Six questions to ask yourself when designing a brand
Your company's logo is
the foundation of your business branding. It is probably the first interaction
that you will have with your customers. An effective logo can establish the
right tone and set the proper ethos. After years of crafting logos for
different projects, I've come up with a set of questions that I always ask
myself before delivering a new logo.
Above all design guidelines,
the most important criterion is whether the logo reflects the character of the
company. The emotions that the logo evokes should be appropriate to the company
values. For example, the Disney logo evokes a sense of happiness and optimism.
The curvy, fun typeface is appropriate for a company that has been making
cartoons and animated pictures for kids. However, a similar logo style on a
sales platform would not be appropriate.
BEHIND EVERY GREAT LOGO IS A STORY.
Designers should
understand the psychology of colors and the effect that typeface has on the
design of a great logo. For example, green promotes relaxation and usually
reflects growth, health, and the environment. Red, on the other hand, may evoke
danger and passionate emotions. Similarly for typefaces, Garamond, Helvetica,
and Comic Sans all elicit very different sentiments. Serif fonts like Garamond
promote the idea of respect and tradition, and are hence more suitable for an
environment that demands integrity such as a university or a news publisher.
Sans Serif fonts like Helvetica are clean and modern, and are well suited for
high-tech businesses. Casual script fonts like Comic Sans are probably best
left for fun companies such as toy companies. A good understanding of the
psychology of colors, typefaces, and shapes is an important part of making a
great logo.
The styling of the Disney logo is
appropriate for a company that aims to be fun, but such a style would not be
appropriate for a sales platform company.
2.
WHAT'S THE MEANING BEHIND THE LOGO?
Behind every great
logo is a story. A great logo is not about slapping your business name on a
generic shape, which is why choosing from ready-made logos is a poor idea. A
logo has to have a meaningful story. A good designer first understands the culture
of the company, the tone of the product, and the vision of the business, much
before embarking on ideas for the logo. The end result of a quality logo is
reflective of the philosophy and values of the company.
The arrow in the logo represents
that Amazon sells everything from A to Z and the smile on the customer's face
when they buy a product.
3.
WILL THE LOGO STAND THE TEST OF TIME?
How will the logo look
in two, 10, 20 years? Designers should avoid getting sucked into flavor-of
the-month trends. Trends like ultra-thin fonts and flat shadows are design
styles that will probably not stand the test of time. Simple is far better than
complex. A simple yet memorable logo can be used in 20 years without looking
dated.
A good way to test the
logo is to let it sit with you for a while before releasing it. Some logos grow
with you--the more you look at it, the more you like it. Some logos start to
feel nauseating after a while--the more you look at it, the more you hate it.
If after a couple of weeks with the logo you find it boring, the logo is
probably not strong or timeless enough.
The simplistic outline and shape of
the Apple Inc. logo allows it to endure the test of time. The first prototype
of the logo would definitely not be suitable today.
4.
IS IT UNIQUE? CAN IT BE INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE?
A great logo is
distinctive, memorable, and recognizable. Even if you have only seen it once,
you should still be able to remember what it looks like after a period of time.
A good way to test this is to show your logo to a friend, then cover it up and
have your friend describe the logo in a week. A fresh pair of eyes can be very
effective in figuring out the most memorable components of a logo.
In addition, if the
logo reminds you of others you have seen, it is not distinct enough.
The logos of Path and Pinterest are
very similar.
When I begin designing
a logo, I always start in black and white. Designing with this limitation first
forces you to make sure that the logo is recognizable purely by its shape and
outline, and not by its color. A strong logo is one that is still memorable
just by its contours.
A one-color logo also
provides the benefit of using your brand easily in multiple mediums with
different backgrounds and textures.
It is much harder to recognize
the National Geographic symbol once we remove its signature
yellow color.
6.
IS IT CLEAR AND DISTINCT IN SMALL DIMENSIONS?
Another way to make
sure logos are simple and recognizable is to scale it down dramatically. Even
at tiny resolutions, a strong logo should still be recognizable at a glance.
This is also a good test to make sure that the logo is not complicated with
unnecessary design flourishes. Here, you see that the Nike, McDonalds, Twitter,
and WWF logos are still very distinct at small sizes. The GE and Starbucks
logos are far more cluttered, and less recognizable when they are small.
These are not
hard-and-fast rules, just guidelines for making an effective logo. It is still
possible to make a strong, complicated logo, but understand the trade-offs.
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3031328/the-makings-of-a-great-logo