A Logo design represents the purpose and meaning of a brand or company without providing a complete visual representation.
It is a little signifier that relies on the powerful backing of a product or service.
When starting a new company, or trying to rebrand your current one, finding what makes a good logo design can be a bit more difficult than previously thought.
Every company strives to create a good logo which will stick with the public for years to come.
That means using a favourite font or merely abbreviating your company name with plain lettering may not help you stand out from your competitors.
Here are some quick tips to help you learn what makes a good logo design that will stand the test of time.
1 – Keep It Simple
Social media companies like Facebook have straightforward logo designs.
They are easily recognisable, and this makes an important point about branding.
The Facebook brand is sharp and well-defined.
A simple logo design does not detract the attention away from the brand.
Instead, it merely signals and supports it.
Having an overly crowded or busy design may lead to consumers failing to recognise what your brand is about.
Your logo should relate to your brand identity, making it a reasonably obvious match to your company name or the services you provide.
However, this should be done in the simplest way possible.
2 – Make It Appropriate for Your Company’s Brand
A company who uses a shield in the logo, like cybersecurity news site Security Gladiators for instance, immediately makes you think of security and strength.
The symbolism behind shapes can create a subtle message all on its own.
Being aware of this when branding can help you immensely.
Logos must reflect a company’s brand identity, and many of the most successful businesses from around the world have nailed the art of this concept.
Many family-friendly companies use circles or ovals, which can create a sense of community, friendship and unity.
Triangles, squares and rectangles often imply masculinity, power or strength and can be found in many science and technology logo designs.
Rings can be found in many jewellery or wedding-related brand logos as they symbolise marriage and love.
3 – The Power of Colour
A well-thought-out colour scheme can create a similar consumer response to using shapes.
Not only will it make your logo pop, but if used correctly, the right colour or colours can evoke an emotional response or connection with your target audience.
For example, the Payoneer logo design, which is a bright red “Y” giving off a celebratory vibe, can come across as powerful, energetic and determined.
Being a money transfer company, Payoneer would want you to feel in control and confident about using their services.
Companies who want to tie their brand to nature, growth or safety may choose a green colour scheme.
Blue is often found in logos that represent cleanliness, health or healing.
Yellow can be associated with joy and cheerfulness, and it is commonly found in food and toy logos.
Many brands use this method to appeal to their target audience subconsciously.
It is something to consider when creating your new or improved logo design.
4 – Timelessness is Key
If your brand has staying power, it is essential to spend time on creating a good logo that can be used across decades or even generations.
Coca-Cola and Disney have used the same logo or slight alterations of their original logo since their beginnings.
Rather than using a commonly found font, they both created their own for a one-of-a-kind look.
When you create a logo design with hand-drawn details, it is incredibly difficult for other companies to replicate your image.
This allows your logo design to stand out in a crowd of generic fonts and layouts.
Even when used for other purposes, the use of the Disney and Coca-Cola fonts immediately connects the public to their original brand.
In contrast, if you look at the logo history of a company such as Pepsi, you will see numerous logo changes to help create a more modern or hip vibe.
Catering to current logo design trends and styles means your logo will endure changes every ten years or less, which is not beneficial for creating a timeless representation of your company.
5 – Versatility is Important
Ensuring your logo is easily adjustable to various sizes is extremely important, especially online where it can be used for a range of uses and formats on social media.
Make sure your logo is designed in vector format, making it easily scalable and editable.
This creates much more freedom for your graphic design team when imposing your logo on different websites or merchandise.
A distorted logo is not a good look for a professional business, so be sure to spend the time and funds needed for hiring a professional logo designer.
In return, you will receive a desirable and functional logo that you can trust to represent your company in every way.
6 – Hire a Professional
Start-up costs for a new brand or company can be incredibly high, so it is common for businesses to look for what can be cut to save some money.
Perhaps someone has a nephew or distant friend who has a knack for graphic design and could probably produce an awesome logo for super cheap.
Alternatively, the owner thought it was an easy enough task and started to design a logo themselves.
These examples can lead to time being wasted and significant headaches.
Unless someone has received the necessary training or attended a graphic design program, chances are their skills in logo designing are not up to par.
It is always a good idea to check out online reviews for graphic design companies or freelance graphic designers to gain a sense of their work ethic and end product results.
Always be wary of posting logo design jobs on one-time project sites as it could turn into a lengthy process to find a graphic designer who has the training and capabilities to deliver you a high-quality logo.
7 – Avoid Using Stock Art
Using stock art will make your logo look generic and cheap.
It gives the impression to your potential customer or client that no creativity or time was spent designing the logo.
They then may believe that the same lacklustre attitude is carried into how your business operates.
Using stock art can also lead to legal and copyright issues if the art was not provided for use as a logo.
It is essential to create a wholly unique design that separates you from your competitors while at the same time giving you an original identifier to your customers and clients.
If you do choose to use art taken from an image library, you should ensure that the licensing is retained by your company to avoid further issues or copycat logos popping up in the future.
8 – Back to the Basics
As stated previously, colour can add a lot of extra elements to your logo design.
It can evoke feelings and emotions while providing an eye-appealing visual design.
However, it is essential to start your design with the basics: black and white.
Although many companies and brands want a logo that stands out from its competitors by being colourful and highly visible, at some point the logo will not be presented in monotone.
For print advertising use or marketing materials, sometimes the printing will be distributed in black and white.
So if you are using different colours to contrast or distinguish elements in your logo, once it is printed in black and white, it may be unrecognisable.
Always start your logo design process in black and white and play with the colour until you can create a logo that is readily identifiable in any colour scheme.
9 – Fonts: Be Highly Selective
When starting the creative process behind logo design, it may seem cutting-edge to use a menagerie of different fonts.
However, the overuse of different styles of fonts makes the logo look unprofessional and messy.
It creates an almost unreadable logo that may turn customers away instead of coming across as trendy.
This is especially true if using three or more different fonts that are entirely unlike each other.
Legibility and easy recognition of the company or brand are much improved when a logo uses only one or two different styles of font.
Final Words
To answer the question: What makes a good logo design we have covered a range of tips, but it comes down to communication.
The goal of creating a good logo design for your company is to trigger an emotional connection to your actual product or service among your intended audience.
You want your logo to define your company quickly but do so originally and creatively, setting you apart from competitors.
The best companies recognise what groups they are trying to attract, whether kids or adults, males or females and create an appealing, representative design to cater to that audience.
Spending time and money on acquiring a professional graphic designer with creativity and sufficient logo design knowledge will save you time, worry and money in the long run.
Be involved in the creative design process to ensure you get a logo you love, and that will best represent your brand or company while being entirely original.
If you wish to discuss how we can develop your brand or provide graphic design for your product or business, email us: [email protected]
Inkbot Design is a Creative Branding Agency that is passionate about effective Graphic Design, Brand Identity, Logos and Web Design.
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