You can’t improve brand awareness without a great logo. A good logo immediately brings your company or organization to mind, communicates your brand’s core values, and reminds the observer of the product or service you offer. Good logo design juggles multiple factors to achieve these goals. It’s not exaggerating to say that a great logo can mean the difference between a company’s success and failure.
Qualities of a Good Logo
Knowing what makes a great logo is an important step in logo design, and if you think about it, you already know what a great logo looks like. You've seen them all your life. The flowing cursive of the Coca-Cola brand name, the iconic Nike swoosh, and the immediately identifiable appearance of McDonald’s “Golden Arches'' have all the features logos need for success.
- A great logo is:
- Simple
- Appropriate
- Distinct
- Targeted
- Timeless
- Versatile
Hitting all these notes is, of course, easier said than done. There are many ineffective, confusing, and just plain bad logos out there. In a way, that makes your job easier, as good logo design stands out from the crowd.
How to Make a Good Logo
How do you put these six factors together to make a great logo? Each element is important, although the exact role they’ll play in your logo design will depend on your company’s nature and the message you need to convey to your audience.
Simple is Best
Your logo has only a few seconds to make a connection with potential customers. In that brief time, the logo has to convey what your company does, your core values, and what you offer your customers. Equally importantly, it has to be engaging enough so that people will remember it and associate it with your organization.
This is why the greatest logos in the world are so simple. One look at Nike’s swoosh tells you so much about the company. It conveys a sense of action and movement while sticking in the viewer’s mind. An effective logo uses simple symbols, words, and color schemes to get its point across, while more complicated logos offer too much information to process and are quickly forgotten.
Great Logos are Brand Appropriate
Good logo design communicates a brand's personality through images, color, and possible words. Imagine seeing a bright pink funeral home’s logo: the color is all wrong considering the industry’s somber nature. Similarly, a power drill producer’s logo that uses soft cursive fonts is also sending the wrong message.
These are extreme examples, but the point remains: your logo has to be appropriate to your industry and company values. Caterpillar is a good example of a company with an industry-appropriate logo: The solid letters “CAT” climb over a triangle, suggesting the brand helps you overcome challenges.
Great Logos are Distinct
A good logo catches the consumer’s attention. A really great logo sets you apart from the competition. No one will ever confuse Coca-cola’s logo for Pepsi’s, for instance, as both logos have their own distinct feel.
While you may have to adhere to industry-specific design choices, make every effort to ensure your logo stands out. If it looks like every other logo out there, you won't build brand awareness, and in a worst-case scenario, a consumer might confuse you for a competitor and wind up doing business with them.
Stay on Target
No logo speaks to everyone, which is fine. You don’t need your logo to stick in everyone’s mind, just the minds of your target audience. Consider your customer demographic when you design your logo: Will it resonate with the right age, gender, and economic bracket?
Aim for Timelessness
Your logo should be relevant not just today but for years into the future. If you design your logo using the latest fads and hot colors, it may be effective now but will look dated as fads fade and tastes change. This can lead to having to redesign your logo.
To avoid this problem, create your logo using timeless features. Logo colors, images, and other elements should be simple enough to stay relevant as the years go by. A classic pure red color, for instance, will age better than whatever the popular shade of scarlet is at the moment.
Great Logos are Versatile
What do we mean when we say a good logo is a versatile logo? Basically, your logo should look the same no matter its size, whether it’s embroidered on a polo shirt or plastered on a giant billboard. Highly complicated logos lose their details when shrunk down.
Consider the manner in which your logo will be printed on promotional materials. Ideally, your logo looks good when embroidered, screen printed, or etched onto items. Again, this all comes back to simplicity: too many flourishes, colors, or small details make it more difficult to scale your logo.
Consult with an Art Service
While no one knows your business quite like you do, chances are you’re not a graphic artist. You’ll probably need some help putting your logo together. Triple Crown Products’ art service can help you create a great logo. Our team of talented artists will collaborate with you to create a logo that looks awesome, communicates your brand values, and stands the test of time.