Humanizing Design: 13 Ways to Provoke Psychological Responses through Custom Logo Designs

By Shyrose Vastani , Oct 2 2015

To connect your brand with your customers, it’s essential to create a “humanizing design”. Easier said than done, right? As the world is globalizing, the need to affect humans mentally and emotionally is becoming widespread. So, whether it’s easy or not, you have to create the connection.

If a logo derives positive connotations — well and good. However, if it spurs negative reactions, such as the Airbnb logo, then no need to worry. Your aim should be to relate your brand with human psychology, and once that’s achieved, you are good to go.

Remember that each human on this planet perceives your brand differently unless the message is straightforward. While some people will hate or dislike you, many will also like or love you. This said, it’s always better to make sure “one meaning” is delivered.

Symbolism

Moving on, your brand should be approachable and “customer centric”. The logo should reflect something of benefit for your market. For example, the Amazon logo suggests that customers will find all kinds of things from A to Z. It’s so easy for the human mind to connect with this brand and use the web portal to buy and sell.

No one can forget the Apple logo because it is closely linked to human emotions, so much so that many took it as the forbidden apple in the story of Adam and Eve. Till now, the brand’s identity is precious to many of its users.

Also, color is a vital aspect in developing not only a level of trust but also promise brand loyalty. Blue is popularly used for this purpose. PayPal, Twitter and Facebook use different shades of blue but they manage to instill “security” in peoples’ minds.

A typeface also holds great value. Some brand logos have nothing but color and font to give, such as Canon. A simple typeface can also be used creatively, like AOL has done, to give new meaning to a brand identity.

Just Say It

Apart from this, a logo’s tagline explains the brand better. Copywriters usually conduct a thorough research exercise to derive a short phrase that encompasses brand vision and value. Taglines must also relate to a brand’s customers because they are the ones you want to impress. Some examples are, Evian’s “Live Young”, Nokia’s “Connecting People”, Nike’s “Just Do It” etc.

These brands use powerful words that touch peoples’ hearts by reflecting various emotions. Thus, incorporating the human element in your brand’s identity is important and beneficial as it provokes people to feel, think or act.

Good for Startups

Entrepreneurs looking for ideas to create eye-catching and memorable identity should humanize their logos as a first step. This will help them gain trust and brand loyalty, especially if the meanings derived are positive.

Once the custom logo design is successful at triggering emotions in people, it will strengthen your bond with your customers. They will be gladly willing to try your product or service out and stick to it.

Here are 13 ways that will help you accomplish the goal of humanizing the custom logo designs.

Read and Find Your Way!

A philanthropist by nature, Shyrose Vastani is professionally working as a digital media marketer and visual design blogger. She is a visual media enthusiast with keen interests in research, business trends and graphic design. With a background in psychology, she is passionate about learning and sharing knowledge about visual media and its impact on consumer behavior and people in general.

 

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