Logo Design Thoughts
Logos are like favorite colors. Some people like red, some like blue, some like green, some like burgundy. All are good colors, but it depends on the seeing eye. It’s subjective. And in many respects logos are not like colors. There are objective standards and guidelines that differentiate the OK logo from the good and even the great logo.
If you show a newly designed draft logo to 20 people, you are going to get multiple opinions. Few will agree on what they like and don’t like. There will be little consensus and often it’s impossible to make a final decision. In fact, even if you do get a consensus about a specific logo design, it may still not be the best choice. There has to be a standard. A benchmark is needed. Guidelines. A ruler is needed to measure the distance and determine what really is the best and final logo selection and measurement.
I’m not a graphic designer. In some respects that’s a good thing when I advise clients on logo design or redesigns. In some cases, the graphic artist gets in the way both of their own creative talent and the best final design. They only see the design tree rather than the overall marketing and branding forest.
A logo is more than meets the eye. Here’s why:
- Think simple first and artistic second. Complexity hinders communication.
- Will the logo design look good both big and small? In the digital world of the websites, email, social media, and offline media your logo will have to work in multiple sizes.
- Is the logo too busy and intricate?
- Is the shape round, rectangular, or otherwise? Often, a rounded type of general or overall shape tends to fit well in large or small placements. It leaves room for more.
- Keep it bold and not thin. When copied, thinness often cannot be seen.
- Make sure it fits what your business does. If you built trucks, don’t have wings in the design.
- Does it set itself apart by making a statement?
- Beware the fancy font or typeface. They can often be hard to read. Times, Helvetica, and Palatino are always readable. Simple is best.
- Avoid the tall and wide in logo designs. If the design cannot fit in a normal space you will have limitations and problems. Go with a logo that fits anywhere and anyplace.
- Remember, a logo is NOT a brand. A logo is the period in the entire novel of the brand. A logo is a snapshot of the brand and not the full feature length brand. A brand takes years to build.
- It’s much better to have a solid brand build over time than an incredible logo. The best logo in the world is no guarantee of brand success. The brand story in many respects shapes the logo rather than the reverse. Sure, you need a good logo, but never forget the brand.
- Most people would have nixed the Nike swoosh for a logo. Had Phil Knight, Nike’s founder, shown us the little check mark swoosh and asked, “So, what do you think?,” most of us would have said, “No.” The Nike brand built the swoosh and the swoosh did not build the brand.
- Don’t obsess over logos, business cards, office and website colors. It’s the quality more than the creativity that builds your logo and brand. As David, Ogilvy once said, “If it doesn’t sell it’s not creative.” *
John McWade, one of the foremost graphic design specialists in existence says it perfectly:
“In business, certainly, your graphics must be beautiful. Often, a viewer’s response to your business is formed in a few moments by what he or she first sees. If your message is complex, you use design to simplify it. If an idea is difficult to understand, you use design to clarify it. The best design is all three: beautiful, simple, clear.”
Some of the points in this list are paraphrased from John McWade’s book, Graphics For Business. Thanks, John! Your work is fantastic!
So don’t just get a logo. Create a great logo…
By Stuart Atkins
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