How To Test Logos with Helpfull Surveys

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A Unique And Resonate Brand Image Is Vital For Any Business

When competing in a global market space with thousands of potential rivals, logo design is vital for any organization. In a line-up of other brands, having a powerful logo design could very well be the deciding factor in whether or not a potential customer clicks through to your website.

While every enterprising entrepreneur understands the importance of a powerful logo design, the process of actualizing these desires can seem unclear. You’ve likely heard the following phrase repeated ad-nausea by business experts and graphic designers alike - “A brand is the most valuable asset a company owns.” Anyone can create a logo - but creating one that is unique, easily identifiable, and resonates strongly with a target demographic is a daunting task.

Make Sure You're Asking The Right Questions To Get Quick and Meaningful Feedback.

In this article, we will be discussing how - through the use of questionnaire and survey - we can develop visually striking logos. We will explore the process behind developing and showcasing logo designs, and delve into how any business can whittle down ideas with viable consumer feedback until they’ve settled upon their final, ideal logo.

Using a Logo Test Survey to Improve Your Designs

Apple, Amazon, Coca-Cola. Aside from being industry leaders in their respective fields, on the whole it would seem these three companies have little in common. In spite of their many differences, there is one uniting factor that plays a major role in the success of each one of these industry giants - that is, a strong and uniquely identifiable brand.

A logo consists of two primary components: the word-mark, and the identifying symbol.

In the example above, the three initial designs for the Helpfull logo are featured in an image-comparison survey designed using the app. While each logo is distinct from the other, they all aim to achieve the same goal: catch the audience’s attention, inform them of our company name, provide parity to other brands in the same industry, and clearly communicate the organization’s operational focus.

It is imperative that the logo reflects the nature of your business. For a logo to satisfy these requirements, the designer must have an intimate understanding of the industry the business is operating in, as well as the target demographics the business is aimed towards. For Helpfull, the logo must serve to seat the organization in the correct industry (web-based research & design) inside the minds of the consumer. In addition, the logo must be aesthetically pleasing and emotionally resonant. Each of the examples shown above were designed to elicit a sense of collaboration, friendliness, and community.

In the logo design process, very rarely do the first design iterations end up becoming the final product. More often than not, logos and icons go through dozens of revisions and changes. One of the most effective processes for logo creation is subtractive design. Subtractive design involves removing as many elements from the logo as possible, while still retaining the overall effectiveness of the design. Tech giants like Google, Twitter, and Facebook all utilize extremely simple logo designs to great effect.

When looking at how to design a logo, getting feedback throughout the creation process is vital.

Consumer Research Surveys Are Powerful Tools Every Business Needs.

In order to get started with your logo testing survey, you're going to want to identify who your target audience is. Logo testing can be an expensive marketing activity - if you're not refining your audiences.

Looking to get the most out of your market research survey? Here's what you can do.

To get feedback on our brand imagery at the onset, we conducted several brand surveys to help inform us of the merits of our current logo considerations.

For each logo testing survey conducted, consumers overwhelmingly chose the “smile” logo. Drafting multiple surveys is always the best route for ensuring results that are statistically sound. It also allows for a greater variety of consumer feedback to be given on any particular product iteration; designers should always note consumer sentiment when developing their logos, and should course-correct appropriately.

The selection of comments above were taken straight from the Helpfull logo image-comparison survey. In just a few hours, hundreds of consumers were exposed to the three initial logo drafts choices; these comments and shared experiences are vital for determining the success of your company’s logo. No matter how elegant the concept, or how well the designer might imagine it will resonate with consumers - the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. Consumers decide what is and isn’t effective, and they do so by voting with their wallets.

We can see from the respondents above that the “smiling” logo (Option 1) best evokes the positive consumer affections that we want. Consumers reported strong feelings of community, cooperation, and helpfulness; this is how we make sure we're the right course with our  creative process.

When developing a logo, it’s important to understand not only how consumers respond to changes, but why they do so. In psychology, the Gestalt Theory postulates that the human brain unifies visual data and artistic elements into a unique whole. Humans are more likely to form patterns out of similarly shaped objects; objects that stand out or are unique from the rest often become a focal point of the image. This little bit of consumer psychology is very valuable to marketers, who want to develop the most effective branding possible.

For a brand that emphasizes collaboration and community, the elements of the logo must be harmonious and alike. As such, all of the visual elements of the Helpfull logo utilize wide strokes and rounded edges. The utilization of negative space in the symbol promotes harmony between the different elements, while also aiding in the creation of a simpler, more elegant logo.

Utilize Color to Make Your Logo Design Pop

The color of a logo is a critical component in brand image design. The human brain responds in very meaningful ways to color; it’s baked into our psyche. In the time where humans lived in hunter-gatherer societies, the perception of color and the associations made with the colors of flora and fauna very well meant the difference between life and death. We even associate deeply human concepts like our own emotions with color, like with such terms as “feeling blue”. When designing an effective logo, the colors consumers associate with your logo must work in a way that fits with your desired brand image.

When selecting colors for your logo, it is important to consider color theory and the associations consumers have with them. The Logo Company explores color theory and logo design in detail, through listing out the various emotions/traits associated with each color. Their analysis also includes the relevant industries that compliment each color. In the Helpfull example, the colors blue and orange - while aesthetically pleasing - also connect subconscious associations in the consumer’s mind between color and industry.

The Logo Company website describes the color Blue as being associated with qualities such as calm, professionalism, business, and credibility. The Logo Company notes that the color blue is utilized in the fields of high-tech, science, and information technology. Orange, being a color that denotes creativity, dynamics, energy, and enthusiasm, is often found in logos for businesses in the industry of human resources or education.

Test, Test - Then Test Again

Ultimately, the most vital component in determining a brand logo’s effectiveness is the consumer feedback. Any good graphic designer will tell you to get a second opinion when drafting a logo; with the Helpfull app, you can get five-hundred “second opinions” in a day’s time.

During the final stages of the logo development process, a variety of consumer data was taken on the various color-oriented design iterations. Consumers responded overwhelmingly positive towards the logos that featured both the teal-blue and orange colors in tandem. Respondents associated the colors with feelings of inclusiveness, and were most drawn to the vibrancy of the design. Some consumers even felt as though the black coloration of the Helpfull iconography denoted a racial bias in the target consumer audience. These are factors a typical logo designer may completely overlook, had they not tested their logo amongst a wide and varied survey audience.

Remember - The Customer Is Always Right!

While it may seem strange to think of them as such, consumers are the masters of brand design. They spend every day staring at the logos of their favorite messenger platforms, social media outlets, their soft drinks, their cars. With the amount of advertising the average consumer ingests on a weekly basis, they know what does and does not make for an effective logo - even if they aren’t consciously aware of it. As such, the best tool a designer can utilize in the logo creation process is not the logo design app - but the consumer response survey.

A user-friendly interface, coupled with lightning-fast data collection and a robust results page makes Helpfull the ultimate tool for any designer or entrepreneur.

Sign up with Helpfull today, and showcase your designs in front of an audience of thousands!