Animated Logos: No Go or Gung-Ho? - By Jonathan Munk
One of the more popular trends in logo design these days is to animate them in online applications. But, aside from its “cool” factor, will an animated logo really make a big difference in the success of a company website?
On the one hand, an animated logo draws the attention of the viewer. Most people who see an animated logo when they pull up a website will want to see the full animation of the logo, so the average person is bound to look at a moving logo longer than they would a stagnant one. The longer a person looks at a logo, the more it will stick in their minds—which means they’ll be more likely to remember your company.
But animated logos also have some drawbacks. Simplicity in logo design is usually always more effective than complexity, which means that adding fancy Flash animation to a logo might mean you are actually distracting customers away from the reason they are visiting your site—providing you with revenues. As interesting as Macromedia Flash animated logos are to a talented designer, they can distract from more important things, like your core business. Remember, busy logos are more forgettable than simple ones, so even logos with animation should be kept simple.
In some industries, like law firms or consulting agencies, animated logos would be completely out of place. But a daycare or a company that sells a niche food product might find that a flash logo fits their needs perfectly. The best way to decide is by looking at competitors, doing some research, getting plenty of feedback from customers, and deciding which direction you want to take your business.