Logo designing is an art that requires lots of creativity. Though many designers believe, but, it is not as simple as drawing some random geometrical figures and typing the company’s name in the most stylish fonts. There are some who believe in creating complex designs that can reflect their expertise in illustration, typography and knowledge of unique colour palette. But the reality lies way beyond these common misconceptions.
A good logo design requires lots of research work about the company, its competitors and the industry as a whole. It requires the skill of thinking outside the box more than technical illustrative skill. The creativity of logo designing lies more in the thinking process.
Here, we are presenting 9 tips for designing the perfect logo for your brand.
1. Be Simple, Be Memorable
Simplicity is always appreciated but when it comes to the logo it becomes imperative. A designer is not supposed to put all his artistic skills in creating a logo as if he were to prove his illustrative skills. A logo is always intended for the general public who have neither the time nor the willingness to analyse the logo analytically. The logo for the general public is just a symbol representing a company or organisation. They will remember the logo only when it’s simple enough to stick to their mind.
Take the example of the logo of Nike, the Swoosh. Can you think anything simpler than that logo? Its simplicity has made the logo memorable for people all over the world.
2. Be distinctive, think out of the box
Thinking out of the box while designing a logo is very important in order to make it stand out in the crowd. There already exists a sea of logos which are multiplying in number every day. If a designer fails to make the logo distinctive, it would vanish in the vast sea of existing logos. To keep your logo afloat on the sea you need to think out of the box as the logo designer of the Apple, whose logo is still fresh and thrives after more than 4 decades of its creation.
Making an Apple as a logo for the company named Apple was an expected thing but taking a bite out of it made it distinctive and memorable.
3. Be versatile, keep rocking the market
The logo is the visual representation of a company so it is needed on almost everything a company puts in front of the general public. It is used on the company’s website, social media page, letterheads, business cards, legal documents, advertisements and all promotional stuff. So, it is mandatory for a logo to be versatile enough to be used on all such stuff and look great in every style. If a logo is designed with intricate details and lots of colours it will surely look good at the company’s website or billboard advertisements but it will lose its charm when printed in small size.
The logo of Nike, Amazon, Apple and Coca-Cola are all great examples of versatile designs of a logo.
4. Be Sober, Don’t over color
Colors play a vital role in any visual element as they affect human brain on conscious as well as sub-conscious levels. Too many colours in a design can create confusion as different colours create different stimuli in human-brain. Further, it will also mess up with the versatility of the logo as discussed above. 2-3 colours are considered standard for any logo. Too many colours destroy the feel of the logo.
A graphic designer should also have knowledge about the psychology related to colours to give their logo the desired impact.
5. Be legible, pay attention to Typeface
Almost every logo contains some written words like the company’s name and (or) its tagline. Brands like Coca-Cola and Mozilla have the logo without any image; it’s simply their name written in a well-thought typeface. So the typeface too can’t be ignored while designing a logo. Like the overall logo design and colour scheme the typeface of a logo too needs to be simple. There are hundreds of fonts available and it makes choosing tough. But, this does not mean you will use all of them in one single logo. Limit your typeface to 2 fonts and choose them wisely.
Whatever is written should be legible for the customer even if the logo is printed in stamp size.
6. Be original, Don’t copy
Whether you are using a logo generator tool, a graphic design crowdsourcing site or hiring a designer, creating an original logo design is not only important for keeping your logo unique, but also to save you from legal penalties for plagiarism. Although it is becoming tougher every passing day, but, you definitely need to keep yourself pushing for originality. As a designer, you must be coming through works of different people on a regular basis. And it’s natural for some of those designs to settle in your subconscious mind and get reflected in your creation later. But don’t be a copycat consciously. You should even analyse your logo once it is finished to confirm it is completely original and unique.
7. Be brand-centric, not designer-centric
A logo is made for representing a brand and so it should be brand-centric rather than representing a signature design of the graphic designer. A designer should know about the company and its competitors and get fully absorbed in that information while designing a logo. A logo is a representation of the company, so it should have the feel of the company. A logo designer should not try to overshadow the company by trying to impose his own identity. The bite of the apple gave Rob fame in the world. Suppose he tries to make this ‘bite’ as his signature design and implements in every logo he designs. This will definitely be wrong for the companies hiring him for their logo designs.
8. Be Meaningful, have a story to tell
While simple designs like a Swoosh gets people’s attention and is praised for its simplicity, don’t use it as an advantage to draw anything and call it your logo. You can create a logo like structure while simply doodling with Adobe Photoshop but you can’t claim it to be a logo. A designer must be able to explain the logo designed by him. You will be amazed to know that the creator of Nike’s logo put more than 17 hours to come up with that Swoosh because she has logic and a story behind her design.
9. Be Unpredictable, Be Amazing
Unpredictability is almost always amazing. So besides being simple, your design should also be unpredictable. If you are designing something that is predictable by a non-designer you should re-think about your professional expertise. In fact, you should aim at being unpredictable for fellow designers too then only you can be assured about your uniqueness. Take for example, the logo of FedEx which has won almost 40 awards for being the best example of unpredictable and amazing logo design. Prima facie it is simply the name of the company written in blue and orange. But when observed closely the blank space between E and X creates a forward pointing arrow and this has amazed designers all over the world.
Be creatively unique and let people gasp at your simple logo design with a feeling ‘Wow how did you come up with that idea?’