Transcription
What if I were to tell you today, in this episode, we'll teach you how to design a logo for your company that'll be the next billion-dollar company that you own? How exciting is that, right?
Okay, before I get into the episode, let me manage your expectations. Know that no matter how amazing of a logo you design, it has very little to do with being a billion-dollar company. But still, there is a science to designing a logo. I'm going to talk to you about that today.
So, before I get into the episode, the title is going to be "How to Build the Next Iconic Brand or Iconic Logo." If you've got any questions, thoughts, comments as I'm going through it, comment on the bottom. And if you haven't yet subscribed to this channel, click right here to subscribe to the ValueTainment channel.
Okay, let's get right into it. Number one, first thing you've got to know is there are 5 different types of logos. It's very simple, 5.
First one is a word mark. Word mark means where the name of the company is the actual logo, like Coca-Cola, Google, Yahoo. The actual name becomes the logo. Visa. So you see these names out there. The reason why you may want to consider a word mark logo is because maybe you're newer, so you want everybody that does business with you to constantly read the name of your company until you're established. Then possibly, you can drop the name if you want to.
So, I'll go to the second, which is pictorial. Kind of like that Twitter, you see the bird, or HP, or Apple, the actual Apple, or, you know, the Target, you see the target on there. You have to be a little bit more established so people know who you are for you to be able to do this, but still, this works as you're going through it for a pictorial logo.
The third type is abstract. Abstract is Sprint, Playboy, Pepsi, Nike. It's very different, it's very unique. And when you decide to design an abstract logo, I highly, highly recommend you use a pro to help you do it. And because of that, this video is sponsored by Fiverr.
Fiverr recently launched a new initiative called Fiverr Pro. And what they do with Fiverr Pro is very simple. Just keep in mind, you know, their campaign is "Get more, do more with less." So everything you're going to do with Fiverr is the same, except the person that's going to design your logo will be one of the best in the world for they do. So these are people that work with Google, CNN, Nike, Sports Illustrated, Miller Lite. They design, they work for companies like that, but someone like you can have that same person design that logo for you. And this is why Fiverr now goes through this heavy-duty vetting process when this talent comes in. What's your resume? Got people that are going to be working that have 12 million followers on Instagram, who do this on a daily basis for massive companies, and they can do it for you as well. So you can go to Fiverr and look up Fiverr Pro and find out all the other services that they have. So if you're going to go and design an abstract logo, I highly recommend you use a pro to help you do it.
Number four, mascot. Mascot is like KFC, Kool-Aid, Planters Peanut. A mascot works if your audience is younger, if it's younger kids, or if it's a younger audience. Mascots attract with that. One of the good things about mascots, everybody likes taking selfies with mascots. Or nowadays, a mascot could be all over Instagram, all over social media, and you can have a name for the mascot, and people see the mascot, and there's a hashtag for the mascot. So there's a community. It works, but you've got to make sure it matches the audience that you want.
Last but not least is an emblem logo. We're talking Harvard, you know, University. We're talking Harley-Davidson. We may be talking Starbucks. This is emblem. Emblem type of logos works when it's public universities or, you know, food drinks like Budweiser. Emblems work when you're talking about those kinds of industries, but it may not work for everything. So you've got to ask yourself, whichever industry you're part of, which logo style would work for what you're trying to design.
Number two, avoid trendy looks. Let me tell you what I mean by avoid trendy looks. Right now, you know, every time I go to an exotic car and I'm thinking about buying another Lambo or Ferrari or whatever car it is, I see matte black everywhere. Okay? You go to nice parties, and it's matte black Audi, matte black Ferrari, matte black Lambo, matte black Rolls. And I would say, "Man, black is so sick, I want to do everything my car matte black." Do you really think matte black is gonna be hot 20 years from now? I don't know. I can't tell you matte black is gonna be hot 20 years from now. So don't try to build a logo that's specifically trendy because an investor is gonna want to buy a company, they want to see this is something that's gonna last a long time. So don't get too creative with the logo because if you get too creative, you may fall out of any one of these, and that may also not work for you. And this is one of the reasons why I like getting multiple options, get multiple people designing a logo for you, kind of see where you're liking, choose that designer and work with that person.
Number three, choose colors wisely. What colors have a lot of things? They say a lot. You and I don't know, but they say a lot to the person that's looking at the brand. Red means fire and emotion. Like when you see a red logo, it brings something out of you, right? Blue is stability, confident. Think about some of the companies that are blue, stability, confidence. Yellow is energetic, it's fresh. Green represents trust, calm. Starbucks green, right? And calm, it's relaxed. And purple, royalty, power. Orange could be happiness, credibility, creativity. Black is bold and serious. I'm about Tiger Woods' logo, black, bold, I'm serious, I'm bold, I mean business. Pink is warmth, love. Brown is nature, reliable, strong, right? So you've got to pick and choose a color that matches whatever sign you're gonna go here, that represents the energy or the feeling you want to give me as somebody that wants to decide to do business with you and your company.
Number four, time. Here's the thing you've got to realize. Remember how I said, "Imagine if I told you, design a perfect logo that'll be the next million-dollar company?" I said, "Before we manage your expectations," to this grand expectation of, "Oh my gosh, this logo is gonna make my company." Let's ask the most important question. So, very basic question, okay? Because the debate is, it's very important. You design a great logo, and no, it's not. It has nothing to do with the best logo you design. So who is right? Right? This is another debate. Here's a question to be asking: Perfect logo, average marketing versus horrible logo or average logo, but innovative marketing. Who do you think wins? So you've got somebody that understands marketing very, very well, but it's got a decent logo, versus somebody that's got a ridiculous logo, but's got no good marketing. I don't see who do you think is gonna win? You've got to realize marketing is very critical. But then here becomes the question, what if you can do both? What if you hire a pro that designs a real cool logo for you, and at the same time, you have innovative marketing? Then what do you have? Now you have something working for you.
Now I've got to keep this amount about logos. Okay, the one thing about logos is, a logo is not like, you know, I'm gonna go and Kobe Bryant with the Lakers, that's gonna be with me for 20 years, and we're gonna win five championships, guarantee. Or I'm gonna go and be Babe Ruth or Tom Brady, that's gonna bring me five Super Bowls. When it comes to logos, they're not home runs, they're base hits. Logos are all about base. It's all about constantly seeing it over and over and over and over and over and over again. Eventually, it stays here. They say the average kid, right now, the average kid, 40% of two to three-year-olds can recognize logos and match it with the company. But 100% of eleven-year-old kids can look at a logo and match it to a company. So that's this company. They do it with cars. You have kids, you can see this is this, that's this, this is this. People know logos and they match it with a company. But you've got to be patient. Time is your enemy, and time is your friend. The more places everywhere you put them, they see it. Some are direct marketing, some are indirect marketing, some you're expecting me to see it, some is on the background, I'm seeing it, but I'm not only to really see it, but I'm really seeing it, right? On some, what I'm saying? So yeah, I thought I saw that logo over there. I thought eyes, you're supposed to see the logo here. You weren't expecting to see the logo here. Both of them said there's that. This is not a marketing video, this is more of a logo video, but it's something for you to be thinking about.
Number five, what do you think about when you think about these companies? Remember how you design your logo, your audience is gonna have a feeling when they think about these companies. So I'm gonna put up a picture, a logo of any one of these companies. I want you to write down on the bottom exactly what you felt when you saw this logo of this company. Ready? Let's go with the first one. Here it is. McDonald's. What do you think about when you think about McDonald's? I want you to type your feelings on the bottom. What do you think about when you think about McDonald's? Here's the next one. Apple. What do you think about when you think about Apple? Here's another one for you. What do you think about? You see Playboy, the logo, what comes to your mind? What do you think about when you see Patriots, New England Patriots? How about the Raiders? When you think about Oakland Raiders? These are all brands. How about the Red Sox? You ready for this last one here? How about Spirit Airlines? What do you think about when you think about Spirit Airlines? I am so curious what you're gonna say. What you said is what others will say about your logo. So you've got to know that you need to know exactly what feelings. So if I said McDonald's and you said happy, you know, or you said fats, you know, because the food isn't good, that's what you're thinking because somebody's under marketing. Coca-Cola, I'm happy, you know. Apple, slick, or you may say expensive, overpriced. But whatever came to your mind. Spirit Airlines, worst airline in the world, hypothetically, uncomfortable. An airline will you send your in-laws on? Right on airline that you get your enemies, right? But whatever it is, you thought about something. Now you need to think about what you want me to feel when I think about your logo.
And last but not least, before I give you some cool tips, did you know Sears? This, it's never too late to evolve and make your logo better. Okay? You may have a logo that's, I've really can't stand my logo, but I've had it for 20 years. What do I do about this? Never too late. Let me give you some companies that evolved. Here's what Pepsi used to look like, and here's what Pepsi looks like today. Okay? Here's what Pepsi looks like today. Here's what Apple used to be. This is what Apple is today. Before and after. This company here that you see is IBM. Now, this is what IBM looks like today. This other company, you look at here's Nokia. Here's what Nokia looks like today. And this is Canon. Remember Canon? This is Canon's logo, and this is what Canon's logo looks like today. At some point, these companies made a decision to evolve and change their logos and make it look better. A lot of companies do it. Don't feel that when you decide to adjust. If everything I covered with you felt good about the brand that you have in place, keep going. If you didn't, you can always adjust. Entire story too. But this time, make sure you hire pros to do that for you instead of just going out there and winging it. I understand when we went get company, new brand, you just kind of want to put a logo out there, you don't know a lot about it, and just kind of excited about something that made sense. As you mature as a business owner, you have a time to take the time out and figure out how I can do it better.
Now, let me give you some fun facts, you know, and and and we'll go from there. So number one, Twitter. What do you think Twitter paid for their logo? Twitter, big brand, well-known, top five websites in the world. They paid $15 for their logo. Nike, the lady that designed Nike's logo was paid $35. The Nike owners initially couldn't stand the logo when it came out. Now Nike's all over the place simply because Nike started putting it on the shoes. Next thing you know, it became big. Number three, Obama's 2008 campaign. 2008 campaign, they paid $1 million for that logo. It was so close to Pepsi that Pepsi won and said, "Listen, we wonder why'd you take our logo? This is our logo." They wrote a 27-page explanation why this is a different logo, having to do with Da Vinci and all these other things that they talked about, which is a pretty interesting fun story to read about if that interests you. And BBC. BBC company, you know, British Broadcasting. It's a big company, everyone knows BBC around the world. They paid $1.8 million for their logo. Listen, logos matter. And if I had to do it all over again, I'm telling you, if you have to do it all over again, go get a pro to help you put a logo together.
So if you've got any questions, thoughts about anything I talked about today, comment on the bottom. And if you haven't subscribed to this channel yet, be sure to click on the subscribe button. And if you're not part of the notifications squad, click on the little alert button right next to it. You'll be notified a video every time these videos come out. Take everybody. Provide. [Music]