The brand marketing and web design team researched a creative logo design for months for your new restaurant. In a meeting, a variety of options is presented to you. As you sit in disappointment, the logo ideas are not what you had in mind.
The time, resources, and effort in creating a design can take months or years. It is a careful process that requires feedback from internal and external stakeholders.
What do you remember about your favorite restaurant? The color of a delicious meal, romantic energy when you walk inside, or the soothing sounds of music on a Friday night after work.
A best practice in logo design is to capture parts of the business that distinguishes you from competitors. Here are best practices to consider when creating a restaurant logo design.
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HOW TO FIND INSPIRATION
Your team, the CEO, customers, and executives have ideas that you need to achieve a trendy logo design. The product team, marketing department, business development, and even customer-facing employees should be a part of the decision-making process. A list of ways to gather this information from multiple teams is below:
Internal surveys
Town whall meetings
Restaurant logo design contest
Customer story contest
An informal setting of employees collaborating to win a prize for designing a logo is one way to reduce costs in subcontracting a design firm. The more ideas that your internal staff, the more effective the process will be.
The History of Your Restaurant
Think about the story behind your restaurant. In every story, there is a word, color, city, dish, or concept that should come to mind.
It needs to be thought-provoking, an idea people will remember for a lifetime. Here is a list of some ideas to help you:
Family portrait of the original owners
Original logo design from the past
Color of a customer’s favorite stew
An eye-catching mascot
The beauty in logo design is you can be creative and develop a logo that is new to the industry. Consumers feel a connection to companies that portray imagery that people of all backgrounds understand, which is the power of online and offline branding.
One of a Kind Symbol
The symbol of a restaurant design logo should be about your customers, versus what the CEO expects. It is normal for a consumer to forget the name of a restaurant, but not the symbol, colors, or design of a logo. A classic example of this is the Subway franchise logo. Here is a list of symbol examples to consider:
Restaurants are realizing the importance of using symbols or a one-word logo. It is the norm for people to forget the name of a restaurant. However, a simple logo or word with symbolism can remain in the minds of consumers for a lifetime.
Sentimental Moments
If you can positively impact the emotions of consumers, creating a logo design will be easy. A sentimental moment can be a positive story a customer shared that changed a life. It can be the story of a CEO that had a poor childhood, opened a restaurant, and is internationally known as a mogul.
Once you have chosen a story, think of a relatable symbol that best represents your restaurant.
Sentimental moments can resonate with customers that share similar experiences. Think deeply about this, and it can attract a new target audience to your establishment for years to come.
Back by Popular Demand
Rebranding is a process some restaurants experience, and a complete change of a logo can happen. It can be a bad idea if your company was open over a decade, and it needs to be different than the logo of competitors.
The problem with revamping a well-known design is customers can feel out of touch with the new restaurant logo. Customers might be concerned that the restaurant is under new management or changes in prices, menu items, or location is next to come. Here is a list of creative ways to rebrand a logo without making mistakes that can hurt your business:
Focus groups with a target audience
Customer feedback of restaurant logo designs
Customer / Employee survey of old vs. new logo
If you want to avoid investing time and resources on a logo mistake, these tips will help you receive both internal and public feedback before you get started.
Colors that Change Feelings
The psychology of colors is deeper than we think. A color such as blue in the health industry (i.e., nurse uniforms) portrays honor and trust. Organizations that use the color green understand that it means growth and in other industries eco-friendly.
Invent a new color. An example of this is the company Pantone that was inspired by a replica of the color purple in memory of the pop singer Prince. You have the choice to be creative with your restaurant logo design.
An Unforgettable Motto
The trend of non-worded logos is not one that you have to follow. An effective way to write a motto is to read your mission statement. A mission statement can be found on the About page of your website or a recent business plan. If you have a creative team to condense the statement into a few unique words, you can create an unforgettable motto to add to a logo.
We recommend selecting a logo that is no more than five words. These words must resonate with consumers mentally or emotionally.
RESTAURANT LOGO REBRANDING TIPS
Rebranding requires a strategy to succeed. One wrong color or symbol can create unneeded negative press from critiques in your industry.
Here are some helpful tips:
If you have not used the methods above to survey employees, customers, and industry leaders of a new logo, it might be best to rebrand a few parts of a logo. A complete rebrand can be confusing to customers if you have been in business for decades.
If you are new in business, you have the advantage of being creative and completely revamp a logo if the old design was uninspiring.
Avoid using colors, symbols, motto's, or a design used by competitors.
As mentioned above, ask your employees for creative ideas before investing in a new logo. Employees that understand the industry and your restaurant can be the key to your logo design success.
Make It Simple
It is disappointing when a leading company rebrands a logo, and it is offensive to a diverse group or it is confusing to understand. You need to be in tune with the demographics of your customers.
Here are the target audience factors to consider:
Income
Gender
Religious beliefs
Lifestyle choices
Personal style
Educational background
You will be surprised to discover that understanding the lifestyle choices of your customers can help with a restaurant logo design. Think in the mind of a customer while in the design process, and it will make it easier to figure out the right logo for your business.
Avoid Controversy
The year of 2019 has been notable for reputable organizations that made mistakes in marketing choices that offended diverse groups around the world. At times, a marketing professional or photographer has a creative idea without investing time in researching the symbolism behind it.
An example published on Today news earlier this year was a Nike Air Max controversy of a shoe design offending a religious group. The company denied the allegations, but it could have been prevented if a focus group, internal feedback from employees in the retail stores, or a survey of its customers was established.
A controversial logo can potentially ruin the reputation of a small business. A large, established organization can afford to experience a scandal. However, it is best to avoid restaurant logo design scandals at all costs.
Be Open to A Quick Rebrand
The expense of using a new logo on employee uniforms, menus, signage, internal and external documentation can be expensive. Rebranding shortly after a restaurant logo mistake is the best thing to do to lose customers to competitors potentially.
You can announce a change in the logo on social media, your website, and ask restaurant staff to share the news with customers. Don’t be afraid to admit branding mistakes. It will make your business appear human and responsible for bad decisions. Customers will respect you and believe that with transparency, they can return to your establishment from a long-term perspective.
FINAL THOUGHTS
A logo should be the inspiration for a story that you can share with the world. It should be the true essence of restaurant experience from the perspective of a customer. It can be of a top-rated dish, a symbol that represents the CEO’s story, or an unrelated logo that distinguishes in your industry.
The best way to figure it out is to receive feedback from employees, executives, customers, and influencers in the industry. If you are self-employed, design a few logo ideas and ask customers to take a survey to select the best restaurant logo design. A logo can rebrand your company and positively change the face of your restaurant's public image.
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