What is a Logo?

Logo acts as a reminder and a pop up of a company/product. For the designer, it’s the ultimate challenge. Words and drawings or even doodles are how we usually express ourselves. Logos are graphic, a symbol, and it has to be in its simplest form.

Logos are the identity card of a company, the passport of the company’s growth. The designed logo has to evoke a sense of recognition among customers. Logos are the bridge between the company’s sales and their aims.

In a world where technologies are always advancing, an effective logo is a must. In a sea of logos, how do you stand out?

 

Simple

Unlike paintings or drawings, the key to an effective logo is simplicity. A good logo designer doesn’t always make a good illustrator, but this doesn’t stop you from designing a good logo. The glorious birth of a good logo often comes from aimless doodling. It doesn’t have complicating elements or components. Of course, improving your graphic design skills would really help you in your design work.

With just one quick look, your customers will recognize your brand through that particular logo. Logos that are too complex will cause confusion and minimize your chance of immediate recognition. Remember this: An effective logo is a private jet to your potential customers and business partners.

A good logo possesses the ability to get into the minds of all consumers without being overdrawn. It has to be simple up to the point where the customers will be able to describe it. Nike, a simple black tick but holds a million value.

 

Unique

A light bulb means idea; speech bubbles mean conversation, globe means international. All these are far too common to be used as a logo. Surely, your customers will be able to recognize it and identify it, but they might confuse it with other companies. A good logo has to be the odd one among a bunch of other logos.

Without an entirely different logo, your potential customers may turn to competitors’ companies, which means one less potential customers. A good logo doesn’t scream what you sell but instead it provokes the customers’ to identify it themselves.

Apple’s logo is just a plain white apple with a bite on the side, but they don’t sell Apple in a literal way. Instead, they sell smart mobile devices. Stay away from the clichés.

 

Adaptable

An effective logo is one that can be incorporated into other forms of media such as name cards; it should be resizable. To achieve this, designers usually use a vector format. The logo will be drawn by paths and not pixels, and the logo will appear clearer compared to a pixelated logo. It has to be a minimum of one inch without missing out any important elements. Bare in mind, it has to be perfect wherever it is. No matter the size, the logo will always be recognizable. Your company will lose its value.

Ask yourself: Will it look good on billboards? Name cards? T-shirts? Pins?

The color of the logo affects the effectiveness of a logo. A good logo is a chameleon that can switch colors to fit in. It will still be influential even if it’s in black and white.

 

Appropriate

Identify your target market. A good logo can attract the right potential customers and boost the sales of the product. Designing for children’s toys? It’s not necessary to have a child’s toy as a logo or having the word ‘toys.’ Focus on your color scheme, making it appealing to your target market.

Designing for a law firm? Ditch the colorful and playful color scheme. Change it to a more formal and serious approach. Not only that, but you would also use simple fonts as it would be easier to see from a distance and locate.

 

Timeless

A good logo has no expiry date. It will be durable no matter how many decades or centuries had passed. It will not deteriorate over time, and people will still be able to recognize the logo. Do not aim to be trendy but instead, strive for eternal life. A logo that is always changing will raise confusion among people.

Not only that, every time your company logo made any changes, you would have to advertise to make the changes known to the world. This is very costly and would reduce the revenue of a company.

Take a look at the ‘I LOVE NEW YORK’ logo, it’s created in 1975, but until this very day, this logo is still recognized by the general public. It’s still printed on t-shirts even after three decades.

 

If your logo fulfills all the above, you are ready to go. Start your business venture and your logo will not fail you!