The Importance of a Successful Logo Design

No-matter what sector your business is in, an appropriate Logo Design is a vital necessity that is essential to every business. For every business their logo should be simple, fitting the attitude and image the company is attempting to convey. Virtually every successful business adheres to these requirements, generally with the ‘less-is-more’ approach, allowing them to stand out and be recognised easily. Put simply, in the modern business world, when launching any form of business, it would be truly detrimental to underestimate the huge power of any effective logo design.

To understand what makes Logo Design so effective, it is necessary to look into the reasoning as to what makes an effective logo design. As aforementioned the ‘less-is-more’ approach is an essential imperative to obey when designing a logo, often simpler the better. Ideally, the logo should aim to be easily describable without colour.

The use of shapes

Looking at all the major logos which have become iconic and synonymous with the company or brand, they’re all based on very simple shapes or patterns. Essentially one of the main purposes of a Logo is to stand out and be easily recognisable, which would be virtually impossible to achieve with a complex design, no matter now aesthetically pleasing. The real challenge however, with designing logos is to make the logo simple, but also distinctive, which can be a tricky balance to maintain, and the main challenge when designing a logo.

The use of colour

The problem of creating distinctive logos with simple shapes can be overcome using another integral factor in designing logos, the use of colour. Use of colour in Logo Design is factor that is all to often underestimated, and is the perfect way of making an already striking logo stand out further, while often using fairly standard, familiar shapes. Imagine the logo of Microsoft Windows or Starbucks without the iconic colour schemes. Using colour also helps to convey the correct image for the brand, as different colours can be used to conjure up different emotions and states-of-mind. For example bright primarily colours such as red or blue are effective for getting peoples attention and standing-out, Green is synonymous with health and the environment and light blue is naturally associated with the ocean, therefore conveying a sense of calmness and relaxation. These ideals can be used on many levels, and sometimes quite cleverly. For example the McDonalds yellow colour scheme (and shape) is clearly designed with children in mind, the yellow provoking feelings of joy and happiness. Also American brands often subtly use the colour scheme red, blue and white from the American flag designed to evoke patriotic feelings of pride and honour, capitalising on Americans greatly patriotic sensibilities. If you look into the emotions linked with different colours, it will be easy to find the right colour to convey a brand image.

However while use of colour is very important, for a logo to be truly effective, the logo must be easily recognisable without colour. While colour is an extremely important factor to consider, it cannot be the be-and and end all. While colour is important, it cannot be relied on, inevitably a business logo will need to appear in black and white at some point.

Correct typefaces

Alongside the logo, should be the font to best represent the image you desire your company to convey, is widely considered to be the most important decision to make. No matter how good the logo design, choosing a cheap or inappropriate font is detrimental to the overall impression. Sometimes the logo design can consist of purely the font, in font styles of great magnesium, for example the Coca Cola or Pepsi logos. However, disregarding these exceptions, the fonts main purpose is to match the style of the main logo, both in appearance and in attitude. Also to be taken into account is a balance between keeping the font similar and complimentary to the main logo, without becoming too similar to the logo. If the font and logo are too similar then the logo and font will be completing each over for attention, and if they are too different this will simply confuse the viewer and detract from the overall intention of the logo. The challenge is finding a balance to allow the font to suit the logo, without overshadowing it, so clearly subtly is the key.

These are just some of the correct techniques and steps to be carefully considered when undertaking logo design. Truly effective Logo Design is can transport the brand into a whole new level, as the current marketing climate is one based on images and spin, often playing to peoples emotions and first impression over facts, simply due to the huge amount of over business grappling for any potential customers attention. Most importantly, it must be taken into account that a logos main function is for immediate recognition.

Our Logo Design Service

At SJL Web Design we have team up with Firebubble Design to offer our clients exceptional logo design services at great prices, all performed by experienced professionals. If you would like to know more about our Logo or Corporate Identity Design packages, please feel free to contact us on 01858 463 750 or fill out our simple contact form.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 10:01 pm and is filed under Graphic Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.