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What makes a great logo? The right logo is instantly recognizable and memorable and can become an asset when combined with the right product – think of Apple’s bitten apple, McDonald’s golden arches, and Amazon’s smile. Logos like these don’t become iconic by random chance; creating a great logo requires first understanding the golden rules of logo design.
Logo design should begin with some groundwork. Getting to know the client and their product or service will aid the designer in choosing a design direction that is most advantageous and make it easier to get an opinion on the design further down the road. It’s important to ask the client why they exist. What does their company do, and how do they successfully provide their service or deliver their product? Is there something about their product that separates them from other brands and competitors? In what do they place most value and who do they serve? This initial phase of questions might appear to be so straightforward that they’re not really needed, but the answers can be challenging and will lead to more questions about your client’s business. What you discover during this groundwork part of a project can help make sure that you don’t miss the mark when you begin developing the logo design.
Though it might be tempting to jump straight to the computer to create a design, grabbing a sketchpad is an easy way to conceptualize ideas freely and quickly. If you wake up in the middle of the night with a great idea you don’t want to lose or forget (hey, it happens), a pencil and some paper near your bed is the best way to get it down. Sketching makes it much easier to work with shapes since you can put them right where you want them while the idea is still fresh in your head. You can always digitize these marks later. Sketching ideas out can also make it easier for clients to visualize the concept without colors and typefaces interfering or causing distraction. Remember to only show your best ideas or the whole idea may be dismissed.
Though branding depends on color choices, they can become a distraction and make it difficult for the client to grasp the basic concept of the logo. Work in black and white to start. A good idea will still be good regardless of color. When you think of a well-known symbol, more often you will think of the shape first before the color palette. The shape and the concept itself carry the most importance, whether it’s a smile underlining a wordmark, two arches, a swoosh, or anything else.
Create a memorable design. A great logo is easy to remember, allowing a brand to stay in a future consumer’s head though they are constantly being bombarded by competing brands. Simplicity is key here. A very simple logo can often be recalled even after a quick glance, something that’s rarely possible with an extremely detailed design containing intricate illustrations. A trademark must be focused on a single story or concept. This means it should have a simplistic shape so that it works at different sizes and in a variety of applications, from a website icon to a building’s signage.
Try being different. It often takes a brave designer to go against the grain regarding trends. If a particular industry’s brands are all using the same typography, similar color palettes, or the pictorial mark placed on top the brand name, this is the perfect opportunity to set your design apart as opposed to having it blend in. Help your design stand out by doing something a little different. Another added benefit of bucking the trend is that it shows imagination in your design portfolio, which is one great way to attract the kind of clients you want.
Avoid being too literal. A logo doesn’t need to show what a company does to convey its service, it’s better if it doesn’t. More enduring marks are usually abstract. If a logo shows a factory or some other type of building, for instance, it doesn’t accurately tell a story of what the company does. Instead, it sends more of a message of who you are. Keep in mind that a logo doesn’t always need a pictorial mark or symbol. A cleverly designed text-based logo or wordmark can be just as effective.
In conclusion, don’t be afraid to keep things simple. As designers we often get caught up in the notion that adding more conveys a clearer message while ignoring another golden rule, less is more. Being clever and concise in design often outweighs busy and confusing.
