03 Nov What Makes A Good Business Logo?
A good logo starts as a concept that is able to communicate an idea effectively. If executed well, print size and colour should not distract from its intended message. A business logo should differentiate itself from its competitors, stand out graphically but be simple and appropriate.
Logos are what differentiate brands from one another. It should embody the company’s brand and on a marketing level, be instantly recognisable similar to Nike, IBM, or Chanel. That will show the true mark of a great logo!
Designing a Logo
Although the idea is simple enough, designing a logo takes creativity and thoughtfulness. It is important to have a thorough brief with the client to gather information on what they truly hope to achieve with this logo before delving into their research – understanding the client’s brand identity, vision, and looking out for what kind of logos they are inspired by. The research should consist of the industry as a whole as well as its competitors.
Stay abreast of current trends as well as reference successful past logos. The idea is to create something timeless and let the creative juices and imagination flow with the design brief in mind. Ask for feedback if possible and revisit the logo with a fresh perspective, improving the design as you go along. The client might not always have a clear vision of what they want, hence sometimes it is up to the designer to guide that process in the right direction.
Present the logo to the client in a clear, concise way that allows them to visualise their brand and the concept behind it, not forgetting to lend support throughout the client’s journey.
Qualities of a Business Logo
A memorable logo showcases the identity of a business. It should stick out in your mind and be etched in your brain, making it ultra-easy to replicate. It is through replication that we can determine if the logo is truly a success. A logo is meant to be distinctive and yet simply effective in terms of recalling it. This allows both returning and prospective clients to recognise the brand immediately.
While graphic designers are looking for something unique, the graphics should be balanced and aligned. It should look organised and not veer off the page. This is a key point to remember as the business must project a stance of strength and structure or risk making it look weak.
Customer is king, or at least they have to like the logo! It is always helpful to keep the design brief and information collected on hand rather than go off on personal tastes. Ultimately, communication is a two-way street and while the designer has free reign to a certain extent, it is also important to sell the idea to the client and instil confidence in the logo. The client, on the other hand, must attempt to clearly express their concept early and keep the designer in the loop of any changes. This will lessen multiple reiterations as well as manage frustration on both ends.
Logos should be the perfect mix of simplicity and a little mystery. It makes anyone’s eyes linger a little longer on the versatility of design and should evoke a sense of curiosity. By piquing a viewer’s interest, a good logo will make people want to find out a little bit more about the company or it can be a hot topic of discussion which makes industry veterans pay attention to their competitors.
Essentials of a Business Logo
A good business logo is one of the first impressions graphic designers make on their clients and that is why it is important to get it right! It should convey the designer’s values, build trust, and tell a story of their personality and character. It may also make all the difference in choosing their competitor over your company.
Versatility is an essential part of any logo. It should be able to work on different format sizes across various marketing materials for something as big as a billboard or as small as a business card.
When choosing a colour, think about how it can represent the company effectively. If the client is in the financial sector, colours like blue embody trust and loyalty further enforcing the message that they are credible and viable to the world, whereas the colour green might work well for energy or waste industries.
The key is to keep the colours to a minimum of one or two and bear in mind that they should work well even in black and white for printing purposes. Using fewer colours also keep production costs low, making it easier to reproduce. Typography is also an essential factor in creating a logo. It can communicate a sense of dignity and power or head in the opposite direction creating whimsy. It should typically look clean and offer stability with well-adjusted letter spacing and appropriate sizing.
A good business logo should also be vectorised. A properly drawn design with vector-based graphics will give clients the ultimate flexibility when using their logo outside of online or onscreen applications. Essentially, the company’s logo is a graphic representation of the brand and may contribute to the success of a client’s business. It is a visual communicator that helps to relay information about an organisation, the work it does, what makes them unique, and who they are as a business. All in all, a good logo should really showcase the direct message that a company wants to express towards their target audience.
It is a lot of pressure and a huge responsibility for one tiny symbol to convey an entire organisation’s brand and identity so it is imperative to get the logo right in order to share your message as a company to the world.