Having a greatly designed logo is the most vital part of your brand as it is posted on all your materials and is what your audience uses to visually identify with your company, product or service.
As a graphic designer specializing in logo and print design, I have worked on many logo design projects and have learned and seen the importance of having a great logo design.
What is a logo?
A logo is a symbol made of text and or images used to identify a brand, product, or service. It is your audience’s first impression of your business.
How is a logo used?
A logo is your identity and will be utilized on all advertising and marketing materials, business collateral, website and just about everywhere your business is. It is the frontline of what your company is about.
Benefits of a great logo design
Having a great logo design has many benefits including:
- Builds brand recognition
- Attracts interest in your brand, company, product, or service
- Builds trust and stability
- Tells your story
- Makes your business stand out from the competition
Now that we know all about what a logo is, how it is used, and benefits of a great logo design, let’s look now at what characteristics make a logo great.
- Simple – A simple logo is easily recognizable which makes it more memorable. It is easy to read, not too busy with different elements that clash together, uses a minimum color palette, and is often more eye catching than non-simplified logos. A great logo will have just as much impact simplified in black in white as it is in color.
- Easy to Read – As stated above, an effective logo is easy to read which correlates with being simple. All elements of the logo including fonts, colors, and graphic elements need to be simple and easy to read to create the most impact. Your audience should be able to see and quickly identify with your business.
- Timeless – A great logo will stand the test of time and as trends come and go, it will still remain strong and effective in its current state.
- Relevant – A logo should be relevant or appropriate for the subject matter the logo represents. For example, a logo for an amusement park for kids may have a playful logo to appeal to kids, whereas a logo for an accounting firm should probably not have a playful logo but something more professional to appeal to their target audience. That’s what this is all about; creating a logo that will represent the company’s values and goals and appeal to their target audience.
- Clean – A logo that is clean means that it is not cluttered with colors, unnecessary images, words or other elements. Many logos consist only of one to two colors and limited graphic elements depending on the style and use.
- Versatile – Versatility in your logo design means that it has the ability to work well on multiple formats and media types and scale in size all without losing quality or readability. Factors that determine the versatility of your logo are colors, how simple and clean it is, and being easy to read. Your logo should be designed to work well for print, web, apparel and promotional items and all other materials. It should have the ability for scaling up to large applications such as billboards or vehicle wraps and scaled down to a size of one inch while still being readable and recognizable. See my article “A Client’s Guide to Understanding Images” for more about image types and how to use them.
Thanks for taking the time to read this article on what makes a great and effective logo design. If you have any questions or are interested in working with me to develop an effective logo for your brand or business, please get in touch with me. I would love to hear from you.