Gone are the days when there were no guidelines and institutions to teach the recipe of designing eye-catching logos. When designers were not so aware of the do’s and don’ts of creating successful logos and the trends to follow. Similarly, business owners were not as conscious about their logos as there were limited or no sources to get awareness from.With time, thanks to the ever expanding number of media which have provided huge exposure to both logo designers and business owners in this regard. And as a result, creating great logos is considered no more, a mystery.

We all know that logo is the foundation for any business and the first step in creating a brand identity. Great logos become big brands with time and the sooner your logo develops into a brand, the greater recognition it’ll get.

We are immersed in a logo rich environment where we see hundreds of logos every day, but why is it that we remember only few of them. The answer is very easy; we only recognize and recall those elements which are simple yet impactful. And this is the definition of great logos, those which are unique and easy to remember. Let’s say you have to buy a pair of joggers, you would immediately think of Nike because its logo has already become a huge brand identity.

Now why is, that you didn’t come up with any other company which is also selling the same product? Why not a brand which is a little less popular than Nike? It is because Nike has a greater brand value with a logo design which is more attractive, memorable and easy to read.

So, every business creates its market by making people aware of their products and services and this can best be done by developing a logo signifying what your business is all about.

Think for a while, if you are to start a business and you need a logo for it, what would be the key points you would suggest to make it a great logo, a logo which would later convert into a brand.

Key points to create a Great Logo

Believe me your logo would bring great success to you if you take care of a few points while getting your logo designed by a logo designer. In order to create a powerful impact, your logo should have:

• A Strong and balanced image

Make sure that logo has a strong and balanced image. It shouldn’t have any extra elements that make it look cluttered. Now what are the elements that make it a strong logo? First of all, the design should be eye-catching and appealing to both you and your designer, because if you and your designer have a conflict over the design of your logo, it means that there is something which is missing.

Revise the design and shed the elements which were bothering. Secondly, the more your logo depicts the essence of your business, the stronger it will be in terms of creating a brand identity. Moreover, clip-art or any template image is never advisable for your logo. So tell your logo designer beforehand, not to use templates because they are already being used by many people. Lastly, the height and width of the image should be balanced.

• Make your logo distinctive

Great logos are always distinctive and bold in design. If you are giving a creative brief to your designer, make sure to tell him to create a unique logo, which shouldn’t resemble any other logo design. Why it is important is, because people tend to remember images which are distinct. Complex images fail to reside in our memory. So, make your logo unique, yet simple.

• Design an image that fits best for your business

It isn’t necessary that if you are into a business of selling joggers, you should create a logo having a jogger image. Your logo can be anything, but make sure that you should be able to create an association between your logo and your business. This depends upon the name of your business or company as well. For instance, Apple is a giant in computer business, yet its logo doesn’t look like a computer, but it depicts the name of the company ‘Apple’. Apple didn’t go for a bicycle image because it has nothing to do with their business and with the name of the company.

• Use easy to read Font

Your logo can never be a great logo if it fails to have a good, appealing font. Using the right font is as important as working with other design elements. Use fonts which depict the purpose of your business instead of using fonts which are famous. Your logo is categorized as a bad logo even if it’s a combination of a very well designed symbol with an entirely awful font. Moreover, the font should be readable. Many companies choose fonts which give logos very stylish look but make them difficult to read and understand. Don’t make that mistake!

• Create a black and white version of your logo

Great logos have an ability to draw attention when displayed in black and white. When designing a logo, one should keep in mind whether the logo would look appropriate when shown as black and white. It happens that some logo designs look good in colors, but fail to grab the same attention when presented in black and white. Business owners have realized with time that cost effective logos are the ones which look good in black and white as well.

Creating a great logo is critical, but if you follow these basic guidelines, you will see it for yourself, that it’s not something you were unable to do. I hope I have solved the mystery of how to create a great logo. In case, I have missed out on something, which you think can add to creating a great logo, do write back.

A small bio:
This is guest post from Ben Johnson of Logoinn, custom logo design service provider based in UK.