A logo is more than just a pretty image; it’s a tool that can be used to communicate your brand identity. A good logo should be simple, memorable, and able to be used in a variety of contexts. It should also be appropriate for your target audience. When choosing a logo designer, it’s important to find someone who understands your vision and can create a logo that reflects your brand. With a strong logo and brand identity, you’ll be able to effectively communicate what makes your business unique and attract new customers.
Let’s take a look at what makes an outstanding logo!
What is a logo?
A logo is a design that is used to identify a company or product. The logo should be immediately recognizable, inspiring trust and loyalty with customers. The goal of its shape, color, and typography should be to make it stand out in a sea of other logo designs and be easily identified by potential customers. A well-designed logo can help a company to establish its brand and create customer recognition. To summarize, logos are used to identify.
What to consider when making a good logo?
The design of a logo depends on the designer’s approach, but there are a few things to keep in mind in order to create a good logo. First and foremost, it should be distinctive, practical, visible at any size, and easy to print or make from any material.
The most important features of a modern logo are:
Simplicity makes a logo easily recognizable, versatile, and memorable. Some of the world’s most recognizable logos are simple shapes. Simple logos are also timeless. In the example below, you can see how McDonald’s simplified its logo to a minimalist, distinctive M shape. So, in this case, less is more. There is no need to over-draw the logos to make them feel more “expensive” or “professional.” Even more so, the most expensive, professional, and distinctive logos are simple shapes.
Following closely on the principle of simplicity is memorability. Memorability of the logo is achieved by keeping it simple and appropriate.
The logo should also be timeless. When designing a logo, you should ask yourself: will it stand the test of time? Will it be as modern and effective in 10, 20, 50, or even more years? This is also achieved by designing a logo to be simple and appropriate to your brand.
The “Nike” is one of the most memorable simple logos. The “Coca-Cola” logo is a great example of a timeless logo – it hasn’t changed in over 100 years.
When it comes to versatility, the logo is as versatile as its application. A versatile and effective logo will work across a variety of media and applications. Designing a logo in vector ensures this, allowing it to be scaled to any size. The logo should work in one color (as well as reverse colors) and should be visible and recognizable in small formats such as Social Media icons. Designing in black and white first allows a designer to focus on the concept and shape, rather than color. Also, when choosing a color for a logo, keep in mind the printing costs – the more colors you use, the more expensive it will be for the business long term.
Source: Medium.com
Your logo should be appropriate for its intended audience. For example, a child-like font and playful colors would be appropriate for a children’s toy brand or store, but not for a tech company.
All in all, a good logo essentially boils down to two things – great concept and great execution.
The logo design process
Most people believe that designing a logo is a simple process, but it’s not. Creating a logo in Illustrator is only a small part of the whole process. The process itself involves finding out what the client needs and doing intensive research on the subject.
A typical logo design process at Hybrid Digital includes:
- Design brief – a designer will most likely conduct a questionnaire or an interview with the client to find out what the client’s needs are and to find out more about their business or company.
- Research – this part is essential in order to make a good and appropriate logo. The designer will conduct research on the company, its competitors, and its history. Problem-solve first – design later.
- Reference – the designer will gather logo designs that have been successful and are related to the design brief for inspiration.
- Sketching and creating a concept – now for the fun part. The designer will create a concept (or concepts) based on the research and the design brief. It is always a good idea to do the sketching using paper and pen – it opens doors to so many ideas when you use your hand to draw instead of a computer because a computer has its limitations. Sketching also helps to evolve imagination.
- Reflection – the designer should take breaks throughout the design process. This helps the ideas mature and creates new ideas for improvement. It also gives a fresh perspective.
- Presentation – after creating many different solutions, the designer will choose the top 3 to 5 solutions to showcase them to the client. To cut the process short and help the client make a better decision, the fewer solutions a designer presents, the better. The presentation should also include mockups (logo design usage in real life) to help the client better comprehend how the logo will work.
- Delivery and support – the designer will deliver all logo design files (usually in .ai or .pdf formats) in color, reverse color, and black and white. The designer can also provide support and explain how to use the files to the client. The logo can be delivered with a style guide (on how to use the logo and its elements).
An example of the logo Hybrid Digital designed for BeeBim
BeeBim is our client, for whom our designer carried out a redesign of the logo. We combined the motifs of bee, hexagon/honeycomb, and a 3D silhouette of a building into a unique and recognizable geometric shape.
The logo is very readable, even in small sizes.
We reworked the typography to better match the symbol itself and made it unique to the brand.
Types of logos
There are several logo categories:
- Wordmark logos are font-based logos that focus on a business’ name alone. Some examples are Visa and Coca-Cola.
- A pictorial mark (sometimes called a brand mark or logo symbol) is an icon or graphics-based logo. It is used without any typography. Some examples are Apple, Twitter, Target, etc.
- Combination mark logos are a combination of typography used to write the business name and a pictogram (symbol). Some examples are Doritos, Burger King, and Lacoste.
What is brand identity?
A logo by itself can trigger a certain emotion, and brand identity enhances that.
Brand identity represents all visible elements of a brand, such as color, design shapes, typography, and logo, that identify and distinguish the brand in consumers’ minds. A designer can provide a style guide usually called “Brand Book” which contains all the rules of logo and brand elements usage.
Trends in logo design
Simplification
Logos are becoming simpler mostly because companies are using digital tools to communicate with their audiences. This shift calls for simpler and more concise graphics.
Inventive Typography
Designers are becoming more creative when it comes to typography and typographic logos. A custom and original font has the power to fully transform even the most obscure logo. Typography is a space for designers to get inventive and creative.
Gradients
Essentially, a gradient is when the shades of two colors transition smoothly into one another. This is how dynamic and energetic 3D shapes can be created.
Fine Lines
A logo that is made of thin, crispy lines give it a premium and luxurious feel. This technique relies on sans-serif fonts and simple geometry, making the logos timeless and easy to scale.
Pricing the logo
There is no fixed price when it comes to logo design. The approach is to create a customized price based on the client’s needs. There are also a few factors such as how many logo concepts need to be presented and how many revisions will be needed, that also determine the price.
It is very important to choose a skilled designer or an agency when creating a logo because of long-term costs. As we mentioned above, the most important thing when it comes to designing a logo is its longevity and appropriateness. Rebranding can cost a ton of money. A skilled designer or an agency that works with skilled designers will provide that type of solution for your business.
Conclusion
Although it is a challenging process, designing a logo can be an extremely rewarding experience. The best logos are simple, memorable, and timeless. By keeping these things in mind, you will be able to create a logo that represents your company well and stands the test of time.
At Hybrid Digital, we have experience in creating logos and brand identities that stand out. Check out our work and let us know if you need a strong and powerful brand that stands out.
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1097 DP Amsterdam, Netherlands