Numerous companies devote endless hours to modifying and improving their design. Especially on their brand logo. As it represents their entire brand. But what happens when the logo is released into the world?
It would help if you utilized your brand in numerous ways, including animations. And you’ll need to adhere to a few fundamental guidelines to ensure that your logo and business are well reflected in the final animation.
Here are three logo animation dos and don’ts, beginning with…
1. Contrast
Color contrast is one of the most critical decisions you can make while animating a logo. Evolution has conditioned our eyes to seek and fixate on these visual ‘disruptors,’ hence it is essential to employ contrast in this instance.
How to Use Contrast in Animated Logos
First, ensure that the background and foreground colors contrast with each other. You want your animated logo to be the focal point of viewers’ attention, not something they glance past to see what’s behind it.
However, it would help if you also experimented with an engaging background to complement the logo. With the perfect blend of motion and contrast, you can create a memorable appearance on that you can hang your brand’s hat.
Contrast Don’ts
This should be obvious (as will be the case with many of these “don’ts”), but avoid making your logo difficult to read. It’s enjoyable to experiment with vibrant colors, animations, gradients, etc., but keep sight of the primary focus.
Similarly, ensure that the background is distinct from the logo itself. You should reconsider your strategy if the animation or design dominates your animated logo.
2. Branding
When designing a new animated logo for a brand, you must consider the past before moving forward.
Here, we are not attempting to be obscure or philosophical. We are discussing the brand’s current visual identity, including colors, typefaces, and lines.
For example, if you were designing an animated logo for the Los Angeles Lakers, you would choose purple and gold rather than orange and green. In contrast, if you were to create an animated logo for Nickelodeon, you would do the reverse.
Observing this guideline is likely the essential learning from this passage. If you adhere to a brand’s defined aesthetic, you will receive fewer revision requests and more praise.
How to Use Branding with Animated Logos
Ensure that you have the brand’s unique colors and fonts on hand before creating the logo animation. Request the brand’s branding guidelines or “lookbook” to validate this information. There should be existing colors in the logo to which you should also refer.
Also, evaluate the brand’s tone and target audience. Returning to the preceding example, an animation created for the Lakers’ audience is unlikely to resonate with the Nickelodeon audience, and vice versa.
Branding Don’ts
When you receive brand rules, you should respect them! Again, your animated logo should complement your brand’s existing marketing assets. Here, there is no need to recreate the entire color wheel.
In addition, do not alter the logo’s proportions or “warp” it in any way, and ensure that it is not pixelated or low-resolution in your animation. Customers with keen eyesight will notice these faults, and as a result, your credibility will suffer.
3. Simplicity
When producing an animated logo, the widespread availability of modern computer animation tools makes it simple to “go big.” That does not make it a good idea, however.
Keep in mind that you are animating a logo for an established brand. Thus, there are few chances to experiment with something new as you are not creating a new marketing campaign or targeting a new demographic. Stay straightforward, focused, and on target.
How to Make Your Logo Animation Straightforward
When designing an animated logo, emphasize the logo, not the animation. Don’t become too preoccupied with the newest techniques that you lose sight of the project’s objective.
Keep the animation’s tone consistent with the brand’s voice. For instance, if you’re animating the logo for a premium watch brand, your design choices should be vastly different from those of a fast-food business.
Additional Do Nots
The majority of this article is devoted to establishing norms and guidelines. But there are still many areas for creativity and innovation. Therefore, feel free to experiment in various ways. And avoid being dull; failing to make an impression is also a concern.
Our final “don’t” is the inverse of “keep it simple”: don’t make your logo animation too long or complex. Often, less really is more.
To Sum Up
An excellent logo may appear to be a thankless chore. But if you produce something visually engaging that effectively reflects your business and resonates with your audience, you accomplish something significant, even if it appears insignificant.
