The Basic Elements of Good Logo Design
Have you ever used Tinder or Grindr?
If yes, then you would realize the importance of having a good picture. It should reflect you in an attractive way while also making you seem approachable. These are important considerations as your picture visually represents you, influencing a viewer’s decision to swipe left or right.
Similarly, logos are equivalent to being the face of your company’s visual identity. Logos are also imperative when it comes to building a reputable brand identity and brand image. By looking at the logo, people decide to swipe left or right on your brand.
So it’s important you put thought and consideration into your logo design. Whether you’re just starting to design a logo for your new company or rethinking the design on an old one, you want to make sure it brings credibility and recognition to your brand.
Here are the basic elements of a successful logo design to ensure it leaves a positive impression on your audience:
Brand Identity
Before you design a logo or any other marketing material for your company, build a profile of your brand.
• What is your company’s brand identity?
• What is the potential target market? Gen Y? Gen Z? Boomers?
• Is your brand laidback, professional or straight out wacky?
• Are you selling a product or service?
• Is your brand more trendy or on the classic side?
• Do you sell high-end products or economical?
All of these questions are important considerations and should reflect in the brand. Imaging the classic Chanel logo as a bright green “C” in drippy text, doesn’t really match, does it?
The Logo Style
There are five basic logo styles you can choose: wordmarks or text, lettermarks or initials, brandmarks (symbols), combination, and emblems.
• Wordmarks are simple text logos. Companies use unique fonts to stylize the name of the company. This is a trajectory new companies can take when building brand recognition. Some successful examples include Coca-Cola, Pepsi, FedEx, Netflix, Cartier, etc.
• Lettermarks are like wordmarks but the difference is that the latter just includes the initials of the company. Think P&G, CNN, HBO, HP, YSL, etc.
• Brandmarks are just symbols. Icons, images, and plain icons are more memorable. The logos for many social media platforms are examples of brandmarks. Other examples include the Apple logo, Target, Nike’s swoosh, Shell’s yellow shell, and McDonald’s golden arches.
• Combination marks are ones that combine a symbol with a lettermark or wordmark. Adidas is one of the more prominent examples. You get the symbol with the word Adidas below it. Sprint, Puma, Hawaiian Airlines, Lacoste, Dominos, and others are common examples.
• And lastly, emblems are combination logos, but the difference is that the text is inside a badge or surrounded by some form of an outline. The Starbucks and Harley Davidson logos are popular examples. But these logos are more common with state and federal government agencies, such as the FBI.
Font
You can choose a Serif, Sans Serif, Script, Modern or Display font styles. These are just categories of fonts with each having hundreds of different font styles within it. One important thing to remember is your brand identity and then not overdoing it. Don’t mix too many fonts, make sure it’s readable, and it goes along with your brand.
Color
Color plays a huge role in human psychology. Each color range triggers different emotions. For example, the color blue is often associated with trust, authority, and intelligence. That’s why you’ll find the color blue in medical and science-related companies’ logos.
The color red, on the other hand, is associated with desire, hunger, and action. That’s why many fast food companies use this color in their logos.
With all these considerations and more in mind, Website Ultra can help. I offer logo design services that ensure your company has a memorable logo to remember your brand by.
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