How many times we came across a well-designed website with a beautiful logo? Too many right? Well-known companies are not the only ones who think having a logo is critical to build their brands.
After all, a logo represents your company vision. But a logo design is not always needed, many freelancers and small business go ahead without a logo. And that is totally acceptable, before a company vision comes execution. This is probably the most crucial step for a company.
That said, a logo can be the first point of contact with your customers. Even though a logo is not the only means for a company to stand out, it can be very effective in spreading the message. However, if the product is not solving a problem, chances are the logo won’t make much of a difference.
“If your product sucks, your logo design means nothing” – Gary Waynerchuk
No, my company doesn’t need a logo
As Gary Waynerchuk says, a logo isn’t absolutely necessary, customers will remember your company for its main functions. The quality of your products or services, your capacity to delight your customers, to listen, to understand their needs, all of these comes first.
Say you want a smoothie, you remember the sugar free smoothies from the shop next door. You know they’re good because there aren’t many brands that cater sugar free drinks. You needs are satisfied, you feel listened, and you’re delighted with the product.
The logo design comes second, branding is complementary of an excellent product and not the other way around. A good logo design should communicate visually what your brand is about. But there are many other factors that make a brand unique.
In the visual arts, you probably have seen plenty of portfolio websites without a logo, again the portfolio communicates best what the person can do, and a logo is totally irrelevant. The same goes for start-ups wanting to stand out in a crowded market. A logo can help, but sharing what they do with their specific audiences is far more helpful.
Take a look at these examples of websites without logos.
Cedric Pereira
Cedric Pereira web portfolio captures the attention with a refreshing animation. The visual effects keep the visitor engaged. This website is clear, the user interface simple and the concept clever. There is no need for a logo, keeping things simple makes a bigger impact on your audience.
You can see she worked with big names, and this makes you want to know more about her. The “about” section at the top makes sense. The whole idea here is to have fun and explore Cedric creative collaborations.
Maltby Street Market
This landing page shows a wide angle shoot of a crowded market. This is a good way to communicate the type of business. The letters on the foreground, complement the picture. This Street market includes a number of local food traders.
They open every weekend, when the city gets busier, so the idea here is to welcome visitors into a friendly world of food and drinks. The market has a distinctive old-fashioned style, and the website shows that. A logo here is unnecessary, given the raw feeling the site conveys.
Rafal Tomal
Rafal website is cute and pleasant. He welcomes visitors with a simple introduction about himself, a cute drawing and a series of blog posts about design. Nothing too fancy, he keeps things simple and to the point. So, a logo design is pointless. His name is carefully displayed at the top left of the page.
The drawing on the left breaks all the seriousness, and stands for an informal way of communicating with the audience. The rest of the page is somehow minimalist, and probably he wants to draw the attention to the CTA button and his products.
As you can see, these websites communicate quite well their core mission, without a logo screaming at your face. They are simple, but, the message is powerful enough to make you want to know more.
Yes, My Website Needs a Logo Design
Many websites have logos on the top, this is common since the top is the section you see first when you enter a site. Usually, a logo gives the visitor few clues about the product or service. A logo makes the whole design more stylish and the user interface flawless.
A logo also makes the visitor to gather an idea of what the brand is about. In addition, a logo design can be displayed in other pages in the site. A logo embodies the essence of the brand and can go anywhere around the website.
These websites are perfect examples of how logos enhance the visual aspects of a brand.
Micro by Many
Micro by Many is a website about collectable mini cars. As soon as you enter the site you see a collection of mini cars all over the page.
The logo M by M on the top changes colour every time you click on it. The user interface allows you to get more clues about the cars just by clicking on them. The cars behave like a card game, the info is displayed on the back of the cards. This website won an Award for best design, the interactive design makes visitors curious about this huge car collection.
Ringo
Ringo is a bakery from Japan. Their logo design gets a bit sophisticated here. The brand name is displayed at the top left almost unrecognizable. Then, an animation with a pendant shows the logo “Ringo” at the centre of the page. Also, a picture with the logo is on the right side.
The animation brings a great feeling. It’s a fun way to think about food. Red is the colour that ignites appetite, this brand cleverly used the pendant to create a sense of urgency to buy their pastries.
Artyco
Artyco is a Spanish agency which specialises in the scenic arts. The logo shows a guy walking on a rope, umbrella in hand. This logo doesn’t need explanation. Here having a bigger than usual logo design works quite well for the kind of industry this website represents.
This logo design conveys playfulness and a non-conformist attitude. Artyco is all about arts, the close-ups of the hands playing the guitar complements their message. Besides, the entire design is clear and very straight forward and the colour palette simple.
Conclusion
Going back to the question, does my website need a logo design? It all depends on your industry, the message you want to convey, the kind of product you’re selling and the size of your company.
If you’re a young company, at the beginning a logo is not a priority, as long as you deliver a clear message. If you’re a bit more established and want to build a strong brand identity a logo design definitely can help.
Having a logo is the tip of the iceberg, a quality product or service is more effective than a logo. That said, a logo design can make you look more professional, even when you’re a beginner.
Guest article written by: Maricel Dragan is a blogger/visual artist/maker working for a young start-up https://www.48hourslogo.com/ When she’s not writing, she wanders the city with her camera.