Ways in which businesses interact with users are constantly transitioning as time goes on. A key part of the interaction is through logo design. At one point a logo design for a company would stay the same wherever the logo was used. However now, because of ever-changing technology, screen logos have had to transcend platforms like never before, changing logo design forever as well as user experience.
IMAGE: UNSPLASH
Shrinking Screens
Today the rate at which users interact with different brands through a smartphone is higher than ever before. Screens are shrinking, so using the same logo isn’t always best for user experience – scaled logos can end up becoming distorted and then confusing customers who may not be able to get the design. In order to respond to this problem, designers have had to rethink logos to suit smaller screens.
The key issue is that user experience can be disrupted through distortion, and often the brand’s design gets lost, not getting through to users. Having logos where text and images are completely intertwined makes the situation even harder.
Loading Times
Another issue that companies have had to deal with to enhance user experience is ways to reduce loading times. It’s factually proven that if companies can decrease their loading time by just one second sales go up by 7%.
Because of this, a different type of logo design has become very popular: the flat logo design trend. Flat logo design essentially eliminates patterns, shadows and gradients, and this makes it easier for a logo to be recognized across all platforms. Another key reason why flat logo designs are used apart from the aesthetic is their power to change loading times. Because there is simply less to load, logos load much faster.
Flat Design
Flat design originally came about in the early 2000s, taking its inspiration from minimal typography. It’s started to grow in recent years especially, as bigger companies start to take on this type of design, and its prevalence becomes bigger.
Flat logo designs are great for user experience, allowing for fast loading and simple scaling, which makes it perfect for things like social media, improving customer satisfaction.
Google And Mastercard
According to Forbes, Google is the second most valuable brand in the world – so inevitably, where they choose to go they will be followed – and this is what happened, when they changed to flat logo design in 2014. It created not one, but 3 logos: 2 supplementary ones, for things like loading screens. Their reason for doing so was for user experience, claiming that they seek to ‘design experiences that inspire and enlighten our users.’
Following their footsteps, Mastercard has also updated their logo. They’ve launched a new design in the wake of online banking. They reworked their classic design for millennial bankers who are more accustomed to online banking – though there was care taken so their loyal customers didn’t feel alienated. It proved great for user experience, with most users still recognizing it despite some drastic changes, such as removing the text from the logo.
Meeting Needs
Logos are arguably the most important part of a brand, displaying everything the company is about visually.
It is very rare for professionals to come up with a new design off the top of their head and to just roll with it. During a logo designing process, the user needs to be left thinking that there was some thought put into designing this logo – whether they think that consciously or unconsciously. One way companies ensure the customer doesn’t feel neglected is by keeping familiar shapes or colors in places. The point is that the logo isn’t completely separate from what it was before.
The easiest way to get minimal logo design success is by narrowing your ideas down to the main message you’re trying to share with the audience and reducing it to its most basic and iconic form. Having minimalist designs is great for user experience – it ensures your design transcends the multiple screens used today, and so your logo can be used on screen, print, and merchandise, without any brand recognition being lost.
Logo design is just one aspect of user experience, but it’s a very important one at that, so you need to ensure you make the best one have the competitive edge against other companies and make users feel like they are well-interacted with. If you’re lost on creating the best logo, you can start off by using a logo maker. TRUiC is an online site that offers free tools to help you start a business and succeed, and one such tool they have is a logo maker. Visit this site to use it and help you start off smoothly: https://howtostartanllc.com/logo-maker
If you are interested in even more design-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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