Often being the first impression a potential customer has of your business and your branding, your logo needs to ensure that the first impression is a good one.
Regardless of whether you design your own logo or hire a professional to create one for you, it’s imperative that you understand the fundamental do’s and don’ts of logo design.
Do
- Define and know your audience – before you hire a designer or set pen to paper you need to work out who your audience is, where your logo will be seen and how it will be used. What will appeal to your target market? Will your logo be on your shopfront or used in a Facebook cover photo?
- Aim for difference – your logo is your chance to separate your business from all the others so strive for a point of difference.
- Sketch, sketch and keep sketching – Again, even if the plan is to hire a graphic design and even if drawing isn’t your talent – sketch. Don’t erase anything, just sketch pages and pages if the inspiration strikes. It’s like a picture brainstorming session – it will give you a great idea of want you like and don’t like and can be given to your designer to highlight the direction you are heading in.
- Keep it simple – don’t make your logo fussy, confusing or difficult to understand – enough said!
- Pay attention to how it will work – be careful with sizing and legibility, create alternates and variations and pay close attention to spacing and composition – logos will need to be different sizes for different applications so make sure it works and is still legible when reduced and enlarged. If unsure, seek professional advice.
- Research the psychology of colour – different colours mean different things so ensure that the colour/s you select best represent the feeling you want to evoke and the action you want people to take.
- Get feedback – Ask everyone what they think of your chosen logo (or your top 3 picks) before you roll it out. And don’t ask people that will just say that they love it – that’s no help to anyone. Ask family, friends, colleagues, customers and represent their opinions.
Don’t
- Fill it with detail – the strongest logos are those that are not overly fussy or complicated. Focus on one key feature. The more you add to your logo the more you increase the likelihood you will just confuse your audience.
- Follow the latest trends – for two reasons this is a don’t – you will just blend in with the other logos that are just following the latest trends, and you will end up with a logo that is outdated in a few short years, if not sooner.
- Change it too often – all logos take time to build up recognition, by changing your logo too often you just don’t give your audience enough time to build up that recognition.
- Copy others – while some say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, in terms of logo design you could actually be committing plagiarism and in breach of copyright laws. The entire point of a logo is to set your business apart from the rest – so don’t just copy what someone has – use this is an opportunity to distinguish yourself.
- Be too expected – sometimes the unexpected can work in your favour. If you sell hamburgers there is no hard and fast rule that says your logo has to be or include a hamburger – think outside the box and avoid being too literal with your design.
- Use too many fonts – using numerous fonts will just make your logo appear confused. Most graphic designers recommend using no more than two different fonts in a single logo design.
