A logo is the Hercules of the graphic and illustrations world, bearing the burden of establishing identity, and exhibiting the vision of the business or brand on its small shoulders. The tiny concoction of symbols, colors and design elements have to uniquely deliver your story to the audience who is miser in attentions and generous and eager in jumping from brand to brand. The window for a logo to make an impact and hit its mark is small and thus it needs to be picture perfect and accurate on all fronts.?
When designing one, it is essential and rather crucial that the following key elements are paid keen attention to:
Strength and Balance
Logos represent your business through graphical elements, illustrations and alphabets and have to embody a true representation of your brand. The key factor to maintain here is that it should wear strength while being perfectly balanced. The graphical element, the color schematic, and the design theme should be composite and well-constructed without being too imposing for the viewers.
Simplicity
Keep it lean, keep it clean. Logos are too small to stuff a whole canvas worthy artwork in it. The best and the smartest approach is to keep things concise and simple. The Swoosh symbol of Nike, the small case F in a blue circular background of Facebook are just some examples that we can give to make our case. Both the logos don?t wear anything imposing, yet can be recognized the world over. Reason? They are easy on the eyes and simple for the brain to decipher.
Must Be Memorable
Probably the most encumbering challenging of a logo design that designers need to address is to make a logo that gets etched into the minds of the beholders. The trick, the art is to walk the tight rope that balances between making something way too simple as to lose any sense of discovery and to craft something that is just the right amount of detailed to offer relatability and easy-to-remember convenience for the observers. Your logos don?t necessarily have to shout out loud exactly what your brand is. A logo for a mobile phone, for example, doesn?t have to have an actual device or the word choked into the logo. A refined, skimmed logo based on the right colors and words would do just fine, in fact would work wonders if the right tone and elements are infused that are easy connectable or relatable with the audience.
Flexibility?
One size, fits all. This is what a designer needs to bear in mind when designing a logo. A logo needs to go on every screen, every pamphlet and every marketable medium. A logo designer should make sure that the logo is easily sizeable and maintains its theme and design when enlarged or shrunken. It should be identifiable irrespective of the size or place where it is brandished. Also, the logo should have a color theme that maintains crystal clear visibility on every background and material. Whether it?s a giant billboard, promotional apparel or other marketing screen, your logo should be flagrantly obvious and apparent.
Vectorization
Vector based graphics all the way!! Unless you plan on using a logo only in an on-screen application or medium, which is highly unlikely, never opt for a JPG or PSD format. These formats don?t offer allow for flexible sizing or resizing and often pixelate and loose shape and picture when tweaked with. Going for vector-based illustrations or graphics allow for elaborate flexibility that can make your logo compatible with any and all screens.
Uniqueness
Research the market, yes, but never succumb to it. Make your logo that stands out among the sea of competitors. When making your logo go for design and themes that are not usually tweaked with. Often times artists and designers go for design elements that are being commonly used by the market. Maybe because of the popularity of the graphical elements being associated with famous, renown and recognized brands or maybe because of the convenience and easy usability. Whatever the reason, ending up with a logo that is similar to others is rather the opposite of what the logo is intended to do. The idea is to stand out not blend in.
To really reap in the benefits your logo must be one of a kind.
Endurance
Your logo must stand the test of time. Even though rebranding and revamping your brand is no blasphemy, a logo must be designed with such craft that it doesn?t have to be altered with changing times and themes. A logo that is infused with the theme essence of time of its creation will last as long as the era or period it was crafted in. Logos that don?t have to be redesigned every time get associated with heritage and longevity which audiences subsequently associate with the brand itself. A good example is the logo of Coca-Cola, and Rolex which have been the same for almost, and are the leading brands of their respective industries.
Color Palettes?
Getting the logo to embody the essence of the brand is another task that can make the designer pull their hairs in anguish. Afterall what does it even mean. One way to do this is to use the relevant and accurate color schematic or theme that resonates or is associated with the products of the brand. Colors are often associated with different senses or trigger psychological responses. Green is often associated with calm and tranquility. Blue is often used to represent reliability and loyalty. Many banks employ the color blue to exude the same sense of trust to the customers. Red is often times employed by restaurants because it is often associated with spices and are infamously assumed to stir up appetite.
Also, avoid using too many colors that might over whelm the observer. Unless use of multiple color is incumbent or exhibiting the real purpose of the brand, it is intelligent that keep the number of colors as less as possible.
With logos the game is as tricky as it is interesting. And it is very interesting. It is a make or break situation for brands and thus it is necessary that your logo design is always handled by the best and the most crafty ones. Agencies like Logo Design Crux have been around for a considerable time and have delivered commendable logos that have worked their magic for brands in many industries. Logos are your first impressions, and first impressions counts. Being reckless with your logo can be a costly, irreparable mistake because with logos you only get one shot, make sure you don?t blow it!!??
