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Logo Design Tips and Inspiration

Recently updated on November 7th, 2017 at 12:43 am

This Month’s What’s Next Winner is Joel Lafond. Congratulations Joel, for suggesting the topic “Tips for good logo designs.”

This hot topic is important for any business or blogger since, inevitably, you’ll need a logo. The following 13 tips are a summary of tips from The Logo Factory.  And for inspiration, I’ve included 13 of the best logos of all time  (as ranked by Rangit.com).

1. Start Out Right

Logo’s are one area where long term thinking is vital. Taking up front short cuts to save time and money right now, might just really cost you down the road. For example, using a logo template can be sketchy as you can never be sure the work is original and if you do become high profile it could come back to bite you. And even if you’re certain the template you’re using is legitimate, you’re sure to lose  the uniqueness factor. Some things to keep in mind (this tip is explored in The Logo Factory’s ‘starting out right‘ podcast).

2.  Keep it Simple

Though very intricate logos can be eye catching, you can have issues with reproduction. Also, complex logos can be hard to remember which kind of defeats the purpose.

3. You Don’t have to Be Literal

No rule says that logos need to portray what your company does. In fact, some of the most popular logos don’t illustrate what the company does at all. For instance, think of McDonald’s Golden Arches – no hamburgers or fries there.

4. Size is Important

You’re going to have to be able to reproduce your logo in a variety of sizes so make sure it will hold up in a small size as well as large – maybe even a billboard. Some logos lose a lot when they are made into thumbnails or business card size, for instance.

5. Go for a Pleasing Ratio

Avoid logos that are too fat, or too skinny – think “golden mean” which is kind of the ratio of the sides of a business card. Squares and circles work well, too.

6. Disconnect Images and Text

If your logo has both images and text then have each element as a distinct piece of artwork so you can also use them individually, as needed.

7. Stay True to Your Company Theme

Are you a serious or not-so serious company? Don’t go whimsical if you’re serious and vice versa.

8. Easy Instant Impact

Potential customers should not have to stare at a logo to “get” it. Remember, you probably only have a few seconds to grab someone attention before their eyes wander to something else.

9. Keep Your Tagline Separate

If you have a tagline (good idea) don’t have it as part of your logo so you can add your tagline only as needed.

10. Be Different

The last thing you want is to have a logo that is similar to any competitors so do your legwork, know what’s out there, then dare to be different.

11. Design First, then Color

Work your design first and then consider your colors. Choose carefully as colors do have meaning. (If you want to know more about what colors mean, read Color 101: What does Your Online Color Scheme Say to Customers? And make sure you use colors that can be reproduced online – not all of them can.

12. Repetition is Key

Once you have your logo, get it out there as often and in as many places as possible. The success of that simple Nike swoosh logo is because it’s everywhere – it’s branded into our brains.

13. Don’t Change Your Logo

If at all possible, don’t change your logo. The longer you’ve had your logo out there, the more of a setback changing it can be so think long and hard before you do.

If you’re still hungry for more after reading this post, check out our previous post 5 Free Step by Step Logo Design Tutorials. Happy logo designs!

 

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