Thursday, March 29, 2012

Logo Design Best Practices by Samantha Miller

n business, the company logo is synonymous with the image of the company. Famous companies are recognized immediately because of their carefully designed logos. Every business image is developed over years, and potential business partners will evaluate the age and capability of the business with one glance at the logo. The absolute most important aspect of the business image is the logo, and the development of that logo must follow some best practices.
Use a Professional Designer
While thinking up a simple logo may seem like an easy task, a professional designer will add invaluable expertise to the logo design. All the training and experience of other projects will be brought to bear on the design of your business logo. The choice to hire a professional design team will help to avoid many common mistakes that are made by amateurs.
Keep it Simple

A brief review of famous business logo designs reveals a common theme of simplicity. One glance reminds you of the trust and credibility that brand carries, but the logo is simple and uncluttered. A business logo design should immediately portray strength, trust & credibility to potential consumers.
3 Second Rule

The potential customer should grasp the message of the business logo design within three seconds of the first glimpse. Intensive study to decipher the meaning of the logo will lose the interest of potential customers and suppliers. To determine if your logo communicates effectively, ask people for an honest evaluation of suggested designs prior to final approval.
Instantly Memorable

Anyone who sees your logo for the first time should retain that image in their memory. When the logo appears again, an effective business logo design will trigger a response that prompts an action. Some logos trigger a hunger or thirst response that will cause the viewer to pull off at the next convenience store and purchase the advertised product. Whatever type of business the logo will represent, the customer should remember the last experience they had with the product or service.
Don't Use Too Many Fonts & Colors

Using multiple colors and fonts in your logo design will only clutter your logo, make it less compelling and harder to understand the image you are trying to portray. Every component of the logo must spark to the memory of the customer and create a familiarity. Logo designs that contain multiple colors will also prove to be very expensive to print on letterhead and advertising copy.
Look Good at any Size

Great logo designs are effective regardless of the actual size. But, businesses that must be advertised in certain ways will require very flexible logos that can be printed on tiny objects or on huge billboards. Make sure your logo quality is not diminished when scaled up or down.

The logo message cannot be lost when printed in very small sizes. When pens or lanyards are part of the advertising campaign, the business logo design must be clear and readable.

Potential customers are won by leveraging every possible location to highlight a need. A billboard can direct passing customers to a remote business location, but the logo design must be readable at a glance.
Black & White

While most famous logo designs are in color, the same logo is recognizable when printed in black or white. Make sure yours is as well.
If you're planning on advertising in the newspaper or Yellow Pages, your logo still needs to get across the same strong message as it does when it's seen in color.

Be Timeless, Not Trendy
When creating or updating your logo, be careful not to follow a fad or a trend. Trends come and go and could leave your logo looking dated and irrelevant. Instead, stick to the same logo theme if you're updating your logo and stay away from trends and fads when creating a logo from scratch.
Disconnect Image from the Text

Unless the logo is made up of the company name, the lettering should be disconnected from the logo image. The simple graphic image can be printed in places where the words are unnecessary. Many famous logos are used without the company name, but customers immediately recognize the image.

The importance of the business logo design cannot be overstated. Speak with some business owners and ask them when they noticed customers taking their businesses more seriously. Most will clearly remember the year they embraced a professional logo designer and invested in creating a business image. When the logo design follows all of these recommendations, customers will begin to mention all the places they are noticing your advertising efforts.

About the Author
Find joy in everything you do and your life will be less stressful. That is what Samantha Miller believes in and she thinks it will make life more meaningful. She is an artistic woman and is now making her big way in a Logo design field.Related Article