A logo is incredibly important for any company. Appearing on everything from the website to promo pens, a logo helps to define a business, create its identity and build its brand. Logos are so important there has even been a best-selling board game made in their honor and some committed consumers even branding themselves with tattoos of their favourite brands!
However, despite the fact that most good logos are incredibly simple, creating a stand out design can be tough. If you’re starting a brand new business or you’re giving your brand a face-lift, let’s take a look at what makes a logo eye-catching, attractive and instantly recognisable.
Simple
From Nike’s iconic ‘Swoosh’ to the ubiquitous golden arches of MacDonalds and from Apple’s partially eaten fruit to the WWF’s enigmatic panda, the best logo designs are often the simplest.
Clear, concise graphic designs are easy to recognise, easy to replicate and easy to spot from a distance. This makes them ideal logos as they communicate quickly and effectively with your target audience, acting as a calling card for your business and helping to strengthen your brand identity.
If you can’t find a graphic that suits your brand, you could consider a type-based design. Companies like Fed Ex, CNN and Disney have all created effective logos using a unique font.
Timeless
Unless you want to rebrand your business every few years, you need your logo to be as timeless as possible.
Try to avoid any unnecessary flourishes, design fads or clichés, sticking instead to clean lines, a few select colours and a clear message.
This also applies to the typeface you use for your logo. If you’re creating a font from scratch, make sure you make it clean and simple. Typographic trends come and go and something that’s fashionable now may well look dated in a few years time.
If you don’t have the time or expertise to create your own font, you can use an existing typeface and adapt it to suit your brand.
Appropriate
Creating an eye-catching, timeless design is just half the battle. In order for your logo to be truly effective, it also needs to relate to your business.
Before you start designing your logo, sit down with your colleagues or collaborators and make a list of your business’ most important qualities and associations. Use these as a starting point for your logo design, incorporating your ideas into the finished result.
If you need a little more inspiration to create your perfect look just take a look at the logos of some of the brands that you know and love. And for a bit of fun, challenge yourself to this logo quiz and see how well you know some of the most famous brands around, based on their deconstruction logos.
Let us know how you get on and see if you’re a logo legend or more of a logo loser!
