The Basics of Good Logo Designs
Businesses and organizations use logos to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Good logo designs tell a story that is tied to stimuli – such as happiness and youth – to evoke an emotional response in potential customers.
Logo Designs Should Be...
Your logo design should be relevant, timeless, adaptive, simple, memorable, and versatile.Â
Relevant logos clearly communicate a brand’s personality, identity, and commonly trigger positive emotions in their target consumers. If the target market is not known, audience research can be done to narrow it down.
Logos that are timeless remain relevant and are effective over the years. One of the most common examples of this is the golden arches that McDonald’s is known for.Â
Adaptivity refers to how well your logo works across mediums (i.e. digital and print).
Simplicity is important for logos because most customers only look at them for a short period of time. Simple logos focus on colors and fonts, as well as use symbols to instill a mental association with a particular set of values.
Next, a good logo should be memorable from the first time one sees it. If customers can easily recall your logo and brand, they are more likely to connect them with your company. There is a fine balance between striving for uniqueness and sticking to the basics.
Lastly, a good logo should be versatile. Instead of using PNG or JPEG file formats that will become pixelated when they’re resized, consider using vector files.Â
Popular, Well-known Logo Designs
Next, these logo designs are easy for most people to recognize. They represent several larger corporations: Starbucks Coffee, Google, IBM, Coca-Cola, the World Wildlife Fund, and UPS.Â
Closing Remarks
As you can see from some of the prevalent icons in today’s society, images that are simple stand out. Additionally, they are easier to remember, easy to replicate, and are sometimes tied to stories, stimuli, or emotional triggers.
Whatever your target market is, keep them in mind when drafting up logos the next time you have a million dollar idea. If sketching isn’t your thing, shoot us a message and we can do the heavy lifting for you.
Resources & Further Reading
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Casella, B. (2019, September 04). The World’s 21 Most Recognized Brand Logos Of All Time. Retrieved August 27, 2020, from https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/most-recognized-brand-logos-identities
- Davidson, J. (2019, January 18). What Makes a Great Logo. Retrieved August 26, 2020, from https://medium.com/swlh/what-makes-a-great-logo-c7b0e8c4b9e3
- Pomerleau, C. (2020, June 12). What makes a good logo? Retrieved August 26, 2020, from https://99designs.com/blog/logo-branding/what-makes-a-good-logo/
- What Makes a Good Logo – 5 Characteristics. (2020, July 26). Retrieved August 26, 2020, from https://www.tailorbrands.com/logo-maker/what-makes-a-good-logo