Tips on Designing a Logo

So you have started a new business or think yours needs a bit of a rebranding. A big part of this is designing a logo that acts as an identifier of the company but also explains what your business is at a glance. No easy task, as corporations will spend millions on this sort of work so how can a small business like yours make one with a limited budget. In this article I’m not going to tell you how you should be designing your logo, but what you should always be thinking about when you are doing the design work to ensure that you are getting the most effective design you can have.

The complexity of logo design is far too vast to cover in a short article. Instead I’m going to give you a few basic points to always be thinking about when you are choosing or designing a logo

Does it share the common language of business like yours

Everyone expects logos to have certain looks or images in when they look for a particular type of business. Companies that sell pet supplies have pets in their logos. Dance studios have things in motion. Construction companies use big thick lettering to promote the idea of solidness. There is nothing wrong in looking at the competition to see what they use to help you narrow down the choices for your own (unless you intentionally want to be different).

Does it look too much like someone else’s logo

We hear about big business suing small ones for brand infringement, the Blackball Hilton for instance. One of my clients was told their branding was too much like a another but I was able to prove quite clearly that there were major differences. To avoid this hassle you should take inspirations from others in the industry but you shouldn’t copy other’s design. A more practical reason is that you don’t want people contacting the competition when thinking of your brand because the logos look too much alike.

Don’t rely on any text in the logo

There may be situations where you can’t use your company name so have to rely on the logo alone. Most people tend to remember things visually so our own logo for Copy Express, combines a sheet of paper with colour to make it memorable even if it doesn’t quite shout out printing from the get go. This is not to say that using text as your logo doesn’t work, Considering how long IBM blue bar text has been in use, even in countries that don’t speak english, proves that it can, but you don’t need to know it stands for International Business Machines, just like the ‘golden arches’ stands for the M in Mcdonalds.

Does it work in a small size

That logo has to be recognisable no matter how big or small it gets. It also has to be clear at different distances, or moving when on a side of a van. If you want to see if your logo works, print it no bigger than 10 millimetres in the shortest direction and hold it at arm’s length. If it doesn’t pop out at you, or is hard to read then you need to rework it.

Are you using the right colours

Some colours have natural association with some industries, fast food always uses red and yellow, landscaping companies use greens and blues, legal firms stick with white-greys-black, and so on. While there are some cultural factors involved in colour choices, different cultures use different colours for death for instance, we live in a global community so this is becoming less of an issue.

Does it work in black in white

Sure people don’t do single colour printing any more with full colour being so cheap, but it’s still important to think about. What if things get photocopied or you need to screen print it on a t shirt. How about getting a rubber stamp made or embossed on a keychain. Being able to make use of the logo in a situation where colour is expensive or not avaliable is very important. All major business have designs that can work as a single colour version and you should think about that too.

Can it work on different colour background

Just like the situation with making sure that the logo works in black and white, you will also have situation where you will be using the logo on colours other than your prefered one. Sometimes the simplest solution to this is to have the logo outline in a contrasting colour or you might have to have an inverted version

This is just a start on the subject on what to think about when designing a logo. If you are stumped what to do or would like a independent assessment of your creation then contact us at Copy Express. We can even go and do the design work for you at a reasonable rate and give you everything you need in your logo to help sell your business no matter where you are using it.