Advertisements have become a significant part of our daily lives. Whether it is commercials between Seinfeld episodes or scrolling past carefully placed Instagram ads; your eyes remain constantly stimulated and your mind enticed by intelligently designed advertisements. Central to any advertisement is the brand’s logo, and an expertly designed logo will help your business attract more of your target market. Don't resort to any web-based logo generators that lurk around the internet, they will churn out something weak and mediocre. Instead, give a little thought to your design and you will find that it needs just a few, key qualities to shine above the rest. Our team collaborated to create a list of what we consider to be the most relevant Qualities of Great Logo Design that will ensure that your logo does more work for your business in the age of information.
By introducing yourself to your potential customers with a logo that is memorable, relevant, simple, attractive, and cohesive; your business will easily stand out among the competition. With millions of graphic designers churning out mediocre content in the web industry annually, a well-designed and thought-out logo will stand alone as the face of your business.
Simple
Simplicity is especially key when it comes to successful logo design. Logos are pivotal in subtly expressing meaning to potential customers. In order to seamlessly transfer ideas to your audience, your logo must be simple enough for anyone to understand in a brief second of pondering. The more people that can relate to your logo in a meaningful way, the more business your logo will generate.
The Nike “swoosh” serves as a classic example of a logo that subtly and simply conveys universal meaning to potential customers. Ideas and feelings of movement, balance, and sensuousness represented symbolically by the shape of the “swoosh” are deposited in the brain of customers when they look at Nike’s logo. This effective and relevant logo design introduces beliefs about the sneaker before the customer has handled the product, thus making a positive customer opinion more likely. Something as seemingly benign and meaningless as a curved, black line can have a profound affect upon how customers will remember your product.
You want the customer to be able to visually recall the shape, color, and words present on your logo. To do this, think about what resonates with your target market and then make it clever! If a customer is able to remember your logo distinctly from all of the other businesses they have experience with, they are more likely to return. You want to make your logo easy to recognize at a glance! Take the example below of "Fish Food" an inspirational design ready for your favorite seafood restaurant, clever and memorable.
Including one or two visual elements that are exceptionally relevant to your target market communicates what your business is about and reminds them of what you stand for, making it easier to promote you. In the case of the "BarCode" design below you will notice that incorporating a subtle barcode in the shape of a beer mug reminds people that this establishment is about alcohol, and not scannable codes on perishable products.
In the world of logo design, consideration of everything from colors to font is essential to creating a unique, original, and attractive logo. In the quest to get noticed by customers, strive to be different!
Oficio by Estudio Cercle Notice how they uses their own custom hand-drawn font for their logo. Generally speaking, when people see something they do not recognize, they really notice it. If the unknown image is enticing enough, the person will be compelled to fully decipher what the image represents. This should be your goal: use your originality and creativity to attract customers!
Yes, simplicity and attractiveness are great qualities. Just like being memorable or relevant to your target market. But to communicate cohesively, you must combine all the above aspects of quality logo design to create a beautiful message sent to all those who lay eyes on your logo.
Silvia is a great example of a cohesive logo design. Simple font, easy-to-read, a subtle and similarly styled visual element to establish what the company's goals are. A cohesive logo is the most valuable tool you could have in your tool belt. Now use the remainder of these elements to create a wonderful logo for your business!
The majority of my logo examples came from this design inspiration post.
Austin Walker