5 Crucial Logo Design characteristics
1. Originality
Being original is extremely important! You do not want your client to “image search” your logo graphic in google and the first thing they see is a stock graphic, that is a big NO NO. Neither do you want your logo to look like another company that is completely irrelevant, this can really screw with people’s heads. Now creating something original from some type of inspirational piece would be acceptable but modifying enough that you can’t be considered a image thief. You do not want to mess with the copyright GODS, they will burn you ALIVE! Its best to make sure you stand out from the rest, kind of like those images that have 20 yellow balls and then that one red ball, be that red ball.
2. Relevance
Make sure your logo makes sense to your brand. Why? Because although it might like good to the eye, it might not be intended for the proper audience. For example, using a high energy sport font for a boxing company, but not for a financial company. Do some research, or some company stalking, as I like to call it. Find out their mission, target audience, and the story behind it all. This will ensure that your logo gets an effective response from your targeted audience and your client will be super happy!
3. Versatile
Hmmm… logos can be put on almost anything. So, the logo has to be able to be blown up on a billboard-sized banner and back down to a ballpoint pen. Will the logo look good and work well on everything you place it on? To make sure that the answer is yes! There are a few things to quickly go over. It should always be a vector image, so it is scale-able to any size. The logo should look great with any color and background color. If you have red pens then it should be white or something that stands out, you get the point. Just make sure the design will work across all platforms.
4. Memorable
Some logos are extremely easy to remember at first glance, they are also capable of allowing you to figure out their brand. So iconic that even kids can recall them at a glance. I mean the top simple logos that I can recall off the top of my head is the Apple logo and Nike. Even Pepsi has just rolled out their new logo this last year in 2017. These are perfect examples that will support the fact that your logo MUST be memorable. These icons make permanent impressions on the minds of the user or client.
5. Timeless
Trends are no good when creating a logo, unless it’s something that is short-lived, that would be ok, but otherwise creating something that is long-lasting would be the goal. Don’t use the years trends in branding, marketing, colors, and fonts in imagery to determine your company logo. Trends come and go each year! Your brand should not want to do or be that.
