When you are developing the brand for your company, the single most important detail you have to worry about is your logo. It is used more than any other aspect of your image and determines the overall image your company portrays to everyone who sees it. Nervous? Don’t be. These five steps will help make the logo design process a lot more manageable.
1. Elements of a good logo
The first thing you need to familiarize yourself with is the five key elements that work together to create a fantastic logo.
These elements include:
- Memorability What good is a company if no one can remember them? A memorable logo is one that is unique and leaves a lasting impression.
- Versatility Your logo is going to appear in every aspect of marketing, branding and advertising. For this reason, it needs to be able to shift from one purpose to another. A long skinny logo may look great as letterhead, but how will it look when presented in packaging or a business card?
- Appropriateness Relevancy is key. If you own a pizzeria a carrot is probably not the best design element to feature in a logo.
- Timelessness Avoid current trends when it comes to logo design. If you use the year’s most popular styles, your logo will lose effectiveness sooner and you’ll be tasked with re-branding yourself in less time or face looking outdated.
- Simplicity Your logo is not the place to use highly detailed images or to include every detail about your company. Keeping it simple adds to your logo’s versatility and overall effectiveness.
2. Know what you want
It is important to know on the front end what exactly you want from your logo. Are there certain styles you prefer? Specific fonts that make you angry? A particular image you would like to see used as an icon? Make yourself a list of things you do and do not want to see and keep it handy for reference.
3. Be familiar with your target
More important than what you want is what your target demographic wants. If your favorite color is pink, but your target audience is 30-45 year old conservative men, what you like no longer matters. You aren’t selling your logo to yourself—you’re selling it to the consumer. Take the time to do your research and really get to know who you’re selling to and how to reach them best.
4. Pick the right designer
Sure, that web banner you saw for “$59 Logo Design in 24 Hours or Less” is appealing, but be warned: you get what you pay for. If your logo was cheap, it will show. It is vastly more efficient to spend the extra money on a great designer up front. You’ll get a professional logo backed by experience and expertise that will last you significantly longer than the bargain-bin logo an amateur designed from a template.
Further, it is much more difficult to attract new customers once they have decided for themselves that you are a cheap or low-quality company, so you’ll have to work twice as hard to prove yourself after they’ve associated you with a cheap logo.
5. Let your designer design
This might sting a little, but here’s the thing: you are not a designer. You hired a designer—and hopefully a great one—to create your logo for you because you are a smart, capable business owner who knows what is best for the image of your company.
When your designer tells you that using a unicorn as an icon is not the best choice for your hunting company, listen to him. Going with a large advertising agency will cost more, but it is worth every penny to have a professional team on your side with the capabilities to do all the heavy lifting and market research on your behalf.
Conclusion
Utilizing these five steps will pave the way for a successfully designed logo. Use these tools to make efficient and effective decisions and you will be reaping the benefits of an excellent logo in no time!
If you are looking for a professional logo designer, try posting your project at DesignQuote. Post your project once and compare proposals from up to eight designers.