Effective logo design – tips and hints

The logo is a fundamental element of any successful business. It is the first image that comes to mind at the very mention of a company, as it is the logical connection that consumers use to establish a lasting opinion about a business. That is why it is so essential for companies to not only create a logo for their business but to make sure that they create an effective logo design. However, this task can be complex and long-lasting, especially if you don’t have the right approach. Digital Dot offers a simple guide to creating an effective logo design for your business and explained why it is so important.

Why is logo design important?

As a cornerstone of any strong brand, logos need to portray the very essence of your business to customers. That is why creating the perfect logo for your business can be such a daunting task. It needs to be a holistic representation of who you are and what you offer to consumers, why you do so, and how you are different from your competitors. It is an element that will continuously appear in your brand development strategies, advertising efforts, business cards, social media posts, emails, promo materials, etc.

Creating a fit-for-purpose logo is something that every designer worth that title can do. However, truly mastering the craft of creating an effective logo that can brand a business long-term is something that takes time, experience, and knowledge. That is why we are focusing on the creation of effective logo design rather than your typical logo design. The difference is in details and lasting quality. After all, the logo is the centerpiece of a company – it is the most exposed part of a business, one that everyone will be eager to remember or criticize.

What is Effective Logo Design?

By definition, an effective logo design is one that uniquely identifies and signifies your brand from all aspects. It has three fundamental principles to fulfill:

• Establishing trust and brand recognition.
• Standing out from the competition.
• Visually representing the core of a company from the perspective of consumers.

The goal is simple to comprehend. You want a logo that will be a beacon for consumers, one that will be easily spotted and recognized. Consider the feeling you get when you spot a Coca Cola in a crowded fridge, or the way you feel when you spot a Harley Davidson on the road. It’s about the story it tells to each customer, the memories it connects, and the feelings it awakens in consumers. That is the goal of every effective logo design – visual recognition and trust in a crowded and competitive world.

Six effective logo design guidelines

1. Make sure to cover all the elements of impactful logo designs

A top-quality logo is one that incorporates several essential elements in its design. It is an image worth a thousand words – the perfect balance between art, marketing, and business. There are five principles that your logo design needs to include:

• Memorability
• Simplicity
• Functionality
• Timelessness
• Sensibility

Creating an effective logo design is founded on incorporating all five values in one visual representation of your business.

Memorability

When you consider some of the best logos that you’ve seen, they are all marked as being memorable. Apple, Nike, McDonald’s, Ferrari, etc. They are all easy on the eye and just effective enough to stay with you for a lifetime. And that is the goal here – creating a logo design that leaves a lasting impression. Otherwise, it’s just another logo among countless others – just another company among countless others.

Simplicity

Simple logos are easy to remember and they don’t strain your brain cells. There’s no need to overthink Twitter’s bird, Window’s window, or Netflix’s red N. They are all examples of how simplicity can take the day, building recognition and loyalty through everyday imagery. The easier you make it for others to recognize your logo, the more effective it becomes.

The common issue with simplicity is that it is hard to find that golden line between over-designing and over-simplifying your logo. Finding that perfect balance is the key to creating an effective design for your company logo – one that people will consider simple yet appealing.

Functionality

The digital age sets high expectations when it comes to logo designs. With the use of logos throughout social media advertising strategies, email marketing, business cards, mobile apps, website icons, etc. – it needs to offer the adaptability to fit into it all. That is why simplicity is such an essential factor, to begin with. You want a simple logo that is versatile. If you have a logo that is too complex, it becomes much more challenging to adapt it for use on multiple platforms.

Timelessness

You cannot sell an effective logo design idea for 2020 or this decade/century. Design trends, much like all other trends today, come and go at the speed of light. None of it is relevant enough for you to base your brand image on it. Instead, you need to focus on creating a logo that is timeless. Otherwise, your logo will appear outdated in a matter of months or years, and it’ll be a one-way ticket back to the drawing board.

Rather than risking having to rebrand your company due to an outdated look, invest the proper time in creating one that will last through the ages. Effective logo designs are timeless logo designs.

Sensibility

The drapes really do need to match the curtains. You can’t run a chain of restaurants and use scary images or images of animals. You want to make sure that your logo is sensible enough to fit in with the core values of your business. If your target audience is focused on products for kids, the logo design should be playful and bright. If you are focused on selling software, the logo should be calm, with a professional-looking typeface.

You don’t want to restrict your logo to portray the products or services that you are selling. Instead, consider Nike or Mercedes-Benz – neither include the product in their logo, and yet they are both easily recognizable and appropriate. Creating an effective logo design means removing restrictions from your brainstorming but maintaining sensibility.

2. Understand your target audience

Most businesses fail in their mindset that they are designing a logo for them. In fact, your logo is the image that you want others to see and think of when they think of your company. So, you are in fact designing your logo for your target audience. That is why it is so important to understand your target audience if you want to create an effective logo design.

How can you define your target audience?

In the past, we spoke on the subject of attracting the right crowd to your website and how to accomplish that. One of the first steps is to learn who you are looking to attract. And the same rule applies when you are planning the look of your logo. You need to understand who you are selling your products or services to and what it is that they are expecting from companies such as yours. Consider the rest of your market and your competitors. Use them to understand what works for the audience you share and mix it all together with your unique logo design to create something that will have a high engagement rate.

3. Maintain your objectivity

We already explained that the goal here is to get the attention of the consumers. For the designer, the objective is pleasing the client while offering a primary focus on what their consumers want to see. As a business, you need to stay objective and keep your personal preferences aside for the greater good. It is okay to express your concerns and wishes to the professional web designers that you hire to create an effective logo design for you. However, you also need to be willing to listen to their advice when it comes to the overall impact of your logo.

The common arguments here occur over the choice of color. And this is where taking a closer look at color psychology in marketing can really make a difference between a regular logo and an effective one.

4. Having the right designer for the job is crucial

This is not an email template design or a social media post that we are discussing here. We are discussing the design of your logo – the visual representation of your business. Therefore, you can’t afford to risk trying to create something by yourself or to hire an amateur to do so. You will want to consult professional web designers with experience, ones that will be able to accommodate your wishes while answering the need of your target audience. Consider the following criteria to help your search process:

• Portfolio. Check out their previous projects and track record. You can tell a lot about designers based on their past work.
• Testimonials. Google reviews and testimonials from past clients can also give you relevant information about how accommodating or responsive an agency or freelancer is.
• Timeframe. Discuss the time frame for creating an effective logo based on your input.
• Price. Of course, the cost always plays a role. Going with the cheapest option is never a smart call, but neither is overpaying for a regular logo design.

Your choice of designers or agencies will bear a big impact on just how effective your logo design will be. So, make sure not to rush the decision but to take all the necessary steps in your selection process.

5. Give your design team the freedom to do their job

Once you find the professional design agency or individual for creating your logo, you need to establish a proper channel of communication and define your expectations as well as their predictions. A lot of business owners find difficulty in staying objective in this process and want to be more included in the creative process, which can often lead to overstepping. Neither you nor the designer or agency you choose to hire can benefit from constantly questioning the work at hand.

Your role is to provide all the necessary information about the core values of your company as well as your vision of what the logo should represent. Once you do that, it’s just a matter of providing the designers with minor guidelines when presented with different ideas. Remember that you are paying them to create an effective logo design for your brand – you need to let them do exactly that. Don’t be a Pixel Pusher.

• Pixel Pusher: A design client who attempts to take over the creative process by telling the designer to “move this over here” or “delete this”, and results in ruining the whole thing altogether.

6. Make sure to ask the right questions

Logos don’t just happen overnight. Companies invest endless amounts of time and resources in coming up with a logo design that is effective and satisfies all the criteria for all parties involved. So, when you get that first draft version of your logo, there is a list of questions you need to go through.

Consider the following questions – is the logo design effective when…

• Printed in one color? The train of thought is simple here – if your design is just as effective in one color, it has the potential to be timeless and memorable.
• Printed in reverse color? (e.g, red on black rather than black on red). Consider whether or not color reversal changes the overall impact of the logo design.
• The size of a postage stamp or social avatar? We already discussed that your logo is likely to appear in different formats, so it is important for it to be able to send the same message when the size of a thumbnail.
• As large as a billboard? Sometimes, a logo design can appear less impactful when you put it on a billboard or building. So, you need to make sure that it is just as sharp when oversized.
• With and without the typography? You won’t always be able to include your slogan or tagline in a logo, so it’s important to make sure that it is just as effective with and without the words.

You should always circle back to the five principles that make up an effective logo design. And if you notice at any point that your design team has gone off course, have a meeting with them to discuss the situation and how to return back on track. Remember that you can always test the overall influence of your logo design with the help of your target audience. Just make sure to find a neutral audience and not opt for reviewing the logo design with family members, friends, or co-workers.

Integrate your effective logo design into your brand

Think back on all the well-known companies and corporations that you know. Does any of them lack a well-established logo to go with the rest of their brand? No. The truth is that the logo design has a big impact on how the rest of the world will see your business. That is why the objective of creating the perfect logo is so vital for the brand development of your business. And now, you know what you need to get there.

Once you get to the point where you have come up with an effective logo, you have a strong foundation for building your brand image. By setting the tone for your style, color palette, font, and overall look and feel your logo is the starting point for your brand collateral and your designer will be able to create a seamless look for you. And just like that, your business is ready to show the world its brand new face!

Start working on your brand today

Make the name of your business memorable and timeless with the visual representation that is your official logo. Digital Dot is an agency that has the experience and knowledge to help you find that perfect balance between an effective logo design and one that is simple yet versatile and sensible to match the very core of your business.

• Contact our digital marketing agency today and take that first step towards creating a timeless presence in your niche!