No matter what type of business you are, your logo is a crucial aspect of your branding. It is often the main visual cue that people will remember and associate with your company. Although you want your logo relatively simple and straightforward, the design process, when done correctly, takes time, planning, and knowledge. Here are some of our tips for designing a logo that sticks.
1. Color palette matters
It has been proven that color has psychological effects on us; different colors invoke different feelings and subconscious responses. Additionally, different colors convey different ideas and meanings, so it is important to select the right ones for your brand. Red, for example, has been shown to stimulate appetite and evoke a sense of urgency for shoppers, great for brands like Target and K-mart. Blue, on the other hand, conveys feelings of stability and reliability, which is perfect for companies with trustworthy products that people use every day, like Dell or AT&T.
2. Consider balance and proportion
Although it may seem like a logo is just a simple drawing with maybe some letters or words thrown in, the popular and well-done logos are designed with a balance in mind that make them aesthetically pleasing to the eye. You may have seen a logo design that just looks off for some reason, and many times this is due to a lack of balance and proportion. For example, the Apple logo, which is seemingly a simple apple design with a bite taken out of it. However, you can see that a lot of thought and planning was put into making it balanced.
3. Keep it simple
A simple logo design is more easily remembered and recognized and therefore, more impactful. They are also more versatile when it comes to scaling, printing, or advertising. These simple logos are some of the most recognizable, and are perfect examples of why simple is better when it comes to a logo design.
4. Make it meaningful
A logo that conveys the company’s core values in some way will always be more powerful than a logo that’s simply nice to look at. It’s true, your logo cannot possibly encompass everything your company stands for. However, a good designer will be able to incorporate some sort of meaning into your logo, whether obvious or hidden. The FedEx logo uses the white space between the letters “e” and “x” to create the shape of an arrow, which represents forward movement and speed. Another popular logo with a deeper meaning is the amazon logo, which uses an arrow from the letters “a” and “z” to show that the company sells products from a-z, and it also resembles a smile which is in line with their core value of excellent customer service.
Keep in mind that these are just some of our tips on designing a great logo, and we recognize that some of the most successful logo designs are special because of how they bend the design rules. Nevertheless, your logo design should be done thoughtfully, and in a way that exemplifies what your brand stands for.