Five Things to Consider When Designing Your Logo

09.03.10

"Designing a Logo"

Believe it or not, your business logo can affect the future success of your company. Whether you’re opening a restaurant, launching a clothing line, or starting a consulting agency, your business logo will be forever associated with your company’s corporate image and brand. Create an image that’s memorable, original, and engaging, and your customers will respond. Unveil a logo that misses the target, and clients will quickly pass you by. The following are five important logo design tips:

1) Remember your target market

Before you even begin to think about graphics or fonts, stop and reassess your target demographic. When it comes to creating a logo, you might be tempted to choose a design that you find appealing. However, it’s important to remember that your logo is for your customer and not you. If your logo doesn’t speak to your market segment, it will get lost among the millions of other logos that already exist.

2) Use color wisely

Humans naturally associate universal meanings to specific colors. For example, red is often associated with strength and power, while blue is associated with serenity and tranquility. Choosing the wrong colors for your logo could cause potential clients to have misconceptions about your brand. Similarly, integrating too many colors into your logo could cause your imagery to become visually confusing and ultimately, unattractive.

3) Focus on your values

When designing a logo, entrepreneurs often try to create an image that communicates their entire business concept. What many small business owners don’t seem to understand is that this is asking an awful lot! Instead of focusing on the big picture, zero in on the values and ideas that your company stands for. As customers come to know your business and interact with your brand, they’ll quickly learn to associate your logo with these positive principles.

4) Make it reproducible

Your logo is the main component of your company’s corporate identity; it’s really the visual cornerstone of your entire brand. As such, it’s vital that your logo be easy to reproduce in a variety of formats. From letterhead and business cards, to t-shirts and online ads, your logo needs to work well using all sorts of print and publishing methods. The amount of detail that you add to your logo will greatly affect your ability to use your logo in certain situations, as will gradients, negative space, and intricate details.

5) Seek professional help

Unless you’re starting your own graphic design business, it’s best to leave logo creation to the professionals. A professional designer will combine iconography, typography, color, and flair to create a logo that symbolizes your company clearly and completely.

A well thought-out logo can make or break your corporate brand. So don’t rush your upcoming design project; be involved in your design decisions and don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion.
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Chantielle MacFarlane

Chantielle MacFarlane is the head honcho at Inklyo Ltd., a content development and social media management firm located in Chatham, Ontario. Known locally for her work at CIK Marketing, Chantielle has spent the last eight years investigating how various forms of online content is created, distributed, and consumed online (a.k.a. she spends a lot of time on Facebook). Connect with her by emailing chantielle@inklyo.com or following her on Google+.

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  • Chris Young

    Very well written blog, very informative. Don’t forget the rules of three, no more than three colours and fonts.

  • http://www.blacklistedloans.com Tony Blair

    Almost all the best logos are simple! Originality has to be the way forward, doesn’t it??

    Surely an 80′s logo resurgence is on the cards?

  • http://www.adducology.com/ Nidhi Shrivastava

    Even I believe in being simple and I am really specific for choosing colors. From next time onwards will surely keep in mind all these points. Thank you..