Very often I speak with designers and entrepreneurs that have no awareness at all about the things to consider to make a perfect logo. Online and on social media you can find tons of chats with people asking help for with making their logo. So if you are an entrepreneur, start-up owner or if you are a graphic designer looking for inspiration this article could help you to have a deep understanding of the things to consider before making a logo or a restyling of an existing logo.
“Making a logo is a mix of art and science and the Designer is the artist that knows exactly how to dose the primary ingredients: colours, fonts and creative shapes”.
If you are looking for a designer to make your logo I highly suggest you be aware of the fundamental requirement that your logo needs. First of all think that your logo will represent your business and you will use it to produce online and offline materials, from online banners and social media posts to business cards and merchandise. For this reason, the first thing to consider is:
1. Initial Briefing
In order to design a perfect logo, every designer needs to have an initial briefing to have a deep understanding of the core value of the company that the logo needs to represent.
All the designs depend on this briefing. Remember that every single element you use to create the logo (marks, colours, fonts) expresses certain characteristics that need to be aligned with the company that the logo represents.
I will make a complete list of the questions that need to be answered during the initial briefing.
2. Usability
A perfect logo should be easy to use in different circumstances. Take inspiration from big brands like Nike or Apple. They can use their logo very easily in all the possible applications from digital to print purposes. So think of the list of possible applications that you will need. Here is a little list of possible applications:
- websites
- banners
- social media advertising
- email signature
- popups
- packaging
- business cards
- merchandising
- posters
- catalogues
- leaflets
- labels
- and much more
To allow you to use the logo in all the applications you need to have the logo in these formats: .jpg .pdf .eps .png vector and raster version. Also, the logo shouldn’t lose readability even in a small size (like 2 cm). Ask the designer to make a few mockups that help you to have an idea of the possible applications.
Moving forward the next characteristic is that every good logo needs to have its uniqueness.
3. Uniqueness
I know that this point should be something taken for granted, but it is not, especially when a company hiring asking for a low budget logo. My personal suggestion: make sure that you hire a professional designer that can guarantee you that your logo is going to be original and unique and not just a template that is used by more than one company or even worst a copy of another existing logo. This is vital because saving money in this stage is like using a cheaper material to build the fundamental of your skyscraper, you need to make sure that you are using the best resources that allow you to build your empire without the risk that everything falls apart during the process.
Your company during the year spends thousands and thousands of money in design, advertising and printing promotional materials and there is nothing worst than someone that reclaim his logo and that can suit you for using a logo with a Trademark on it. This little shrug off can cause lots of trouble. So please please please make sure you get a unique logo from the designer that you hiring, even if it will cost you more money. Take in mind that the right and honest price to invest for a unique logo starts from $250 to $2000 and even more.
After the firsts three points, we can start to tap about the ingredients that we need to make a good logo and we can start thinking about the fourth one: the font:
4. Choose the right Fonts
The font is like the expression of your logo and it is not by chance that it is called “font/character”, because this gives the logo its special and unique personality. There are millions of fonts available. You need to make sure as a first priority that your font is readable and very clear. If people take more than one second to understand what the logo is about this should make you consider the hypothesis of remaking your logo in a better and clear way.
There are a few criteria to choose the right font based on the product or the company that this represents. I’ll give you an example: if your company is about technology, you can use a “sans serif” font and from this category pick up something quite straightforward and not too fancy, because you need to give the impression of a trustworthy company or product.
“Fonts are part of the design and something to find the perfect one it takes lots of research.”
After the font, the “mark” is the next very important ingredient to take care of.
5. The mark
This step is one of the more exciting for me because you can literally see born something special from a little scratch on a white piece of paper. I suggest starting with a pencil and a piece of paper and then vectorise it on your computer. Just make sure your mark is unique. Not use too many little details that compromise the readability when you use the logo in small sizes.
6. Colours
Colours are life, emotions. Every colour has its own life. Each colour arouses and represents an emotion, a state of mind. I highly suggest having a look and reading books about this topic because there is a lot of scientific research made for it. Just to give you an idea. The blue colour in chromotherapy help to relax because it lowers the bit rate. It’s mostly used by insurance companies because this colour makes people trust the company that the logo represents. The red colour expresses strength, initiative and action. it is a colour that stimulates the metabolism. If you decide to use this colour remember to combine only neutral colours for a better result. Yellow is a colour associated with the sun. it is the colour of energy, joy, happiness and intellect. Very powerful when associated with black backgrounds but beware of its use on light backgrounds as it may lose readability.
An important tip is not to mix too many colours and to choose your own colours based on their symbolic value.
7. Brand guidelines
The important elements of your brand’s guidelines are: the story behind it, logo design and colours/typefaces that go with them. In addition, you may want to add images for visual guidance or an overall tone of voice depending on what kind of persuasive message you’re trying to convey through content
A guide is not complete without these key components; they help to make awareness about your brand expression and also very important the brand guidelines are essential to keep consistency between different designs and channels.
Thank you for reading my article, I hope you enjoyed it 😃
See how I applied all these 7 points to the logos I made.
Do you have a project in mind?
Don’t wait and book a free consultation with me. It is free and I can give you useful tips 😉