Your company’s logo is there to speak to your customers, current and potential. It conveys the business’s name and what it stands for in one recognizable symbol. However, while company logos have historically been associated with static symbols, life is constantly evolving, and so is how companies communicate with their customers. We have websites, social media, and digital communications. As a consequence, logos can now be animated as well as static.
An animated logo is an excellent creative means for a company to engage with its clientele, but how should it go about it? We’ll break down what an animated logo needs to say to customers, how to say it, and how to actually animate it.
Understanding animated logos
Business logos are far from a new phenomenon. The brewery Bass trademarked its red triangle logo in 1876, while tea merchants Twinings’ logo dates back to 1787. And, of course, individuals, government offices, counties, states, and countries have been using seals, monograms, ciphers, and coats of arms as marks of identity, authority, and sanction for millennia.
Due to digital communication, logos have taken on a new life in recent years. Logos no longer need to be static on billboards or print media but can be animated for use in broadcast, websites, and social media. Logos have come to life.
While every brand will still require a static logo, for example, for product packaging and printed materials, the ability to inject movement into a logo has enormous marketing potential for any company.
Make a strong first impression
An animated logo grabs your viewers’ attention and can make a strong first impression. A good animated logo will stick in someone’s memory, which is what branding is all about.
Google’s logo is a great example of one that catches people’s attention. It is brightly colored, and the changes tell a story while also informing you of Google’s capabilities and what it can do for you.
Tell a story
A significant element of marketing is about telling the story of your company through its brand. An animated logo acts as an excellent storytelling vehicle that will help cement your company’s brand into people’s consciousness. What the story is and how you choose to tell it can vary enormously, but the idea is that it sticks with people. You might want to share the company’s history or somehow convey what the business does or how it can benefit its customers through its animated logo story.
The Pixar logo tells a brilliant story of creative endeavor through its animation. But would you expect anything less from the animation geniuses at Pixar?
Evoke emotion
An animated logo can evoke emotion in a viewer. It might surprise, or amuse, or perhaps shock them. However, the animation somehow speaks to the viewer and stays with them.
Disney’s animated logo is far from new. However, the shooting star arcing over the castle is evocative of the dreamlike and fantasy quality of the Disney brand. It’s all a bit of magic.
Engage your audience
By engaging the viewer, an animated logo has the advantage of making itself memorable. Netflix’s scrolling red N does this by suggesting a spool of film running through a projector in a cinema. It tells the viewer what Netflix does and how it fits into their life.
Be relatable
Adding a sense of the human, or something relatable, to an animated logo helps to bring it home to a viewer, too.
LG does this with its very simple initial logo that it animates into a winking face. That’s obviously a very human action, but it’s also cute and surprising, which makes it memorable.
Stand out
Finally, an animated logo needs to be distinctive. Of course, it must fit within your company’s branding guidelines, but it has to stand out both from the competition and from the multitude of other businesses that are using animated logos across digital platforms and social media.
The Firefox logo, which morphs from an orange brushstroke to a fox, is distinctive and also makes a statement about the brand. Firefox is quick and reactive as a browser, just like a fox.
How to choose the right animated logo template
If you’re considering including an animated logo among your company’s brand guidelines, Motion Array has an extensive collection of templates that you can use to add movement and interest to our existing branding. However, ensuring that your animated logo fits with your company brand requires a little more consideration than just finding a template you like and throwing in your existing logo.
Consider your brand’s personality and messaging
Whether you are designing a static or an animated logo, the design must align with your company’s vision and values. A company that operates in a fun and playful space can, and probably should, choose an animation that reflects these characteristics with something amusing or lighthearted.
Design considerations for static and animated logos
Whether you are designing a static or animated logo, the following factors should be applied to your process. Remember, if you’re using static and animated logos, they must be consistent in their design to provide clarity and unity.
Simple
A logo must be simple and easy to recognize. Don’t try to include too many variations or too much detail.
Distinctive
Ensure that people do not confuse your logo with any other company. It needs to be memorable.
Relevant and respectful
Your logo must reflect the values and vision of your company and resonate with customers. It also needs to be respectful of any cultural norms or expectations in the regions where the business operates.
Consistent and adaptable
You should be able to use the same logo in different media and sizes. Whatever its size or wherever it is used, it must always appear consistent.
Timeless
Try not to engage in anything that’s too trendy. When the next fad comes along, your company will find itself looking out of date and in need of an overhaul, which doesn’t suggest reliability or longevity.
Color
Different colors have different meanings. Be sure to select a color palette that integrates with your brand message and one that is harmonized. Too many colors can be confusing.
Typeface
Whatever typeface you select must set the right impression for your company. It should also be legible and distinctive.
Communicate to your audience
All of these factors need to come together to create a logo that speaks to your audience. Think about who your target market is and what will appeal to them.
Design considerations for animated logos
Along with the principles that need to be applied to logos, whether static or animated, these specific considerations are necessary when thinking about animated logo design.
Length
An animated logo isn’t a feature film. It shouldn’t run to any more than five or ten seconds in length.
Medium
Where are you going to use your animated logo? Will it be in broadcast adverts, social media platforms, digital marketing campaigns, or the company’s website? This might have an impact on the shape of the logo, the duration of the animation, or how involved it is. You might find it useful to adapt one base animation into a series of animations tailored to various media.
Animated logo templates from Motion Array
Motion Array has thousands of animated logo templates that you can use to bring your company’s branding to life. These are just five selections from the library to give you some inspiration.
Hand Drawn Brush logo
This logo features gentle watercolor brushstrokes with a delicate color palette. It speaks to a friendly, creative company.
Morphing logo
This morphing logo features a sleek motion that catches the eye. It has placeholders for one static logo and a strapline. It would be ideal for a web-based company or business focusing on change and transformation.
Grime In & Out Titles or Logo
This template offers you plenty of options for your animation. It provides five different motions and different textures for you to find the perfect animation for your company’s logo.
Minimal logo
Despite its simple minimalism, this animation has a playful feel to it. It’s also highly customizable, so it presents you with the ability to ensure it matches your company’s look and feel perfectly.
Stomp Logo
This bold animation will make a strong impression on your customers.
Wrapping up
A dynamic logo is essential for any company with a social media or online presence. It’s a part of your brand’s storytelling and helps to connect you with your customers in an engaging and memorable way. An animated logo can really impress your company’s story into your customers’ consciousness. While ensuring that your animation aligns with your company and its overall branding is important, animating a logo doesn’t need to be complicated or difficult. Provided that you follow good design principles, you can use one of the thousands of templates available on Motion Array to breathe animated life into your logo. And with templates offering you enormous flexibility and variation, it’s easy to experiment and adjust until you find the perfect animated logo for you.
