Per usual practice in every business, having a business name and some form of graphic identification is the primary endeavor to introduce the business to the public. Choosing a business name is part of branding efforts, and designing a logo for the business is the next step after selecting the name. Although some businesses have little to no logo.
A logo might not be essential for a business, and it is generally less critical than the business name, which can become a trademark. Meanwhile, the logo often needs to evolve. Some designers may disagree with this premise; however, the business name is the identity, and the logo is the face. Because the business name does not change, the logo evolves periodically.
Almost never does a business change its name without affecting its commercial existence. When a business changes its name because of a merger, a change in ownership, or any other reason, it is effectively treated as a new entity. Changing the logo—or rejuvenating it into a better form—is different. Refer to the case of many companies—for example, Shell.
Every few years, Shell evolves its logo while keeping its name and trademark—like a person who keeps the same name, but whose appearance changes over time.
Although a logo isn’t strictly necessary, having one is not a bad idea. Just think of it as an analogy: talking with someone over the phone for many years, knowing the person’s name but not knowing their face. Creating a logo for the business is like giving that person a face.
There are several types of logos—some say seven, others say nine, and still others say ten. These include monogram logos (lettermarks), wordmark logos (logotypes), pictorial marks, abstract logos, mascot logos, combination marks, emblems, logo symbols, and more. Regardless of the claims about how many types there are, what they’re called might not be that important. It’s largely a matter of semantics. What matters is how we design the logo from scratch and how we implement it in practice.
Designing a logo is not the same as painting a picture. Good logo design takes time and study. Some designers create logos in a mediocre or shallow way. A logo might look artistic and impressive to the casual eye at first glance, but it needs to survive much longer than its first day of existence. A logo becomes problematic for accurate reproduction when the original components are misplaced or no longer available.
Creating a good logo requires research and study—research into what category the business is in, whether corporate colors are already established, and what competitors are using in their logos. It also requires studying what the logo should convey: the company culture, the messages it needs to communicate, and so on.
A logo can be extremely expensive—or cost about as much as a burger. What makes a logo expensive isn’t the sketch; it’s the process behind it. If you go to a site like Fiverr to get a $5 logo, you’re very likely to end up with a mundane design. Although, in very rare cases, a client might receive a great logo for paying peanuts. For example, Nike’s logo reportedly cost $35 in 1971—which, in today’s currency, is less than $300.
It isn’t always true that expensive logos are good logos. Consider Symantec: there was a rumor that the logo cost more than $1 billion, but it was later debunked. The entire budget wasn’t spent on the logo alone; it went toward branding efforts and logo implementation as well. The VeriSign logo was embedded into Symantec’s logotype, which introduced too many pixel components—making reproduction and scalability problematic. This happens again and again: spending a lot doesn’t guarantee a great logo. As a result, paying very little almost always leads to mediocre outcomes.
If we’re talking about what to avoid in logo design, there could be too many items to list before we even arrive at what makes a good logo. Rather than confusing ourselves with the “don’ts,” let’s focus on the “dos.” Here are ten helpful guidelines for designing a good logo that can be standardized across a wide range of applications.
Simplicity. A good logo should rely on simplicity instead of complex graphic elements and tiny details. Imagine a logo with too many intricate components that must be scaled down–every detail will emerge, creating clutter and making the logo look messy. A strong logo can be scaled down to less than one inch while still maintaining its integrity..
Philosophy. A good logo carries a meaningful idea and communicates messages about the entity. While there are cases where designers create things first and then justify them after the fact, it’s better to keep in mind what ideas and messages the logo needs to communicate to anyone who sees it. Starting from that point makes the process much clearer than going to the drawing board and doodling without direction.
Solid color or clear contract colors. Avoid gradients, and avoid placing closely similar colors next to each other. Colors in a logo can be eye-catching, but there are many examples of visually beautiful logos that don’t work well as standardized marks. It’s advisable to begin with a black-and-white approach, because some implementations can be “color-blind” (colors may not translate properly). Even though we have color printers (laser or inkjet) with fax features, the fact remains. One common problem is when a designer relies on gradient colors, which creates issues for certain applications like embroidery. Gradients and low-contrast pairings can cause similar problems in application. Solid, high-contract colors are better’ even in grayscale applications, the difference between colors remains conspicuous.
Versatility. Think about implementations when designing a logo. A good logo should be easy to adapt to any application and medium–whether it’s applied on paper, fabric, metal, wood, plastic, and so on. A complex logo with too many details or gradient colors will cause troublesome situations.
Memorable. As the second identity after the business name or trademark, a logo should be recognizable and stand out. Too many details and too much complexity make it hard to achieve this objective.
Long-lasting. Uniqueness is key–avoid following trends. A good logo should stand on its own and standout from the crowd. Average designers tend to follow trends, causing the logo to have a very short lifespan. Avoid using commonly available fonts when possible. Copyright claims are one issue.
Standardization. Consistency is essential across logo implementations. A logo may come in a few alternative forms-such as a full form and a stackable form–for certain applications where the full form would be too long for the medium. It’s a luxury for a company to have a Graphic Standard Manual (GSM). or what other designers might call a Logo Application Manual. In principle, a graphic standard manual helps and guides how the logo should be applied. It should include standard colors (complete with CMYK/RGB/HEX color instructions, scalable sizes, fonts, measurements, and the do’s and don’ts. Why is a graphic standard manual considered luxury? Because creating such a guideline requires a long process and study–and in some cases, it costs more than the logo work itself.
Vector–based. Photoshop wasn’t created for this type of design work, yet some people create logos using Photoshop–which is a no–no. Photoshop is not a vector-based application. If you’re using Adobe CC, Illustrator is the perfect solution for logo design. There are a few other vector-based software options for this purpose, such as CorelDRAW, Vectr, Sketch, Affinity Designer, and others. There are also free vector-based design software available. Good logos are saved in vector-based file formats without losing their integrity.
Balance is not symmetry. Balance is optical–when we see a logo and feel it’s tilting to one side, like the Pisa Tower. I don’t mean that a logo should always be straight up; what I mean by balance is that a logo should feel perceptible balanced. This is a subjective matter and not always agreeable. For me, it’s painful to see a logo with too many elements on one side and a small, barely perceivable elements on the other side, especially when scaled down.
Space. Creating a logo in a “canvas” doesn’t mean we must fill all areas in the canvas. The sentiment that “more is merrier” doesn’t work harmoniously with balance and simplicity. Especially when it comes to smaller logo sizes, as previously mentioned in point one–the logo can easily become cluttered and messy.
I have seen bad logos designed by designers who graduated from expensive and prestigious design colleges. Some of these designers simply followed what the clients wanted without objection, while others simply don’t understand the concept of designing a logo. Hopefully, this article is helpful in creating better logos.
Leave a Reply