What Makes a Great Logo?
We live in a world where every minute a new product is being created and new companies are springing up and competing for you business. Any business owner, marketer, or consumer knows the importance of having not just a good, but a great logo. Branding has to be one of the most important aspects of a successful marketing campaign. Often it is the logo that consumers first see and it is this striking visual that should embody your company and share in the story of what products/services you offer.
Don’t take your branding lightly. Your business could suffer for it. A logo should take considerable thought and attention to detail. A poor logo that appears offensive, confusing, or unprofessional is a sure way to turn off customers. If you have a logo or are in the process of designing one, here are a few things you may want to consider:
Basic Design Principles
This might seem rather rudimentary, but a logo must be designed well and look good. Any graphic designer worth his/her salt will be able to tell you this. The visual appeal of a logo is subjective depending on the person viewing it, but there are some basic rules that should apply such as space, color, form, consistency, and clarity. It’s often worth a professional opinion of a graphic designer when discussing your ideas. They will be able to tell you what looks amateur and what looks eye catching and clean.
Functionality
Your logo will be seen in many different contexts such as online, printed on brochures, t-shirts, and other promotional materials such as business cards, magnets, etc. It could be used on dark backgrounds, light backgrounds, textured surfaces, in various sizes, etc. With these variables, it’s important that your logo be simple in order to be functional. It’s okay to skip all the crazy embossing, shadowing, glares, etc. as these may not show up well in certain contexts.
When talking about functionality, it’s important to consider simplicity, scalability, color, and depth. When your logo is used in the contexts discussed above, you want it to remain its integrity. Be careful that your logo is not too intricate or contains fancy tricks. When your logo is reduced in sized or placed on a different background, it should still provide clarity and value.
Logos Should Represent
Your logo should represent your company’s culture and values. This may be another no brainer, but it’s worth mentioning. The style should be easily identified with the industry you are in and the products/services you offer. You need to think about you target audience. If you’re company is geared toward children, you don’t want anything overly serious. If you’re in the automotive industry, you don’t want anything delicate, you want a bold statement.
Unique
A very important function of a logo is to stand out from the crowd. Unique logos will be able to stand the test of time and will be remembered. Think Coca-Cola, Apple, McDonalds, Starbucks and Nike.These logos are instantly recognized around the world. Cookie cutter logos that follow the trends of today will need a revamp in the future. While your logo should represent your company in some way, it doesn’t necessarily have to say what your company does. The Starbucks logo doesn’t have coffee beans in it after all.
If you keep these principles in mind, you will stand a great chance of creating a logo that will stand strong through the trends of time and become a familiar icon within your business niche.