

Silhouette

The first thing we recognize in a logo is its silhouette. It is the most easily distinguishable element, and is therefore the foundation that determines your brand. Our brains are wired to acknowledge and memorize distinctive silhouettes, so those that are simple yet unique will make a quicker imprint on memory and also create a lasting impression.

To build a solid foundation for Hurray Design, for example, our design team at PINO used the “H” in “Hurray” as the brand’s primary mark and silhouette. Not only is it unique and easy to remember; its versatility allows the brand to apply it in a number of different ways to create a more powerful, cohesive and memorable experience for their audience.

ColorThe second thing our brains register are logo colors. Colors carry meaning and evoke emotions, and we instantly form an association between these and the brand. Distinctive colors have the power not only to capture attention and build brand awareness, but to establish differentiation from other brands, which is especially important in competitive markets.

For instance, our team helped CDO distinguish itself and tell its story better through color. Shifting from colors that were quite standardized in the food industry like blue and red, to colors that were more true to the brand’s warm and motherly personality like yellow and red, CDO is better able to communicate who they are and what makes them different. This shift in color was also strategic for the brand to attract more customers as studies have shown that Filipinos associate hot, tasty food with warm colors like red, orange, and yellow.

Form

Form is the last thing that audiences recognize, but not the least. Each of these three elements are absolutely necessary to build a logo that perfectly captures a brand’s story. Form takes more time for the brain to process as it is made up of words and tiny yet significant details among others. Understanding these elements as a whole and not as individual parts, the form should not have more than 5 elements to ensure efficient understanding and easy brand recall.

The form our team developed for Kashmir’s logo demonstrates this greatly. Incorporating a blossoming flower that holds three meanings, the logo conveys the brand’s story with simplicity and efficiency. The flower itself is a symbol of divine beauty and purity, the blossoming of it depicts growth of the soul, and together, the whole mirrors the soulful passion of the three sisters—visually represented by three petals—who started Kashmir.

Different at first sight

As a whole, your logo must be able to catch your audience’s eye and tell them who you are within seconds. It should imprint itself in their minds as the mark that encapsulates what you do and what you stand for. A logo becomes more powerful when people can easily link it to your brand and when they constantly encounter it, so design to tell your story, and tell it everywhere and to everyone.