A logo is the figurehead of a company. Therefore, marketing experts need to know potential customers' opinions on their logo and how they perceive different designs. But how do you test which colour combination or line width is appealing to the customer? Which logo design makes the company stand out from the crowd?
Whether rebranding a branch of a company or launching a new brand, choosing a representative logo is a challenge. In addition to creative decisions such as a clear and straightforward design, a logo should above all convey brand personality and reflect the values an organization stands for.
It should be meaningful and distinctive so that it is immediately memorable and creates a connection to the target group. These are many requirements for such a small graphic.
Frequently, designers and managers have to choose from a variety of logo designs and cannot come up with a satisfactory result. Individual designs are over-interpreted, and the whole process costs time and, above all, nerves.
It is usually helpful to seek outside advice to find a satisfactory solution. A person who has nothing to do with the project will add value to the creative process. More generally, the opinions of those who are to be addressed by the logo are missing. So why don't we simply ask potential customers themselves what they like?
A logo test is a standard design test. Appinio's market research experts have written guidelines on how a logo test works (for more design tests, click here).
Logos, as well as other advertising media, should always be evaluated individually in a first step. Feasible options are star ratings (very familiar to most people) or ratings based on school grades using a scale question type.
The second step is to ask specifically which logo the user most likely associates with the desired terms (enjoyment, relaxation, etc.). Consequently, we receive an individual evaluation of the different logos. A simple multiple choice question type is suitable for this query.
But what if individual logos are very similar and are rated almost equally by users?
A direct comparison should be carried out at the end of the survey, i.e. a query with all the options. The comparison will provide useful insights once again. Even if the logos are very similar in their evaluation, a direct comparison will help to classify the overall result better.
Alternatively, this direct comparison could also be carried out with the help of a ranking in which the users sort the different logos or images according to preferences. However, the type of direct comparison that ultimately makes sense can still be clarified in individual cases.