Research has shown, without much of a doubt to be had, that mascots can make quite an impact for businesses, both large and small. There’s a good chance that when you think of certain businesses, the first thing that you think of is the mascot of that business, or something else involving what the mascot has done. With that being said, if you are creating your own business mascot, you may not know what to think or plan for as there are so many different aspects that you must consider.

You will need to think about how people view the mascot, how people will want to interact with the mascot, and most importantly, how your mascot will come across to both potential audiences and your current audience. Here are some things that you should keep in mind when you are planning and designing your brand’s new mascot.

1. Consider What You Want Your Mascot to Look Like

Of course, this step should be one that you shouldn’t even have to remember. This should be a step that would be common sense, but surprisingly, many companies do not consider this when they are first creating their mascot. When you first begin the design process, you should begin thinking about all the different traits that you want to convey with your mascot before you decide what it should look like. For example, if you want your mascot to convey protectiveness (perhaps as a security company), you may want to think about what traits or animals are commonly associated with protection. Common guard dog breeds could be one route you could go, or you can think of animals commonly associated with defence, such as a rhino or an armadillo. These are just some examples of what you should be considering before you even have plans for clothes, design, or even the character the mascot should have.

2. Consider What You Will Need to Make the Mascot Unique

Now that you have a good idea of what you want your mascot to convey and how you are going to make that happen, you should try to think about what would make your mascot stand apart from the crowd. While you are thinking of this, you will want to try and keep your ideas as practical as they can be. For instance, one way to make a mascot unique would be to have the character costume feature specific colours of your brand. Think about unique features to give the costume that set it apart from the sea of other mascots from various competing businesses.

3. Consider the Comfort of the Costume

While some aspects of the mascot will be more focused on an artistic appearance that you can put onto a website, logo, or other designs, you will still want to make the mascot something that can be easily and comfortably replicated into a costume that you can use for publicity purposes. After all, the person in the costume is going to need to have the personality of the mascot, and it can be hard to convey an obvious personality if the person inside the costume is unable to move or is extremely uncomfortable. While designing your mascot, you should try to make sure that the costume is going to be relatively comfortable. One of the best ways to do this is by conferring with the person who is going to be wearing the aforementioned costume.

4. Consider the Ideas of Others

Speaking of conferring with others, one of the best ways to make sure that the mascot conveys what you want it to convey will be to include other people in the designing process. These people can be other employees of the business, people who are involved with creating the costume itself, or even unaffiliated parties to gauge how the mascot comes across. Getting a second, third, and fourth opinion on the mascot is going to go a long way in making sure that it has the most impact when it is revealed to the public.

5. Consider the Professional’s Opinion

It also would be a good idea to take several different ideas to a professional designer. You may also want to include the person who will be using the costume during these trips, as he or she should have some input for the sake of the costume’s manoeuvrability and comfort. A professional will be able to help you with the structure and crafting of the costume so that it not only looks the way you envision it, but that it also is sturdy and stays together.

Creating a mascot is not something that is typically done by one person. It will be important to rely on the assistance of others to help determine how you want the mascot to come across, how the mascot’s costume will feel to the person wearing it, and how the general public will perceive the costume itself.