In the legal industry, a well-designed logo is more than just a visual mark; it’s a vital element of a law firm’s brand identity. A thoughtfully crafted logo conveys professionalism, trustworthiness, and gravitas.
What does your law firm’s logo say about your firm? Does it communicate long-standing legal excellence? Does it illustrate that your firm is forward-thinking and innovative? Once you have made these broader branding decisions, you’ll also need to consider the many detailed design decisions that go into a law firm logo, such as the typography, color, mark, and orientation.
If your firm’s logo isn’t quite hitting the mark, here are a few things to consider before embarking on the design process to create a unique and memorable logo.
Understand Your Brand
Before diving in, you must clearly understand your law firm’s brand identity. This includes your mission, vision, and values, and the message you want to convey to clients and prospects alike. A family law firm, for example, might want to project empathy and approachability, while a corporate law firm might emphasize authority and precision.
Know Your Motives and the Degree of Change
To design a logo that achieves your goals, you must first understand the reasons behind the change and the support (or lack of it) for change. Are you ditching the current logo because the firm has a new name, new brand initiative, new leadership, or you are just ready for something new? Are you trying to send a clear message of change or to reassure your audience of the stability and reliability of your firm despite any updates? A completely new logo can emphasize a fresh direction, while subtle updates (such as a new font or color) might be more fitting if continuity and stability are your priority. The degree of change will also be affected by the internal dynamics of your firm. When considering a new logo, it’s important to evaluate the internal appetite for change and involve the firm decision-makers at crucial stages of the process..
Know Where the Logo Will Be Used
Of course, your logo will be used on letterhead, email signatures, business cards, on the website, and social media. But it’s helpful to think through the other places your logo may appear, the content and purpose, and how that should steer your logo decisions.
Will the logo appear on billboards or large conference banners as well as on small letterhead and swag? If yes, it must be clear up close and from a distance. A scalable logo is essential for branding and marketing, as it allows you to use it across different mediums. This means you should design your logo using vector graphics to scale it up or down without losing quality.
Is social media a big part of your marketing efforts? If yes, consider a square logo or a second version using initials so the text does not shrink in the profile picture. If you will be printing on swag, like pens, shirts, stress balls, and the like, you may need to plan for different sizes and color options.
Regardless of how you use your logo now, you should always have options at the ready: full color, monochromatic, black and white, and reverse.
Consider All Elements of the Logo
Consider all the parts of the logo and what you want to include: the actual words or letters, the font, font treatment, colors and color variations, an icon or picture that goes with the logo (think Nike swoosh), and the orientation (landscape or portrait) of the logo.
If your firm has a long name, you may consider shortening the names that appear in the logo. This does not mean the legal name of the firm needs to change.
You may include clear signals of your profession in your logo, such as LLP, Attorneys, Attorneys at Law, or Law Firm. Check with your state laws and Rules of Professional Conduct to confirm what is legally required or prohibited. You may be surprised at how little is required, but, regardless, you might still want to include one of these elements to indicate to your audience that you are a law firm.
Should you choose to use one, the icon doesn’t need to be a literal representation of your law firm. In fact, we recommend avoiding anything cliché or trite like scales of justice or a gavel. These elements will not differentiate your firm. Your icon should be distinctive, graphically simple, and stand-alone to be flexible for different uses.
Distinctiveness
While following industry trends is tempting, a unique and distinctive logo that differentiates your firm from competitors will be much more valuable to your brand recognition. Be creative. Consider incorporating bolder colors or fonts, unique design elements, or symbols that reflect your firm’s specific strengths or areas of experience.
Choose Timeless Elements
Trendy logos can quickly look dated, so creating a logo that will stand the test of time is worth the effort. Law firms often aim to project stability and longevity, so it works well for your brand message and durability to opt for classic design elements that reflect the enduring nature of legal services.
Typography and Fonts
Typography plays a crucial role in law firm logos. The chosen fonts should convey professionalism and readability. Fonts with serifs (such as Times New Roman) are traditionally associated with reliability and formality, making them a popular choice for law firms. Sans-serif fonts (such as Helvetica) can also be effective, particularly if the firm wants a more modern feel.
Color Psychology and Technology
Colors evoke emotions and can significantly impact how a brand is perceived. Blue is a popular choice for law firms due to its strong associations with trust, loyalty, and confidence. A 2018 study found that over 64% of law firms incorporate blue into their branding. Conversely, it will not be memorable in a sea of blue logos! Black conveys power and sophistication, while green indicates growth and stability. It’s essential to choose a color palette that aligns with the firm’s brand identity and values. Don’t be afraid to include complementary accent colors to give more personality and interest to your branded collateral.
Keep It Simple
A logo should be easily recognizable and versatile. Overly complex logos can be difficult to reproduce at smaller sizes and may not translate well across different media. Aim for a clean and uncluttered design, ensuring it can be easily scaled and adapted.
Rely On Expert Designers
Designing your own logo can be a lot like cutting your own hair – it might seem like a good way to save money until you’re stuck with the outcome or have to hire a professional to fix it. Collaborating with a professional designer provides valuable insights for your logo design and ensures a polished final product. They have typically tried and tested thousands of design elements in different use cases and mediums and can guide you on the obstacles and opportunities for your firm’s logo redesign. These experts are adept at balancing aesthetics with functionality to create a logo that truly goes to work for your law firm.
Plan Approvals and Buy-In
Everyone has an opinion, right!? Define who in your firm gets a say in how the logo should look—whether it’s the marketing committee, department leaders, or another key group. It is inefficient to have everyone “vote” on the options, but if your firm’s culture is very inclusive and you know there will be better logo buy-in by building consensus, you may want to ask a broader group for feedback. Also, involving diverse groups across the firm can help gauge how the logo resonates with the intended audience and identify any potential issues.
Make Firm-Wide Updates
One last thing. When your logo is complete, you will need to update your marketing collateral and branded materials across the firm, or maybe even design a new website! It’s important to ensure consistent branding and messaging across all channels. Our logo redesign checklist is a helpful guide to the digital and physical assets that may need to be updated as part of your logo redesign process.
To sum it all up, a well-designed logo is perhaps the most powerful tool in your law firm’s branding arsenal. By focusing on distinctiveness, simplicity, and timelessness, your firm can create a logo that leaves a lasting impression. Collaborating with experienced designers can ensure that your logo redesign is a smooth process and a marketing boost for your law firm. At LISI, we create logos that will serve as a strong visual representation of your firm’s identity for years to come.
