What makes a good logo?
That’s a question I get asked a lot by new clients that aren’t too familiar with the logo design process. It can become a very tedious process with too many options and elements to choose from. Those 5 principles will hopefully make the process easier for you.
1.
Simplicity
That is probably the most important aspect of a good logo. Too many clients think that their logo has to represent all of their services, their vision, and be beautiful at the same time. That is not what a logo is for. Think about the most iconic logos in history – Apple, IBM, Nike and so many others. If you saw an Apple logo for the first time ever would you know that it’s a technology company? Probably not. A logo should be easy to remember and talk about. The more elements your logo features the more elements people have to remember.
2.
Size matters
Your logo should perform similarly in all sizes – be it on a tiny pin on your jacket or the side of a building. The best logos are still easily recognizable even at very small sizes. That leads us back to point 1 – the more elements we have in the logo the more unlikely people will make out what your logo is trying to say.
3.
Be different
Whilst being simple the logo should also be different and distinctive. It will hopefully carry a mnemonic device that will help the audience to identify it at a later stage. A great exercise is to place your logo next to the logos of your competitors and see how it performs.
4.
Sustainability
Your logo should serve you for at least 5-10 years. You want to avoid designs that will go out of style in the next 2 years and you’ll end up having to redesign your complete brand identity again. It’s natural for designs to lose appeal over time but a good design should be useful to your for a longer period of time. Again, keeping things simple helps with that.
5.
Typography
It’s usually a good thing to start a logo design by identifying the sort of font you want your logo to have first. That usually has a positive and almost inspirational effect on the rest of the logo. It can give you ideas for layouts, shapes and colours. Try not to get too fancy with your fonts though.
What really matters
Don’t forget what it’s really about! You can have the most amazing logo developed by the most talented designer but it will all mean nothing without a great service or product. Focus on your craft and make sure you blow everyone away with your actual business. What makes a logo truly successful is your company’s essence.
