A logo is one of the most important facets of your business’s image. You put it on stationery, on social media, on your products and just about anywhere else it’ll fit. But designing a logo can be a challenge, especially if you or your team don’t have any design experience. While it’s true some logos may just be a company’s name in a nice font, the decision of what font to use is one that’s surprisingly weighted.
Pick the wrong one and your tech startup comes off as juvenile. Go too far in the other direction and people will think you’re a law firm instead of a digital marketing agency. While you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars having a logo designed, you do need to know a thing or two about how to make a logo that doesn’t suck.
This will help you formulate some ideas you can pass over to a designer, or just give you the information you need to shoot down any bad designs that are thrown your way.
Keep it Simple
There’s no need for an incredibly intricate logo. Clever doesn’t equal complex. Think about some of the biggest companies out there today and their logos. What do Google, Amazon and Twitter all have in common? Their logos are extremely simple. Their brand is what makes the logo so memorable and not vice versa.
Pay Attention to Colors
The colors you choose for your logo will have a major impact on anyone who sees it. Our brains are subconsciously wired to associate certain emotions with specific colors, so it’s important that you pick a palette that won’t send the wrong message. Don’t just consider what your business is about but also what type of emotions you want to elicit from clients. Then use basic color theory and this nifty chart to choose colors for your logo design.
Avoid Copying
Trends have a tendency to explode in the design industry. When this happens, just about every new company winds up with logos that look like mirror copies of one another. Stray from the notion that you need to do what’s big right now in hopes of being more recognizable.
Use a Custom Typeface
Finding a designer that can create custom typefaces may take a bit of research, but once you find one, they can create a beautiful series of fonts for your company that no one else will have. Think Coca-Cola; their custom font is now recognized the world over.
Use Negative Space
Have you ever noticed that the gap between the capital E and lowercase X in FedEx creates an arrow? This genius use of negative space may not be immediately visible to the average person, but once you see it, there’s no forgetting it’s there.
Use Movement
A static logo is fine, but consider encompassing some type of movement into your design. This can hint toward progressiveness and modernity. A slanted font or symbol like a bird in flight are good examples.
Know Who You Are First
There are many features to an effective logo design but the most important one is a solid brand identity. Make sure that you understand what your company is all about before hitting the drawing boards, because a logo should capture who you are, not just what you do.
