Logo Design Best Practices

In business, the logo of a company is synonymous with its image. Well-known companies are instantly recognized in their area of operation from their cautiously designed logos. The brand image a business holds takes years to develop; however, by looking at a company’s logo, prospective business partners can determine the capability and age of a company.

It therefore goes without saying that a logo is one of the most important factors that determine a company’s image. Below are some best practices that should be followed when designing a logo.

1. Keep the design simple

The idea behind designing a logo is to represent the owner in a simple way; therefore, simplicity is a key factor when designing logos. Research has shown that the common theme among a majority of prominent business logos is their simplicity.

Such a logo is easy to remember at first glance, which is an important aspect when it comes to building a company’s customer base. Apart from being uncluttered and simple, the logo must also portray the credibility, trust and strength of a company in order to attract potential customers.

The iconic nike swoosh is a brilliant example of a simple design logo that works.

2. Easy to comprehend

Prospective customers should be able to quickly grasp the meaning or message behind a logo within seconds of viewing it. If a logo requires intensive study for it to be deciphered, then it will not hold the interest of prospective clients and suppliers.

An effective way to determine whether or not a particular logo communicates effectively is to carry out a survey that asks people to give their honest evaluation of the logo. The information you get will help you to either approve or reject the logo design.

3. Instantly memorable

A good logo is one that can be retained in your potential customer’s memory the first time they view it. Such a logo will prompt a response and action when it is viewed consecutive times.

Some logos even create a thirst or hunger response among viewers and cause them to make a stop at the nearest convenient store in order to buy the advertised item. Irrespective of the industry or business a logo represents, it should be able to create a lasting impression in the minds of customers.

4. Use fonts and colors sparingly

Using multiple fonts and colors will clutter a logo and make it less appealing and more difficult to comprehend. Research has shown that famous logos use at most three colors in their design with common fonts.

Using minimal colors and fonts will also help you to achieve simplicity for your logo, which as mentioned, is another good practice in logo designing. In addition, using multiple colors in a logo is costly, as it will be expensive to publish or print on advertising copies or letterheads.

For example, Fedex uses only 2 colors in their logo and 1 font choice and this works well. Keeping the colors and fonts to a minimum will greatly improve the overall effectiveness of your logo.

5. Scalable and versatile

A great logo is one that is flexible or scalable enough to be printed either on big billboards or tiny objects. This is very important since the logo will represent the company in many platforms. As such, it should not be diminished when it is either scaled down or up.

Summary

For your business logo to achieve all these best practices, it must be designed by a competent and professional designer. Any amateur can think of a simple logo; however, it takes a professional to add valuable expertise to a logo.

The experience and training a designer has will reflect in his or her work. It is therefore imperative to only hire a professional when looking to design a great logo for your company.