The 3 Logo Variations Your Brand Needs
While messaging is really the most important aspect of your branding, I get asked questions about logos the most often. Brand identity, which is comprised of the visual components of your branding, often get the most attention because they’re the most visible. If you like a good ol’ metaphor, you can think of branding as an iceberg and the tiny little portion you see above the water is your brand identity whereas your messaging, reputation, and everything in between is what lies beneath the surface.
In order to make sure your brand identity is versatile and can adapt to a variety of situation, you’ll need at least 3 logo variations. In this post I’ll explain why you need these variations, the differences between each logo variation you should have in your arsenal, and when and how to use each of them!
Why you need logo variations
The most important thing you can do to maintain the effectiveness of your brand is to use all elements consistently. By having multiple logo variations, you’ll have an option at your disposal to suit every need (instead of having to squish a format to fit a space that’s too tight or trying to DIY a new option that will work on the fly—eek! 🙈). Having this different variations will save you time and reinforce your branding!
Variation 1:
Primary Logo
Your primary logo is the one you will use most often. It’s perfect for displaying on your website, on marketing materials, business cards and so much more.
Your primary logo should contain your full business name along with any supporting text you and your brand designer felt were beneficial to your overall messaging strategy.
Variation 2:
Secondary Logo
Your secondary logo will be the option you use when the format of your primary logo just won’t work for the space you need. If your primary logo is more vertical (like the logo in the example above), then your secondary logo should be more horizontal. If your primary logo is more horizontal your secondary logo should be more vertical. Your secondary logo may or may not have some of the support elements removed or repositioned.
Variation 3:
Submark
Your submark is the most distilled and minimal of your logo options. It might include your business name, monogram, or other brand elements.
It’s perfect for social media platforms, as your website favicon, as a watermark on social posts, on proposal documents or media kits and so much more!
Additional Variations
Depending on your unique brand persona and strategy, your brand may also have additional variations as well.
For example, for Modern Co. Marketing, we created a brand that focused on this agency’s unique ability to transform its client's’ businesses through exceptional digital marketing services. The overlapping pieces of the custom monogram represent the collaborative nature of Modern Co. Marketing’s approach to developing transformative marketing strategies. Taking the transformative concept one step further, I wanted a variation where the monogram literally transformed. Through the animation expertise of Yeti Island, we were able to bring that concept to life.
Are you ready to up-level your brand and business through strategic design?
Whether you’re looking to attract your ideal clients with ease, streamline your marketing process with a set of exceptional visual elements, or just feel REALLY FREAKIN’ GOOD about your branding, I’d love to chat!