Design A State-Of-The-Art Logo With These Tips
Logos are a significant component of your branding. Whether you create your website, print your business cards, launch a marketing campaign, or put up posters, a logo is the first thing your viewers see. A logo carries the potential to make or break your brand’s first impression. Hence, you must pay a lot of attention to your logo design and not take it lightly! There are tons of affordable logo design services that can help you create a perfect logo.
Your logo must be attractive and explain your brand’s service. It will set the theme for all your future marketing campaigns on your social media posts, marketing materials, presentations, and business cards. These reasons make your logo design the backbone of your business. Simply put, it might be a small piece of graphic but can do a lot of heavy lifting.
So, whether you’re a beginner or a pro looking for new ideas, these tips will surely help you design a phenomenal state-of-the-art logo.
What Makes A Perfect Logo?
Logo designing is an art, and like every other artwork, its appeal can be subjective. For instance, consider Instagram’s new logo. The majority of the users found the new logo ugly and expressed it explicitly on social media platforms. On the contrary, the design world praised the new look suggesting the importance of simplicity.
So, we can agree that there are no by-the-book rules to set good logos apart from bad ones. So how do you ensure your logo is good enough? It’s simple: even though the appeal is subjective, some key characteristics can make your logo attractive to the masses. Here’s a checklist to produce a close to perfect logo:
Essential Elements for Your Logo
1. Should be Eye-Catching
It goes without saying that your logo has to be eye-catching. The whole point of logos is to catch your audience’s attention and leave your mark in their memories. So, whenever they see your logo, they can identify your brand immediately.
2. Workable in All Sizes
Your logo should not be size-specific. It must work well, large or small. Often we see logos on a billboard, and the size makes them appear disorienting, which is not great for your marketing. Learn from McDonald’s logo; it never fails to serve the purpose no matter how big or small.
3. Should be Timeless
This means that your logo should not be specific to a particular era. Your logo is your brand’s identity, and changing it from time to time won’t be a smart move for your business. Hence, it should be timeless. Consider the example of Coca-Cola; their logo has been the same since the 1900s except for a few modifications over time. So, you can always make some alterations to your logo, but the main design should be the same.
4. Match the Brand’s Vibe
People think that it’s okay to choose your logo’s colors randomly. That’s not how it’s done! A lot of science goes into picking the color theme. You must keep in mind your target audience, your niche, and, most importantly, your brand’s vibe.
Here’s a better explanation: if you see a luxury brand’s logo in neon colors, say pink or green, you might find it unsettling. Similarly, if you see a toy shop’s logo in gray, it will never attract any kids.
Consider the example of Chanel: the logo is in basic colors with an elegant, simple, and sophisticated font, perfect for the target audience.
Also Read: 75 Logo Fonts Every Designer Should Know About
Now consider Lego; it incorporates all the colors that a child will find attractive. Research suggests that kids are more attracted to the brighter block colors of the color wheel. Hence, Lego’s logo is fit for its target audience!
Tips to Create a Perfect Logo
1. Keep it Simple
Leonardo DaVinci once said, “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” and we agree! Often, people complicate things by adding unnecessary details, thinking it will make their work more attractive. Well, that’s not how it works.
A logo represents your brand visually, so you should use easy graphic language to tell your audience who you are. All the famous brands such as Amazon, Gucci, Pepsi, etc., have the most minimalistic logos. Learn from their examples, and don’t go overboard with your logo.
2. Leave Lots of Blank Space
While designing a logo, keep in mind that it must be readable from a distance. You should leave sufficient blank space or, as a designer would say, keep it clean. Avoid adding unnecessary symbols, colors, and text. Keep it uncomplicated and concise.
This will allow people to read the logo even from a distance. Moreover, this space will be beneficial when designing your brochure, posters, or printing your logo on a t-shirt. There are endless benefits that come with a clean logo, and you will get an idea of these benefits as you move forward with your marketing endeavors.
3. Don’t Be Shy & Make it Literal
If your company or brand’s name is a thing, make your logo based on that thing. People often shy away from leaning into the obvious. Truthfully, it’s not a bad idea at all. There’s a reason why Apple’s logo is literally an apple, and Red Bull’s logo has red bulls in it.
If you don’t want to make it too literal, you can always add a hidden detail. Consider the logo of FedEx. If you haven’t noticed an arrow between E and X before, look it up now. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
Another hidden meaning behind a logo that you might not have noticed before is Levi’s. Under its simple shape, the designer has remarkably used the negative space to mimic the shape of classic Levi’s pockets!
4. Colors are the Key
As we discussed before, your logo must match your brand’s vibe, and colors are the deciding factor of the vibe. If you are a yoga instructor, using red or orange in your logo won’t be appropriate. Similarly, an adventure park having a black and white color won’t be exemplary either. Choose your colors wisely and use different shades of the same color to add a subtle contrast to your logo.
With that, we reach the end of this guide. Keeping these simple tips in mind will definitely help you create an awesome logo. So if you have been looking for an answer to what makes a good logo, well, now you know!
