Animated logo design has been around for decades. Before the heyday of smartphones and the Internet, animated logo designs were (and still are) all over TV commercials and movies. While the media and marketing landscape has changed or stretched out greatly with the proliferation of social websites and mobile apps, animated logos are still used the same way.
They combine brand information with technology and entertainment to help customers identify and recognize a brand. Modern Internet-based businesses like Google, Airbnb, Uber, and Slack use animated logos. They are now well-established brands with a long history, yet their current logos still retain the original elements from their early days as startups.
Animated logo design examples
One of the finest examples of a truly-representative 3D animated logo animation belongs to Uber. A collaboration between Uber’s in-house team and Wolff Olins produced a simple and elegant logo that says much about the company’s main line of business: transportation and mobility. It contains only the word “Uber” in a custom white sans-serif typeface against a black background. The term is animated to reveal various straights and curves, indirectly referencing road maps.
Slack has also developed a straight-to-the-point logo animation representative of its core business. 3D animation services start with a colorful hash (#) sign before the four lines morph into speech bubbles, creating an allusion to text-based conversations as they are usually depicted on screens. Google has the most striking animated logo designs of them all. Since its first day, the Google.com homepage has always been simple and concise. It features a multicolored logo with the brand name above an approachable input field.
The logo design has been modified multiple times, and the Google Doodle is now an undisputed Internet staple. The present-day logo is animated and interactive with bouncing dots when a user interacts with the voice search function on mobile devices. The animated logo design examples mentioned above share something in common in their logos: symbolism of what they do. A blend of playfulness and professionalism presents lively identifying marks that exemplify the companies’ business characteristics and honor their old values.
Startups need an excellent animated logo design company as much as well-known companies do as part of a branding strategy and brand rejuvenation. While static 3D logos are valuable (think Nike, Marlboro, Ford, Toyota, Audi, and most car companies), opting for an animated logo design will likely serve any company better in the long run. With the constantly-changing consumer preference and market trends, a dynamic logo can easily adapt to industries’ trends without having to rework the design from scratch each time.
Why animated logos
An obvious advantage of animated logos is their entertainment value, and customers are more likely to interact or respond to dynamic visuals. Of course, animation is only a delivery method—the content must be aesthetically pleasing, stimulating, and amusing. More importantly, a logo animation can tell a story about a company’s aspirations. Brands and businesses choose their particular logo designs for various reasons. However, they share the same purposes when they decide to go for an animated logo.
Catch customers’ attention
The nature of an animated logo is that the graphics move about within a frame. Companies can employ various forms of logo animation such as rotation, transformation, reveal, hand-drawn, or 3D design services. No matter their style, it always functions as an attention-grabbing element. Combine that with striking colors, creative typography, and unique icons, and the logo becomes a powerhouse to trigger curiosity. Viewers seeking further information about the subject animated logo are motivated to look for further information about the business, location, and products.
People are bombarded with tons of information daily via their smartphones. A glimpse at a news headline, an image, a video thumbnail, or an animation is all it takes to capture and hold their attention. A striking animated logo with attractive design elements deserves a closer inspection. As a bonus, a captivating animation also is memorable.
Create a strong first impression
Most people decide whether an image they see online is worth their time within a few seconds. It would be impossible to click and tap every single frame and link on a social media feed or website because of the sheer amount of content provided. A logo is at the forefront of business marketing subject matter, hence imperative for the success of the campaign. It must open the door for further engagement, welcome potential buyers to business, and give them a solid first impression of quality and creativity. Hiring a logo designer to create an animated logo creates a cheerful and energetic way to greet future clients.
Bring a notion of professionalism
Behind the playfulness, customers often perceive an animated logo as a trait of professionalism and expertise. They see similar content in the opening credits of movies and TV shows (such as Walt Disney, Paramount Pictures, HBO, and Netflix, among others) and in their online time. Apart from Google and Uber, plenty of major names use animated logos, including Opera, Zoom, and Firefox. Logo animation comes with a sense of sophistication, which helps elevate a company’s reputation in viewers’ minds. It demonstrates how a company is tech-proficient and keeps up with innovations. Customers like to be associated with brands that carry those characteristics.
Share a story
In the limited duration of an animated logo, a company can share a meaningful story about its history, vision, and business approach. Telling a story doesn’t always necessitate a video explainer or a lengthy feature about product development. Almost every animated logo is wrapped under the idea of a company spreading an important message. Elements in the animated logo may illustrate the company’s history, product range, target demographics, business scope, or a mixture of everything.
Although the message is open to different interpretations, the most important thing is how it encourages viewers to translate each element into a meaningful contextual narrative. As soon as they figure out the real communiqué behind the animation, they unconsciously feel familiar with the company. Thanks to the current Internet-connected world dominated by short videos from everywhere, people are accustomed to watching such content on the go. Motion graphics are more absorbing than still pictures; companies should only adjust to the behavior. After all, people expect businesses to cater to buyers’ interests; creating an animated logo is a good starting point.
Trigger emotional connection
Fresh ideas are always appreciated. When people are flooded with similar-looking contents day in and day out, they yearn to bump into something unusual. An animated logo is like a refreshment on big and small screens, triggering excitement and curiosity. A logo that brings positive emotions is worth remembering. People will continue associating the logo (by extension, the brand) with a pleasant experience. The emotional connection gets supercharged if the company provides quality products.
Stimulate interaction
An animation logo is, in essence, a short CGI video. Most animations play automatically on website pages or mobile apps as they open. However, they don’t usually play on a loop because it can be distracting. Some companies have found a workaround to keep the animation available all the time by turning it into interactive content. The 3D animation never disappears and will play when users hover a mouse over the image or tap a button on a touch screen. Adding a simple interactivity function doesn’t do much on a technical level, but it stimulates interaction and encourages engagement.
Brand awareness
Everything about an animated logo design eventually comes down to one significant objective: increase brand awareness. An animated logo is more memorable and recognizable compared to the motionless alternative. It may take a viewer a few seconds longer to see the entire length and understand the message, but in the end, the story tends to stay in mind. A logo animation often concludes with a split-second display of a company name and icon. It is necessary to ensure that viewers know what they’re watching and how to search for further information. They can also look it up online and ask their friends about it. To some extent, the follow-up inquiry is unavoidable, which gives the company a significant marketing advantage.
There are only so many things an animated logo can do, and it is unlikely that a single short presentation can describe an entire company and its business. That said, logo animation is more than a collection of text and images that wiggle about on a screen. It is a starting line where the journey of a company and the clients begin—and a vessel to be poured with positive stories from every interaction. People perceive words and images from an animated logo and a whole world of associations between a company and how it can enhance its performance in their lives. It has to be a company’s mission to implant the best possible mental image and deliver a positive experience that conforms to the perception
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