When you’re looking for a logo designer, what do you need to look for in their portfolio to know if they’re a good designer or not? Beyond that, how do you know if the logo they’re presenting you with is good?
For starters, a logo is a graphic that represents a person, business, or organization. It is usually created with the business name in it, but is sometimes also used without the business name. Sometimes it only consist of the business name itself. They are always specific to the entity they’re representing.
5 Elements of a Good Logo
No matter what your logo looks like, it should always be simple, unique, consistent, meaningful, appropriate, and timeless. Let’s break those down into more defined items.
5 Elements of Good Logo Design
Simple
A good logo should narrow down all of the business’s identity and message into something defined and true. A basic design guideline is if you have to add too many elements, then you’re not conveying the message properly.
It should also be easily recognizable in black and white or in color. This is more easily achieved with a simple design.
Unique
Unique, simple concepts are easier to remember. To make your business stand out, your logo shouldn’t be a copy of a graphic or logo someone else made. For example, if I were to ask you what businesses each description below refers to, would you know the answers?
- Red and white bullseye
- Black or white checkmark
- Blue and white letter “f”
- Silver fruit with a bite taken out of it
- Red and white and tan cruiser bike
Let me know if you get them in the comments!
Consistent
Your logo should also be adaptable over the many advertising methods available to you. So, you should receive multiple layout versions of a logo at the end of your project. Every logo should be easily used in places like:
- desktop and mobile websites
- social media
- horizontal spaces, such as for a letterhead
- business cards or other small items
- billboards or other large items
In addition, consistency should be achieved through use of the same color palette.
Appropriate
A logo should always represent the business properly. To do that, it needs to align with the brand and appeal to it’s target audience. One way you can make sure to appeal to your target audience is to research your customer base. Depending on the product, research could include:
- What products does your target market use and why are those preferred?
- Where do they shop and why is that preferred?
- What types of incomes do they make?
- Demographics: location, age ranges, incomes, etc.
Timeless
To be recognizable, you will want to be able to use the same logo for a decent period of time so it’s best to avoid trends. Trendy fonts and graphic styles make you look more like your competition.
Bass Ale has used their red triangle logo since 1876.
Logo concept used since 1876.
Overall, a well-designed logo should always follow the guidelines above as well as the basic principles of design, which are: proper contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity.
Image credit: http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/06/19/10-oldest-company-logos-in-the-world/2/
Logo credit: Bass Ale logo is property of Anheuser Busch. Revive didn’t create this. (We weren’t even born yet!)
