June 28, 2023

How many logos do you come across every day? Whether scrolling through social media or driving past billboards – we see countless branded graphics every week, all begging you to pay attention to them, to buy this or go there or do that.  

As a creative director and career-long designer, I consider branding my bread and butter. Every client walking into the MANTIS studio is looking for the same thing – branding that sells.  

Here’s how it works: at MANTIS, every design decision is made for a reason.  

Our clients come in with a vision – we hear about their audience demographic, architecture, location, and other unique selling points. When it’s time to design, years of experience and constant research guide us as we create a brand that stands out from the competition while still being on trend. 

I like to break a brand identity into three elements: Name, Form, and Function. The best brand names are short, memorable, and easy to say and spell. A great form, or logo design, is clean, intelligible, and matches the personality of the brand. Think carefully about what you want to convey with your logo, it could be playful, nostalgic, future-forward, or elegant – it’s the first impression of your brand so we want to make it count. And don’t forget, the strongest logo is one that functions well in a variety of sizes and applications. From large-scale 3D signage to social media ads, a logo must be versatile enough to succeed in every iteration.  

Of course, our clients have to love it. Most logos are approved quickly, and then we dive into the next steps, building on the brand identity to develop a creative platform and all of the marketing assets a project launch requires. 

Occasionally, people get too caught up in the little details and forget the big picture. I once worked on a logo that went through 20 rounds of revisions. Fonts, colours, and line weights were adjusted again and again, and change orders were approved to pay for it all. The client just couldn’t quite decide.  

But eventually, our client settled on the perfect logo: one of the original options we’d shared 20 revisions ago. So much time and money were spent on needless changes, stalling the rest of the project and pushing us over budget.  

At the end of the day, a logo is just one element. It’s the full scope that matters – how branding comes together on the website, in the sales center, and in the brochure (and the list goes on). 

The design team at MANTIS are experts at delivering meaningful, stunning designs with the big picture in mind. We do it all – the form and the function.  

If you’re looking for a creative team to bring your next vision to life, we’d love to hear from you.  

Michael Moraal 
Creative Director, MANTIS Creative