When it comes to choosing the perfect promotional products, it all starts with designing a logo for your company. Your logo should be front and center on each of the promotional products you choose to order for your business. Promotional items are a useful marketing tool to boost brand awareness for your company. These products can be used for both your employees as well as your customers. You can mail them out, pass them out to the passerby, or include them with in-store purchases. Having tangible items with your branded logo engraved on each is a much more personalized way to reach your target audience and is more memorable than other forms of advertising.
However, many companies have failed to realize that not all logo designs look good on all promotional products. Below are a few tips and tricks regarding how to create a logo for your promotional products.
Promotional Product Details to Consider
- Size. The size of the promotional item is a crucial factor when it comes to determining how to design your business logo. For example, a magnet may be too small to include both your logo’s icon, your company name, and your company’s slogan (if applicable). However, a custom banner that you can hang outside of your business storefront has plenty of Real estate to include all design aspects of your logo. It’s important to check the dimensions of each promotional product before placing an order, as you may find out that the logo takes up too much space on the item.
- Shape. While the size of the promotional product is vital to consider, so is the shape. For instance, a pen has a rounded shape and is quite small, so logos that are not horizontal may not look great on this type of product. Notebooks or canvas tote bags, on the other hand, can accommodate almost any logo size or layout. We recommend checking to see if there are images available to show the particular promotional item in use to try and visualize how your logo will look.
- Background Color. If your logo is white and the folders you’re about to order are white, you may want to rethink this option. Check to see if the folders or other promotional products are available in other colors. For businesses who have multi-colored logos, try to choose a promotional item with a background color that is not found in your company logo.
- Material. Sometimes the material of a promotional product may clash with your logo. Businesses with gray, silver, gold, or other metallic colors may find it hard to see these colors on certain materials. Metal travel mugs or water bottles are notorious for distorting the original color of business logos, so you may need to opt for a colored background on the promo product upon which your logo can be printed.
- Surface Area. While the size of the promotional product may be perfect for your new business logo, there may not be enough usable surface area. For example, business envelopes and business letterheads are large, but don’t forget that other text will be included on these items, so, therefore, you may need to think about the size and shape of your logo.
- Permanence. Consider how long each promotional item is expected to last in the hands of your customers. Business envelopes will not last long, but they are a great item to have to make your business appear more professional. Mugs, button-down shirts, and classic t-shirts, on the other hand, will last quite a long time. We recommend testing your logo out on a variety of different promotional products and don’t be afraid to ask for customer feedback on which ones they like best.
Designing a Logo for Promotional Items
Promotional products are a highly visible form of offline marketing, so it makes sense that you will also need a highly visible logo. In fact, out of the 8 in 10 people who own a promotional item, an estimated 53% of them use the product at least once a week. With this knowledge in mind, it’s time to design a logo that will work best for almost all promotional items.
First, consider the layout of your logo. Logos come in a variety of different styles, including:
- horizontal text with the icon to the left
- horizontal text with the icon to the right
- the icon above the text
- the icon below the text
- the text wrapped around the icon
Out of these options, the two most common logo layouts are having an icon to the left with horizontal text and having the icon on the top with the text below. These two styles are easy to include on nearly any promotional product. If you’re interested in adding your new company logo to a pen, the horizontal text layout will look best given the shape and amount of surface area you have with this promotional item.
Next, think about what color logo you want, as color can affect how well the logo will look on promo items. Many businesses have opted for a black and/or white version of their logo for the sole purpose of ensuring it will display correctly on a promotional product. You can still use your colored logo version on t-shirts, tote bags, your website, and social media channels. However, for folders, pens, and mugs you may want just a black or white version. A monochrome logo can also save you money on printing costs as less ink is needed to print.
Finally, don’t forget to think about the complexity of your logo’s icon. Logos that are too abstract with too many angles or lines may not show up as you envisioned they would when printed on promotional products. Often lines and colors on a logo can become blurred or bleed into each other during the printing process, so try to keep your logo design legible and straightforward. Spacial awareness between your letters and between elements within your icon is essential to keeping the design symmetrical and legible. Don’t make the same mistake as the designers of the 2012 London Olympic logo by making the design too abstract and convoluted.
If you’re interested in creating a logo then adding it to promotional products, we recommend using an online logo design service. FreeLogoServices offers both a DIY option and an option in which you can work with one of our professional logo designers. Once your logo looks exactly how you want it to, you can purchase the files to use for online marketing, as well as order promotional products for offline marketing. Design a logo today!
