Advice for Startups – The Dos and Don’ts of Logo Design
When you think of logos, McDonald’s golden arches, Apple’s bitten apple, and the Nike swoosh come to mind. For decades, these logos have been known and recognized by the majority of people around the world.
These logos are embedded in our subconscious minds, coming up whenever we come across the logo or something similar-looking. The logo is a major marketing tactic that allows companies to make themselves universally recognizable.
Before you launch your startup, you need to come up with a logo that will be the face of your brand. However, logo design is more than just coming up with something that is pretty and colorful.
There are other factors that need to be considered to ensure that the logo makes sense for your brand and is recognizable. So to help you in the process, we have compiled the dos and don’ts of logo design.
The Don’ts
Let’s begin with the things you should avoid while designing your brand’s logo.
Follow Trends
Depending on the industry you’re in, there are always some trends going around logo designs. But what this does is that it blends logos with each other and makes it hard to distinguish the one from the others.
Too Much Detail
One feature of a good logo is that it is easy to replicate by memory. Famous, strong logos are not very complicated and detailed. The more you add to the logo, the more difficult it becomes to remember. Take the Nike swoosh and Apple’s logo for example; they can be recreated easily.
Imitate
Not only is it a low move, but it can also result in legal action. The company you imitate the logo of can actually sue you for plagiarism. We would suggest that you avoid even coming close to another company’s logo.
Go Overboard
Sometimes keeping things simple when it comes to fonts, colors, and styles can be better for your logo. Too much of anything can, again, complicate the logo and make it hard to recall.
The Dos
Now that you know what not do, here are some things that you must ensure when designing a logo for your company.
Market Research
This is pretty important when it comes to making any sort of marketing decision. You want a logo that is recognized by the audience. You may have a color or design in your mind, but it’s not necessary that your target audience reacts to it.
Go the Unique Creative Way
While it’s important to make the logo based on what comes up in your market research, creativity and uniqueness are important factors. You have this opportunity to go out of the norm and create something new, setting yourself apart.
Sketch it Out First
Before making thing final, experiment with the concept and create a few options. Change the colors and fonts, play with the sizes. Don’t get rid of anything, so you can compare and decide what needs to be changed or improved.
Be Careful with Spacing
Congested logos look messy. The right use of negative space between the images and text, etc., needs to be consistent. The elements should be proportional so the logos are clear and easy to easy from afar.
Fonts
There is no shortage of font styles. Each of them has its own character and is suitable for different concepts. Choose the one that is suitable for the nature of your business. For instance, you wouldn’t use Comic Sans for a lawyer’s firm logo. Or you can alter and adapt a typeface to give your logo a bit more character.
Make Alternates
Don’t stick to just one logo. Initially, come up with a few alternatives but keeping it in line with the theme. This will give you some versatility.
Get Other’s Opinions
All stakeholders in your startup and friends and family can give you some feedback on the logo design. After spending so much time working on the same thing, you can get tunnel vision and get stuck on one concept. Having other’s opinion can lend some new ideas to improve the logo.
With that in mind, We can help come up with design options for your startup’s logo. Get in touch with us to find out more.
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