Logo Design: What Makes A Good Logo?

Designing a good logo is critical for representing your business and enticing customers to buy from you & keep in mind, it may be the first impression anyone will have about your business. Even if you are looking to evolve or refresh your branding it’s really important that a great deal of thought & research is put into the design before the actual creation to achieve the best possible result.

What makes a Good Logo Design Stand Out?

When you invest a great deal of time and money in creating the perfect logo, it should hold up over time and will speak volumes about your company.  Consider your brand logo as an invaluable asset whether you have a pet shop or offering a line of infant wear.  A good logo must be unique and stand out from the crowd while letting customers know what you are selling.

If you have a logo that is just not hitting the mark, it’s time to get back to the drawing board and seriously think how to create a good logo that not only speaks for your business, but also is completely different from any other design out there.  Customers and clients remember logos that are different and draws them in.  You want to have a great impact on these people so every time they see your logo they will immediately think of your business.

There are far too many logos out there that have no impact whatsoever because they all look the same or cookie cut off the assembly line.  Your logo must represent your brand and only your brand!  It must be totally unique so everyone will immediately think of your business, not mistake it for someone else’s brand.  Keep in mind, if you see a logo you really like and decide to design one that is similar you could be accused of plagiarizing something that is trademarked and copyrighted! A good graphic designer will draw inspiration from other sources and then develop a unique, fresh, one-of-a-kind logo for only your business.

Show Creativity

A good brand logo does not have to look like the product it’s representing it can be very simple but will say clearly what you are about.  A good logo does not have to be complicated, some only include text but the message is very effectual. The bottom line, in order to have a great logo you must show creativity.

You must have your logo in place before you start any other projects such as the colors for your letterhead and business cards that will have your company name.  Your logo’s design will be the foundation for all your other materials including promotional materials, stationery, packaging, etc.  The colors and graphics you choose should reflect the image you want to convey about your business.

Your Colors & Text Should Represent Your Product

The colors and text that you select should reflect your product.  If you have an organic food business that promotes healthy choices, your logo should represent products that are all-natural and healthy.  You probably want to look at colors that are earth tones and your text should be simple and basic.  Your logo will send a message to consumers that you are a part of nature and are environmentally responsible.  If you were to make your logo too wild with neon colors, people will not associate it with nature and natural products, it’ll be too trendy!

A well planned and designed logo should introduce your product to the world.  You want to make sure it will target the right audience looking for your product.  A good logo should inspire your brand’s image or your brand’s mission.  Your logo should also be designed in a way that your audience can relate to, have a story line, or represents the history of the brand.

The color of your logo is very important, if you pick the wrong color it will send the wrong message and not get across what you want people to understand about your brand.  It’s always advisable that you stay away from colors that are too bright.  If a color is too bright,  it will come across as unprofessional and will make your logo look cheap.  Some colors work best with certain industries but not in all industries. Take the color green, it’s the best color for industries such as ecological institutions, natural food products, and government organizations to name a few.

Flexibility For All Sizes

Your logo is probably going to appear on different platforms including your building, company vehicles, letterhead, online, etc..  Your logo must be seen clearly in all different sizes and should also look perfect in both color and black & white.  Logo designing can be a very precise and a complicated technique.  It doesn’t really matter how wonderful it appears if it is not flexible for all your commercial needs.

You should make a list of all the places your logo will be viewed and whether your design will hold up when altered in size.  Images on t-shirts, brochures, billboards, and websites are all going to  be very different.

Is Your Logo Communicating Clearly Or Is It Confusing?

Potential consumers will take only a few seconds to view your logo.  You must be able to get your company’s message across very quickly and very clearly.  If you have something in your logo that is not apparent, consumers will be very confused and not understand who you are.  Some companies make the mistake of creating a logo that is too complicated or too busy while not getting their message across.  As an example, take a look at Apple’s “apple”.  Although it has gone through a few design changes from years ago to a more streamline and sleek, everyone knows the apple and what corporation it represents.

Apple’s very clean logo speaks very clearly they are about easy-to-use technology with this very simple, very famous image.  If you are just getting your business going, you must think very seriously what your  brand’s main characteristics are and how your message will relate through your logo.  The best logos are those that are actually quite simple while representing a company’s brand.  You do not want to place consumers in a position that they need to try and figure out what your brand is about.  A really good logo can be simple and interesting at the same time!

Your Logo Must Be Capable Of Being Remembered!

You want your logo to stick with people so they will immediately associate it with your particular service or product and will turn to you for their specific solutions.  This can be very difficult to achieve if you skip needed steps when designing your logo.  Take a look at logos that have been around for over 50 years but are still just as pertinent, fresh, and memorable as ever.  A good example is Coca-Cola which has not been altered or changed in 50 years but everyone knows their logo and who they are.  Another great image is the little girl with the umbrella representing Morton Salt Company! She first surfaced in 1911 the message she conveyed was – even when it rains, Morton Salt keeps pouring!  Does it work? You Bet!.

If you have a good quality logo, it will be very easy for people to remember and will lead to repeat customers and even more customers through word-of-mouth.

Simplicity Can Speak Volumes

A perfect logo never needs to be explained, it’s upfront, clear, and to the point.  A perfectly designed logo should be simple.  Your logo should only be comprised of essential elements that will always be remembered after the first time someone sees it.  Paul Rand designed some of the world’s most memorable logos and believed very strongly in simplicity by saying “Design is so simple, that’s why it’s so complicated.”

If you take a look at some of the leading logos that are seen every day, you will see how very simple they are.  When designing  a simple logo, what you leave out is just as important as what you put in.  Your logo must complement your business name and that will include researching historical and symbolic associations of your company’s name while also choosing the right image.

Another important aspect, your logo should be just as great in black & white as in color.  The contrasts of black & white should emphasize the design and the idea and should be scalable for different commercial platforms.

Another good example of simplicity, let’s go back to the Apple logo.  Originally, the apple was rainbow colored and the current image is either black or simplistic gray scale.  The current image is very easy for everyone to digest and immediately recognize.

Originality Is Key

When thinking about your design, keep in mind how many logos are in this world today.  You must find an image and design that is unique and original to your business.  If you are not careful, you could accidentally come up with a design that looks like someone else’s design.

TalentBin is an excellent search engine for people looking for talented people within a field.  Their logo is a cartoon purple squirrel riding a unicorn meaning they are looking for people who are difficult to find.  After all, when’s the last time you saw a purple squirrel riding a unicorn?  If you are a startup business, you might have to take a bit more of a risk then if you are a well-established and been around a long time business.

Include Feedback Research

When you come up with some logo designs it’s a really good idea to get it out there for people to review, using sources such as Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.  You can get it viewed for $10 and within a day, get incredible feedback from different people.  You will discover how fast or slow your logo is or how light or heavy it is.  You need independent feedback to find out whether your logo is saying what you want.

Should You Hire A Designer

It’s very tempting to try your hand at designing your logo vs hiring a professional who could charge thousands of dollars for just one logo.  That said, there are many independent designers who charge a lot less.  If you are on a tight budget you should look around for an independent designer but don’t grab the one that simply offers the lowest price.  You need to look for a designer who is familiar with your field or industry and will know your competition.  If you are still concerned about the cost, keep in mind that a really good logo should last for least 10 years.  Even if you have a designing sense, an eye for details and colors, you should still consult with a professional designer.

The advantage to hiring a designer, they know if a logo will transfer well into other platforms such as a t-shirt or on a billboard.  Should you decide to create your own logo, it might not be transferable or will cost a great deal to print.  Keep in mind, your logo is the foundation of your business through your promotional materials.  In this particular case, it’s a lot wiser to spend a little more on having your logo designed professionally because it will pay off in the long run.

A great logo depends on the designing skills behind it, the creativity behind it, and the expert application applied to make it great.  Anyone who has the skills of a designer can create a flexible logo but to master all aspects of creating it takes a great deal to time.  Even though your logo design is just a small part of all your branding activities such as your presence on social media to the interior designing of your site, your logo is still the center of your branding plans.

You Must Understand Your Competitions Branding

Before you even start working on your logo design ideas, you have to research your targeted market completely and understand your competition.  If you study your clients, you will discover valuable information about your competitors.  Comparing your competitors’ logos will give you a strong understanding of what drives customers within your industry.  This will play an important role when you start visualizing what will work and what won’t.  When you look at the most recognizable logo designs that stand out, you will notice how they shun away from trends and think outside the box.  If you hire a good designer, they will ask pertinent questions to get to the basics of a logo design.

The strategy behind the branding process is extremely important and in many cases will depend on the extent of the project but it all starts by asking the right questions and a good designer will do just that.

Is Your Logo Workable?

This is probably the most important question regarding your logo design.  There have been many awesome logo designs that have many visual effects, gradients, colors, etc.  They start off looking great on the mock-up that the designer places before customers, but they do not hold up over the long-haul.  You must know if your logo will work online, on banners, your stationery, and the most challenging – on clothing!  Keep in mind, if you have a very intricate design, you are going to have to simplify it in order for embroiderers to work with the design for hats, uniforms, or t-shirts.  If your design is too busy or too intricate it might not be recognizable when transferred to clothing.

Think very carefully what your logo’s message should be and how you want customers to react to it.  A good logo should be designed in such a way that it will last for a very long time and always be related only to you!