A Beginner’s Guide to Logo Design

A business is a separate legal entity with its existence, signature, right to sue or be sued, name, and everything else very similar to a person. But what sets them apart is the fact that humans have a distinguishing feature, their face. Your face is the first memory that others retain of you in their heads. And to give the businesses the same advantage, we create the concept of logos. The brand name may be catchy, but it is the logo that stays etched in people’s minds. Be it the big yellow cursive “M” of McDonald’s, the intertwining letter “C” of Chanel, the green mermaid lady of Starbucks, or the half bitten apple for the Apple Inc., you look at the logo, and you know the brand.

Hence it is always good to invest in your logos to make it fun, memorable, and synonymous with your brand name. And as a logo designer, it is necessary to ensure that the business gets the best possible return for their investment. Here are some points that every logo designer needs to keep in mind before you come up with and finalize the logo of the business:

• Business details

The first and foremost thing to do is to collect all possible details from the client. Name of the business, its tagline, its sector, where they intend to operate primarily, and what the business stands for, in its entirety is what matters a lot. Two different businesses may look similar, but they will always have a speck of difference, and that will be big enough to impact the logotype that you come up with

• Sketchbook

For every client, a designer has to come up with multiple logo options, and then the client picks the one that may attract him the most. All the remaining designs are left unused by the client and are still the legal property of the designer. Keeping that in mind, a designer must keep their sketchbook safe. Just because the previous client did not like one design, it does not mean that no possible future client will like it. Using previously drawn and unused logos will save time and energy for the creator while giving him the worth of his work.

• Prefer black and white

Always work with black and white. Design the entire logo and then consider what colors need to be put in or if you want any color in the logo. The primary reason is that the logo is in a specific color or combination of colors, will be discarded by clients in case they dislike the color itself. Additionally, not all color schemes age well. So, any color schemes should be used, keeping in mind the future.

• Relevance

The logo must be designed so as to resonate and fit with the business type it represents. A colorful cursive font will not look good with a lawyer’s chamber, while bright colors like magenta and orange will deplete the impact of a stockbrokers’ firm. Apart from that, famous symbolism should be very carefully used to keep the brand away from any controversies or accusations.

• Keep it simple

Try your level best to make it as simple as possible. In case it is something that every common person can recreate, that will be better. The fact that the logo needs to stick with the target audience is very intricate or complex and will be hard for people to memorize subconsciously.

• Research

A little market research goes a long way in every field, before beginning to design a mark, research brands that share the same market as your client, and note the fonts, colors, designs, logos that they have used for themselves. Ensure that your logo does not clash with any of those so that the element of confusion and substitution is not introduced between the two competitors in the long run.

• Ambiguity

Do not get very literal with the name or the business of the brand. Try to be ambiguous and ensure that the logo does not give away what your company does. It may look like a strange idea, but it will be easier for the company to expand its function into any and every sector they want without changing the logo.

Source : Beginner’s Guide to Logo Design