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Tips for Good Logo Design

Not a logo, but I like it.The Heart of Your Corporate Identity

Logos should make a good first impression and leave a lasting one. Logo design is the tip of the marketing and branding iceberg.

Its function is to create a memorable, recognizable impression in the mind of a potential client or customer. A logo is essentially at the heart of a corporate identity.

Checklist

When designing your logo keep the following in mind: What do you want your customers to expect and feel when they see your logo?

• Pick a logo that stands out no matter what context you place it in.

• Don't clutter your logo with fine details.

• Choose a logo that prints well in both color and black and white.

• Choose a logo that is easy to emboss.

• Choose a logo that is both simple and memorable after one impression.

• Avoid a logo with decorative letters that compete with graphical elements.

• Avoid meaningless lines, shapes and patterns. LESS is MORE.

Types of Logos

Go to the LOGO PORTFOLIO page.

There are three basic types of logos, which can be used alone or combined within one design:

• Illustrative logos (a logo which clearly illustrates what your company does).

• Graphic logos (a logo that includes a graphic, often an abstraction, of what your company does).

• Font-based logos (a text treatment which represents your company). Typography manipulation is a strategy used successfully by big companies such as Dell with its twisted "E" and Microsoft with its chipped "O".

Creating a logo is always a process — though different designers have their own methods. Many designers will begin by sketching thumbnails or playing with shapes on the computer screen, until something "clicks" and they follow that path to see where it leads. One way to start is to select a shape which represents the concept of the company, and begin playing with it. The idea is to come up with something interesting or clever, whether a viewpoint which is different, or an unusual combination of shapes. Perhaps it will be something which will require some guesswork on the part of the viewer, but then be crystal clear when they look at it another way.

Many designers prefer developing logos consisting entirely of text. By experimenting with fonts, size, shapes they seek to find an interesting way to represent the company using the form of letters. Again, simplicity is extremely important — this is not the time to use fancy decorative fonts. Whether alone or combined with graphic elements, the text in a logo must be easily readable at small sizes.

Keep it Simple

A logo should be simple, not be complicated or confusing, and again, all elements must be discernible when reproduced in small sizes. Always make sure your logo looks pleasing on paper and in a wide range of sizes before committing to it.

A good logo works in the simplest form. With the advent of the Internet, it is common to see logos which contain gradients, 3D effects, animation, and other visual effects. But if the logo can not also be reduced to a simple one-color flat version for use on faxes, checks, and photocopied documents, it is functionally useless. As tempting as it might be to create a whiz-bang logo, a designer must consider ALL the ways your company's identity will be disseminated. Be sure you don't get carried away with the possibilities until you have a logo which will present a strong image for your company on a simple business card! Once this is successfully accomplished, you can always jazz up your logo later for the web!

Why is it worth spending money on logo design?

• To make a good first impression — think about dressing for a job interview.
• To make a lasting impression — so that people will recognize your organization the next time they see it. Logo design is the tip of the marketing and branding iceberg.
• To differentiate yourself from your competitors. See how your competitors are presenting themselves, and decide how you want to stand out.

Drawing the logo itself is only a tiny part of the job. Most of the time is in research (who are your competitors, where will the logo be seen, what do you want to communicate), and in working out all the details of its application (black and white, color, web, fax, stationary, business card, forms). For large companies, the logo is part of a much larger corporate identity system, which includes a notebook of guidelines for how the logo is to be applied in ads, brochures, web sites, etc.

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