Logo is the name, identifier, symbol or trademark of a company. Purpose of logo is to create a memorable image of product or company in customer’s mind. It also differentiates products and services of different companies. Good logo grabs the attention of people. It in itself is an important marketing tool.
It demands some precision and lots of thought to design a communicative business logo. Summarized here are few basics that one can use as initial steps to a good logo design.
1. Do some Analysis: Do not rush into developing business logos. Do some analysis about the company, its values, its business and the clients it is, or will be catering to. Understand what you want to communicate through your logo. Logos need to be designed, so as to convey message about the company, the people and its values. If you are designing a logo for a product, be specific about the target customers. E.g. Dog biscuit can carry a dog illustration in the logo itself, or a biscuit shape in the logo.
2. Eye Catching: Make your logo design an eye catching one. Use clear font so that it easy to read and easy to identify. Use attractive and unique color scheme to avoid misunderstanding with other logos or products.
3. Memorable: A good logo design should make a memorable expression on the customer’s mind. It should be simple enough to convey a clear message and create positive image of your company in customer’s mind. Only then, the customer will be able to recall about your product in subconscious state of mind when looking to purchase or recommend a brand for the product you produce.
4. Flexibility: Your logo design must be flexible enough to work in any situation. Say on product wrappers, website, promotional material, etc. Two important things to keep in mind here are – logo size should be appropriate and colors should be such that they can adjust to the background on which the logo will be used not only today but also in future. You need, to plan for future use of logos, at the development stage itself.
5. Simple: People are drawn to simple logos because they are easy to understand and remember. Busy, crowded logos are difficult to understand and divert the attention of the viewer.
6. Fonts: Some times designer select fonts which look classy but difficult to read. So this is worthless. Select Fonts that are easy to read and understandable. Most good logo designers use Arial and Veranda, as preferred fonts for logo design.
7. Colors: Good logo design should work well in black and white. If your logo not look good in black and white it would not look good in any other colors. Choose proper colors that represent you company well. As already discussed in point 4 above, plan for various uses and the future use of the logo, before deciding the colors.
8. Be Unique: Another important feature of good logo is ability to stand out from crowd. Copycat logo creates confusion in customer’s mind because they are difficult to differentiate. Result is loss in sales. Don’t stick to ordinary design. Your company is unique means it has a different market presence and business space. Keep all these things in mind while designing your logo.
9. Long life: logo design should be future oriented so that it can convey its message over constant period of time. It must be able to adapt to culture changes.
10. Use Animation but with caution: In order to hold viewer attention you can use animation while designing logo to be placed on your business website. But be cautious as it offends the webpage visitor is it is too huge or it diverts the attention of the visitor time and again.
It demands some precision and lots of thought to design a communicative business logo. Summarized here are few basics that one can use as initial steps to a good logo design.
1. Do some Analysis: Do not rush into developing business logos. Do some analysis about the company, its values, its business and the clients it is, or will be catering to. Understand what you want to communicate through your logo. Logos need to be designed, so as to convey message about the company, the people and its values. If you are designing a logo for a product, be specific about the target customers. E.g. Dog biscuit can carry a dog illustration in the logo itself, or a biscuit shape in the logo.
2. Eye Catching: Make your logo design an eye catching one. Use clear font so that it easy to read and easy to identify. Use attractive and unique color scheme to avoid misunderstanding with other logos or products.
3. Memorable: A good logo design should make a memorable expression on the customer’s mind. It should be simple enough to convey a clear message and create positive image of your company in customer’s mind. Only then, the customer will be able to recall about your product in subconscious state of mind when looking to purchase or recommend a brand for the product you produce.
4. Flexibility: Your logo design must be flexible enough to work in any situation. Say on product wrappers, website, promotional material, etc. Two important things to keep in mind here are – logo size should be appropriate and colors should be such that they can adjust to the background on which the logo will be used not only today but also in future. You need, to plan for future use of logos, at the development stage itself.
5. Simple: People are drawn to simple logos because they are easy to understand and remember. Busy, crowded logos are difficult to understand and divert the attention of the viewer.
6. Fonts: Some times designer select fonts which look classy but difficult to read. So this is worthless. Select Fonts that are easy to read and understandable. Most good logo designers use Arial and Veranda, as preferred fonts for logo design.
7. Colors: Good logo design should work well in black and white. If your logo not look good in black and white it would not look good in any other colors. Choose proper colors that represent you company well. As already discussed in point 4 above, plan for various uses and the future use of the logo, before deciding the colors.
8. Be Unique: Another important feature of good logo is ability to stand out from crowd. Copycat logo creates confusion in customer’s mind because they are difficult to differentiate. Result is loss in sales. Don’t stick to ordinary design. Your company is unique means it has a different market presence and business space. Keep all these things in mind while designing your logo.
9. Long life: logo design should be future oriented so that it can convey its message over constant period of time. It must be able to adapt to culture changes.
10. Use Animation but with caution: In order to hold viewer attention you can use animation while designing logo to be placed on your business website. But be cautious as it offends the webpage visitor is it is too huge or it diverts the attention of the visitor time and again.
