Creating a professional image for your new logo design is one the most crucial steps to obtain new business. An effective logo design may not be visually an awesome logo. Take for example Coca-Cola™, IBM™, Microsoft™ and other successful corporations whom spend millions each year refining their brand. The design inspiration for these logos took a backseat to marketing savvy. These are famous logos are just a part of a much larger branding effort. Analytics, research and creative designs coalesce into a smarter corporate identity.
Research has proven that people want to associate themselves with brands that they think represent their own good taste.
Whether it’s for a auto repair shop or a nanotechnology firm in Silicon Valley, a logo design has to consist of several basic qualities:
- Easy to Remember – The logic is obvious, though common mistakes in Basic Logo Design 101 can result in a image that no one will ever remember.
- A Shape or Object – An effective logo is a shape or object and is never a typeface. The font used along with the logo design is an integral part, though it’s not the logo.
- Distinctive Color and Contrast – The color selection is important. Choice of color is dependent on your audience, e.g. Toy Store = Bright and Cheerful, Industrial Supply = Bold and Serious, etc. and when choosing colors keep it to no more than two or three colors that have enough contrast between them that they are appreciable even when reproduced poorly.
- Visual Symmetry – Depending on the type of business you’re in, most logos should have good weight distribution and visual symmetry.
- Resize and Reuse – A wonderful design is only good if you can use it. So, keep it simple and avoid complex shapes or intricate lines.
- Social Feedback – Post your new logo design online. e.g. Flicker. Start a Flicker account, upload your designs, then invite friends to comment.
Above all: keep it simple! When you finally decide on a logo design for your business, test out by creating mock-ups of it in use. For instance, place a copy of it in a newspaper ad design and in any other media examples to see what it will look like in various sizes and colors.
