Choosing a Logo Font for Your Home Improvement Firm's Brand Identity
A logo is the most prominent element in your brand identity. It's what prospects remember when they think of your firm.
If you've already done the hard work. You've come up with a memorable logomark that matches your brand and your prospective clients' interests. A logomark is an image used in conjunction with your company name. Its purpose is to make your firm easy to remember. The Nike swoosh, the Kentucky Colonel, the red circles for Target, the Shell shell, are all examples of memorable logomarks. A well-designed logo can be quickly and cheaply reproduced, and it works well in a full range of sizes and formats from favicon to vehicle signage to billboards. Still, you have one more detail to consider, and, in reality, it's no small choice: your logos font.
The font you choose for a logo can be just as important as the logomark you design. The worst thing you can do is skip any research and just pick the first font you see. (Since you're reading this article, we'll assume you want to do it the right way.) The font you end up with can further the impact of your logo and your brand, or it can weaken the effect and turn away potential customers.
But what does it take to choose the right font? These are our ideas on how to ensure you end up with exactly what you want, your customers expect, and your interior design firm needs.
Choose a Logo Font That's Dynamic
Like your logomark, your logos font needs to stand out from the crowd. And if you're working off an existing Word processing software catalog, it means you're choosing from among the same stack of fonts as your competitors. This can make standing out difficult.
While you may not want to go too far with originality, test out various fonts through sites that offer them and drop them into a quick mock up using graphic design software like Canva. We are a big fan of Adobe Typekit and Google Fonts. You'll be able to preview exactly what your logo font will look like with your firm's name emblazoned. At the very least, you'll get a better idea of what's available, even if you settle for something more traditional. But, as we've noted, our vote is to go bold! We are a big fan of Adobe Typekit and Google Fonts. You'll be able to preview exactly what your logo font will look like with your firm's name emblazoned. At the very least, you'll get a better idea of what's available, even if you settle for something more traditional. But, as we've noted, our vote is to go bold!
Choose a Logo Font That's Timeless
And while we advocate being bold, you do need to think long term. Constant logo changes evaporate any brand value. That means you'll want to avoid being on the cutting edge by jumping onto the latest trend with your logo font. If you see a new font pop up everywhere, hold off—it's likely just the latest trend. Proxima Nova comes to mind when.
Choose a Logo Font That is Simple
Simple means avoiding too many curls, swirls, or thin lines—none of these hold up well as logo fonts. Script fonts often fall into this category. But it also means choosing a font that's thick enough to provide some impact and help your logo's appearance in multiple sizes. Lastly, remember the value of space: Sometimes just adding space between the letters can bolster the impact.
In the end, you'll want to put it all together. And you have a range of choices. You can choose a word mark, in which the name and font is your logo; a pictorial mark, which includes an image and your name; an abstract mark, which adds a shape to suggest something about the values of your business; a letter mark, which abbreviates your firm's name as a letter or initial; an emblem, which combines images and letters to form a single, combined logo; or a character, which can serve as a mascot for your business. Your logo is an important part of your marketing efforts. Give your logo font considerable thought and it will be remembered by your prospects and results will be increased contacts from the clients you want to work for. Need help? Schedule a free consultation to discuss your options.
About Michael Conway
I'm the owner and strategist at Means-of-Production. My firm builds Squarespace websites, Houzz profiles, and content marketing and advertising solutions for architects, interior designers, design-build contractors and landscape design firms. Our all-in-one marketing tactics attract the right clients with exceptional architectural photography and brand messaging that sets you apart from the competition.