The fitness industry has grown well and healthy over the past few years — so much so that the competition has become tougher. Several fitness centers are constantly coming up with their own gimmicks and tricks in standing out, from niche services to unique promos — it’s almost as if the brands have unlimited sources of inspiration. So how do you make sure you catch your possible customers’ attention? Effective branding. It’s the secret ingredient of brands such as Nike, Adidas and other iconic athletic firms. They created recognizable yet unique identities amongst their competition and rose above the rest, from their logo to the core idea of their brand.
We previously discussed the broader concept of branding where we mentioned that it doesn’t start and end with iconic logo ideas for a gym. Nevertheless, logos still play a critical role to the overall identity of your gym. A logo identifies a fitness centre in its simplest yet memorable form. If you’re looking for logo ideas or design inspirations for your fitness club, then you’ve come to the right post.
Unforgettable Trademarks
We carefully sorted the top gyms, fitness clubs, as well as fitness centers around the world and took a look into their logos. We also studied just how well they incorporated the details of their trademark into their overall graphic design.
#1 Brooklyn Zoo NY
The famous Brooklyn gym that took your childhood game of ‘the floor is lava’ to the next level carries a pretty straight-forward seal. Its logo incorporated the graffiti font well known to the area which can also be seen all over their two-floored parkour playground —- highlighting its hometown and the importance of consistency in terms of branding.
#2 Intelligent Strength
Tagged as Europe’s meathead mecca, Intelligent Strength — or locally known as Das Gym — followed the simple yet memorable approach as Brooklyn Zoo did. The wordmark carries a single font consistently observed in their website through its font and color scheme.
#3 Aqua Expeditions Peru
The fitness centre located at the heart of the Amazon Rainforest — quite literally — used the abstract mark of a leaf in representing the jungle and its Aria Amazon River Cruiser. The color scheme featured on the logo is consistent with the one they use in their website.
#4 Third Space London
The luxury fitness club based in the UK also went with a sleek and unforgettable approach in its abstract mark. The logo is also easily recognizable just as its name is.
#5 Swerve
The New York based indoor cycling carries a logo that’s easily understood but complicated looking. Just like Third Space’s trademark, it’s easily remembered and quite unforgettable. The design itself is also coherent with their web design.
The Secrets of an Iconic Logo
Taking in a much broader perspective on all of the examples mentioned above, it’s pretty obvious that most of them settled for a minimal and professional logo mixed with a bit of grunge to it. Majority of them stuck by a flat design, going only with a single color or two and one font. The color schemes as well as the font featured can be observed across all of the platforms they use — websites, social media accounts, and even merchandising such as gym apparel for their members.
Though it would be tempting to pick a grander design, going for a minimalist look allows your logo to be instantly recognisable, easily interpreted and timeless. As they said, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Design fads may come and go but they are often distracting instead of helpful. By sticking to a much simpler approach, it removes elements that can drive your audience’s attention away from the main message it wants to convey. You can take a quick look at famous logos such as Apple, Nike, Adidas and you can easily understand why sticking with the aesthetic works.
And should you have a present logo already in use, there’s no need for you to be discouraged. If you studied further into the history of the well-known logos we’ve mentioned, you can see that it took them quite an amount of rebranding and redesigning before arriving to the trademark they carry now. So keep in mind that what you have right now can be improved into something greater, maybe you just need a great designer that understands your brand and its goals!
The Difference Experience Makes
What difference does it make if you stuck by doing it on your own and seeking the help of a professional? A lot. Good designers would simply tell you your gym doesn’t need a complex design because regardless of the amount of fads that come, minimalism has lasted much longer than any of them had. Having a dedicated logo designer means having someone who can bring your brand’s vision to life and cohesively integrate it to your overall brand strategy. In addition to this, certain providers also offer design packages customizable enough to fit the service that you need!
Experience makes a big difference. And though it would be totally awesome to accomplish everything on your own, having an extra pair of hands that knows what works for you and what doesn’t is not that bad.
