The Care And Feeding Of An Outstanding Logo

For many business owners, creating a logo is a bit like walking a buffet line:  a little of this, a bit of that, a few more of those and your immediate needs are satisfied. Later, however, you might end up wishing you had taken a little more time and care in making your choices.

While a poorly designed logo won’t have you running to the bathroom, it might well affect the overall health of your business. Here are some tips for ensuring that your logo conveys a professional, unique and memorable message of your brand.

Follow Some Basic Standards

Everyone will have a different opinion of what makes a great logo based on their specific tastes. However, there are some basic rules to keep in mind as you go through the process.

  • Be Timeless And Evergreen – Create a design that can stand the test of time and convey your business identity clearly and consistently. Avoid using the current trends, as what’s popular today might be far out of favor tomorrow–and you don’t want to look like everyone else.
  • Keep It Simple – Think of the logos for McDonalds, Nike, Microsoft, and Apple. Pretty simple designs, yet almost no-one on the planet can see them and not know the company they represent.
  • Design With Clients In Mind – You’ll want a very different logo for selling to Millennials than if your primary market is Baby Boomers.
  • Make It Adaptable – Be sure your design will look as good on paper (think business cards) as it does on a computer screen. Some experts suggest designing first in black and white and then adding your color as the final step.

Know The Power Of Color

Different colors generate a wide range of emotions and reactions and, when used correctly, can give your logo real selling power.

For example, red creates feelings of passion, trust, and aggressiveness while yellow makes you feel alive, energetic and joyful. Besides being the world’s favorite color, blue generates comfort, understanding, confidence, and calm. Green generates relaxation and peace while purple brings out power, romance and glamour.

If possible, create a design that will be equally effective in both color and black and white.

Remember The Goal

You want your logo to instantly identify the value and uniqueness of your brand and your organization. The overall design, colors, fonts, and artwork should always be chosen with that end in mind; otherwise you’re just wasting time, effort and money on something that will create very few, if any, returns.

Taking the time to create an outstanding logo can help your business become a trusted and well-known resource in your particular market space.