A logo is a combination of text and visual design that serves two purposes. It tells people about your company and it creates a visual symbol that represents your business. It’s the first impression customers take of your business
1. Simple
One of the basic requirements and qualities of a great logo design is that it has to be made on a simple concept. The best logos are the ones that give the viewer an immediate and clear sense of “you” – and are clean and uncluttered. In general, less is more and simplicity is more impactful. Remember that logos are used in a variety of ways, on different platforms and in various formats and sizes, so intricate details will be lost.
A complex logo with many colors, fonts, and decorative elements can be a huge distraction for the viewers. A simple design does not require any explanation from the experts and even common viewers can instantly know the message that logo wants to convey.
While in college in the mid-’70s, an instructor introduced me to the K.I.S.S. Principle of design, which translates as: Keep It Simple, Stupid. It does convey a very important design consideration. Simple logos are often easily recognized, incredibly memorable and the most effective in conveying the requirements of the client. A refined and distilled identity will also catch the attention of a viewer zipping by signage at 70 miles per hour, on packaging on the crowded shelves of a store, or in any other vehicle used for advertising, marketing and promotion. Remember, the basis of the hugely effective international branding for the world’s largest shoe manufacturer is a very simple graphic swoosh. — Jeff Fisher
2. Use Colors Strategically
Make sure that your logo design is attractive. A clever use of colors can make it look unique. Colors have this amazing ability of evoking our feelings. For example, when we see red, we have some emotions of aggressiveness, love, energy, and passion.
This means that if your business deals in products or services and target customers are from the younger generation, use red in your logo. Blue is associated with intelligence and friendliness and hence it finds place in social networking sites such as Facebook, Linkedin. Pink symbolizes tenderness and is usually used with anything that is related to women products such as clothes or shoes.
Therefore, incorporate the colors that can express the feelings that you want to evoke. These very feelings or emotions will be the message that you want to deliver to your target customers through your logo design.
3. Scalable and Versatile
Your business will use the logo on a varied surfaces. These surfaces may be as little as a stamp or a promotional product like a pen. If your details of your logo are not visible clearly when printed on a small space, then redesign the logo.
You may be having a complicated logo design. It would be advisable to remove any undesirable elements. If there are many colors and lines, or typefaces, remove any additional elements.
Similarly, if your logo appears on a big surface of a billboard, as part of your billboard design, then the logo should not lose its sense of proportion. This means that the logo should not be stretch on one side.
To make the logo design scalable, draw it with the help of design grids. This method works well to maintain a good balance amongst various elements of the logo.
Your logo will be used in a number of ways and in multiple contexts.
Here are just a few:
- On designing t-shirts, baseball caps and, alas, fanny packs
- On pens, keychains and water bottles
- On very horizontal and extremely vertical banners
- On both black and white backgrounds (make sure your designer creates your logo in black and in white to satisfy these needs if necessary)
- Very large and very, very small
- Alongside other company logos printed t-shirt, like those for specific products and services
4. It Should Look Great In Black And White
Remember that you will be advertising your business in newspapers, magazines, leaflets, etc ads. On such ads, usually, the publishers go for colorless printing of advertisements. In that case, your logo design must hold its impact on the viewers. Your logo appears impressive in colors. But if on newspaper ads, if it is less impressive, you should redesign the logo.
I like to work first in black and white to ensure that the logo will look good in its simplest form. Color is very subjective and emotional. This can distract from the overall design – say if you saw your logo in all red, that color may be the first thing that you respond to and not the composition of the design elements. I will not even consider submitting color suggestions to a client for review until they have signed off on a final black and white logo. — Patrick Winfield
5. Memorable
One of the qualities of global companies’ logos is that they all are memorable piece of work. Your logo should also be a design that people can have in their memories for a long time. If that does not happen, the logo may fail in winning loyalty of your customers.
A simple trick to create memorable logos is to first have a unique concept. A unique design concept is the one that no one has ever used before. For example, Nike’s swoosh logo design is unique as it just a simple swoosh that no other sports company used before and after.
Surprising to many, the subject matter of a logo is of relatively little importance, and even appropriateness of content does not always play a significant role. This does not imply that appropriateness is undesirable. It merely indicates that a one-to-one relationship between a symbol and what it symbolized is very often impossible to achieve and, under certain conditions, objectionable. Ultimately, the only mandate in the design of logos, it seems, is that they be distinctive, memorable, and clear. — Paul Rand
6. Timeless
Would you like to create a new logo every second year? That is not possible for small businesses. Frequent changes in your original logo design is also not advisable for many reasons. If you redesign a logo so often, you are leaving your customers confused and directionless.
A logo should be modern in that it should be contemporary, yet not so nuanced with “hot” components that when the trend has run its course you’ll be left with something that feels outdated. Because then your company will also appear outdated to your prospects. But make sure that your overall approach is modern including specific elements such as colors, and typefaces.
Leave trends to the fashion industry. Trends come and go, and when you’re talking about changing a pair of jeans or buying a new dress, that’s fine, but where your brand identity is concerned, longevity is key. Don’t follow the pack. Stand out. — David Airey
7. Appropriate
How you “position” the logo should be appropriate for its intended audience. For example, a child-like font and color scheme would be appropriate for a logo for a children’s toy store, not so much for a law firm.
A logo doesn’t need to say what a company does. Restaurant logos don’t need to show food, dentist logos don’t need to show teeth, furniture store logos don’t need to show furniture. Just because it’s relevant, doesn’t mean you can’t do better. The Mercedes logo isn’t a car. The Virgin Atlantic logo isn’t an airplane. The Apple logo isn’t a computer. Etc. — David Airey
What Makes a Good Logo
Step 1: Research Your Industry
Step 2: Choose Your Colors
Step 3: Sketch The Ideas For Your Design
Step 4: Design Your Logo
- Use the space you have
- Logos Should Always Be Scalable
- Logos Should Look Great In Color, Grayscale And Black & White
- Understand handwritten fonts
- Balance your tagline
- Adjust your name and tagline
- Let your logo breathe
- Ensure readability
- Give your background contrast
- Align all your elements