The logo is certainly the face of any brand. A great logo is a brand’s or company’s visual identity; it’s actually the very first impression that can leave a long lasting impact on its customers which can have an overall impact on a customer’s brand perception, decision making and the overall attitude towards a product. Creating an effective visual representation of a brand requires efforts which are a lot more than just graphic designing. We live in a world full of brands and logos. Each has its own identity and uniqueness to the extent that even a toddler can deduce what a company actually sells, by just looking at its brandmark. That’s the power of logo!
So, what makes a really good logo? A good logo is one thats nice and simple, distinctive, self explanatory, appropriate, graphical, and most importantly it should convey the intended message.
A simple logo design allows recognition and is easily memorized by people. Since logos are to be used in a number of print and web applications at different sizes and resolutions, therefore it needs to look good and be easy to identify; too much detailing will make it impossible for audience to see below a particular size. In this digital age, logos are likely to appear on multiple mediums and devices, therefore you must design something that transcends paper. It must look great on different backgrounds, should work for applications, icons, avatars and print. Consider the example of Adidas, a brand that incorporates the same motif of 3 parallel lines in all of its designs. However, it visual slightly differs depending on where you see it.
Clear graphics and legible text is what makes the logo stand out. The logo has to be unique because it distinguishes the brand from its competitors. For a logo to stand out, other than its simplicity, the design also needs to have a distinct style. The logo should be original! If you copy other logos, or go for designs that are already doing well in the market, then there is a fair chance that it won’t fly.
The logo shouldn’t give an unoriginal impression to its audience. The quest for uniqueness in logo designing will never end because whatever design you create, it’s probably already been done before, either in one form or another. You should think about creating something that you think and know is different from anything already out there.
When you create a unique logo design its mandatory that you avoid imitation and think creatively. Remember, the logo isn’t a car, the Nike logo isn’t a shoe and the Pepsi logo is not bottle by any means. It clearly suggests that it just takes more effort and more research to bring out the creativity in you to design a good logo.
Designing a perfect self explanatory and appropriate logo design is highly important, as it should convey the right message in a proper informative manner. In this digital era the importance of designing a perfect self explanatory logo design has certainly increased. A good logo design helps in conveying the appropriate message in a proper enlightening manner to the audience.
If you a designing a logo for a particular product or service, your logo must represent your whole company; not just a part of it. It must reflect the products and services you presently have and plan to add in the future.
A good logo is one that influences its target audience. For instance, if you are designing a logo for a bodybuilding gym, your target audience will always be men with a macho edge; therefore in this case, a delicate logo with sleek font and subtle colors will not serve the purpose. Similarly, a gloomy design with colorless typeface won’t suit a business that’s aimed at kids, like a nursery or toy shop.