The logo is by no means the most important part of a business. But it is very important for a business to have a logo that is distinct and easily recognizable, because in many cases it conveys the qualities of the brand that the company represents. A logo allows the company’s brand to be easily recognized in a variety of situations. It is used as shorthand for the company itself in most of the company’s marketing material and is integral to the way the company represents itself to the world. Let’s take a look at a few of the things to keep in mind while designing a logo.
Try to make sure that a logo that is designed so that it can be described easily. For example Nike’s logo can be described as a tick mark and McDonald’s logo is usually described as the golden arches. This allows people to talk about your logo in a variety of situations. Another goal for a logo designer is to make the logo designed memorable. A logo’s recall value is usually dependent on the strength of the company’s marketing campaigns. Products that have a wide reach or are luxury items have logos that are recognizable by virtue of being famous. Still, the design does its bit in making the logo memorable.
A designer should make the logo in such a way that it can be used even when it is not in color. 95% of the time, a logo is printed in black and white on company documents and the like. It is sometimes even used as a rubber stamp. You see the color logo of the company only in marketing and promotional material. So make sure that the logo works in black and white and also when the logo is printed against a dark background.
When you design the logo, make sure that it is built using vector graphics. This will allow you to scale the logo to any size without loss in resolution. It will also help you test the logo’s effectiveness in a variety of situations like billboard printing, stationery prints, glossy brochure prints and video.
A good logo usually has some connection to the company’s name, heritage, product or value system. Remember to incorporate these elements in your design. For example, for older brands like Ford and Coca Cola, the name itself acts as a logo. Heritage is conveyed by the old copperplate kind of font that is used. The Domino’s logo has a simple pictogram of a domino while the smile in the Amazon logo signifies that the company attempts to bring a smile to your face.
If you are a professional logo designer, put together a strong design process. One of the most popular design methods for logos goes like this. Obtain a clear design brief from the company. Do your research and brainstorm with the company. This is followed by sketching the various ideas that you have. The next step is crucial. Convert the key design elements in to digital form and then build prototypes and samples for the client. This will help you if there are any modifications that need to be made. Having the design in the elemental form will allow you to generate further ideas. Lastly remember to get an inexperienced eye to look at the logo to see if it is understood correctly.
