According to a Daily Blogging research report, 30% of customers in the United States look at a brand’s logo before they check their products.

If you utilize an animated logo instead of a static one, you can enhance this percentage even more. Animations, also known as motion graphics, are a powerful way to showcase your logo and company.

Why should you animate your logo?

Our eyes are drawn to moving objects. Big companies, such as Google, have spent time and money to give their logo a life of its own. Google’s Daily Doodles are featured on the company’s search page. It distinguishes the world’s top search engine from others while increasing its brand value in the communities it serves.

The animations do not increase sales or improve website traffic, or customer retention. The frequency and creativity of the Daily Doodles, on the other hand, alter our perception of Google. They help to humanize the brand.

The investment is not intended to improve short-term profitability, but rather to increase brand awareness. The advantages of an animated logo go beyond monetary value:

• Outlast the competition — Stand out from your direct and indirect competitors by using simple forms and structures in your logo. Colors have also been muted and restricted to the major group. Logos can all too often share a common thread in their appearance. Adding animation to your logo will help it stand out.

• Capturing audience attention — With so many product options available, businesses have only seconds to convey their personality. If you deliver a powerful signal at the start, people will remember your brand.
• Inspire positive emotions — You want customers to feel something when they come into contact with your brand. Of course, you want those feelings to be positive all of the time. You can use animation to create surprise, enthusiasm, and other good emotions.
• Share your brand story — A compelling story is easy to understand and relate to. Customers are more likely to engage with your brand if you can instantly communicate who you are, what value you deliver, and what you care about.

You don’t have to be a billion-dollar corporation to make your logo exciting. Any logo would benefit from animations!

Here are a few examples you can use for inspiration, or if you’re a brand, hire these designers to bring some life to your logo.

1.) Not Another Spring Greeting by Mantas Bačiuška

Inspired by Illustrator @Marusha“Spring Patterns”

One of the biggest mistakes logo animators make is an animation that is too complex. Too many moving parts can muddle the story being told and leave viewers confused about what they just saw.

However, this motion graphic highlights the lively beginning of Spring, the colors it brings, and the new life it produces. I love how the flowers grow with each letter and the reflection beneath their feet.

In this design, Mantas is deliberate in which parts animate and how we go from start to finish. This is a the magic of logo animation. He does a great job from the first water drop to the last blooming bud.

In case you were wondering, “Laba diena” is a common Lithuanian greeting which translates to “good afternoon”.

2.) Platinum by Ashot S. for Moov Studio

You do not know where this animation is going to land until the very end. The mixture of line widths and text animations gives this one a special feel.

3.) Booksview by Mantas Bačiuška

You see the motion of the characters coming into view as the double Os resemble glasses frames. However, what makes this animation even more interesting is the subtle use of white flakes you would see on a video cassette tape. The minuscule contrast of the black and white adds detail and life to the character’s motion.

Booksview, it’s all about the books and how it looks. Flipping through the pages in a cinematic way, with minimal music and no-nonsense commentary. — Mantas Bačiuška, Visual Designer

4.) Brand Crumbs by Mate Miminoshvili

A reference to the fairy tale Hansel & Gretel, BrandCrumbs (i.e bread crumbs) leaves bits of knowledge through videos and podcasting so customers can find them. The microphone transforms into a cookie hit with the play button to finish into the logo. There is a story behind this animation. Can you see it?

5.) Launchlabs | Space Design by atanas giew for FourPlus Studio

Not all animations require the action and intensity of a Marvel movie. Simple loops provide an easy-to-understand visual description of the logo.

• “Sprints” are wrapped in a circle, reminiscent of a race track.
• “Trainings” follow an ascending staircase, to denote improving your skills.
• “Space Design” folds and morphs to fill the space in different ways.

Launchlabs | Space Design by atanas giew for FourPlus Studio

These key visuals are based on the different services offered by redesign studio Launchlabs. Each service is depicted by three-dimensional compositions of the typography.

6.) Chamelo by Mate Miminoshvili

Cereal brands like Cheerios, Froot Loops, and Rice Crispies all have cartoon mascots. Why? It’s about the sale.

How do you make product features like “whole-grain” and “lower cholesterol” appealing to kids? Slap a wacky cartoon character on the front of the box.

This chameleon for the aptly named Chamelo brand gives the logo more personality and something for people to gravitate towards. This is not the only lizard people can fall in love with. The other one sells car insurance.

If you had to guess, what type of business does Chamelo represent?

7.) Animated Brand Logos by Samuel Golde for Icons8

Instead of using logo animations to solely blow the minds of customers, you can also use them to explain what your company does. The animated Instagram camera, YouTube play button, and Medium article are perfect representations of their core brand functions. Keep it simple, I always say.

8.) Dok 19 by Wevoke

Not the most extravagant animation, but the wiggling edges give a visual reference for the bear’s roar. Logo animations rarely have sound or audio, so when you can create an element of noise within the effect, it’s a plus.

We animated the logo of our favorite pub — Wevoke Animation Studios

9.) Future is complicated by Pavel Pavlov

This animation is a maze in itself. Logo animations need a great reveal. Something to make you say, “that was there the whole time?!”

10.) Google Science Fair Launch by Brien Hopkins

Logo Designed by Tony Lee Jr.

Not every motion graphic is made by a single designer locked away behind a computer screen. Sometimes it takes collaboration to achieve amazing results.

With help from logo designer Tony Lee Jr., Brien turned this Google’s 2018 Science Fair logo into a bottle rocket animation sure to get participants hyped.

Listen to the sound fx on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnrWh2_HLcO/

Adding motion to your logo is a terrific approach to increasing brand awareness. Using animation to bring the logo to life makes it more engaging and memorable for the viewer.

An animated logo may appear fancy, but it leaves an impact on the mind of the viewer. Anything that distinguishes your company from the competition should be looked into. Hopefully, these have inspired you to breathe new life into your brand logo.

If I had to pick my top 3, it would be tough but numbers 1, 5, and 8 in that order were my favorites. What about you? Let me know in the comments.