<< Back to articles Steps to a Better Logo Design!
Know your audience
- Know Your Customer
In order to design a good logo, you need to know your customer and your customer's customer, as well. Many customers may come to you and request a particular style of logo, or the use of a particular symbol. Dig deeper ? find out what is unique about your customer, how they solve their customer's problems, who their target market is. Is the target market over sixty? You may want to use larger type than normal to alleviate failing eyesight. Is the target market twenty-something? Vibrant colors such as those used in popular computer games may be the answer.
- No Idea is Too Stupid
Brainstorming is often the key to a good logo. After you've fully explored your customer and their market, begin writing down words that apply to your customer. In fact, this is a step you should do with your customer. If your customer won't spend time in a "formal" brainstorming session, at least get them to give you a list of words that describe their company. Don't discard anything as too "stupid"; sometimes the more "out there" the idea is, the more unique the resulting logo will be.
Another method similar to brain storming
is mind mapping, which is uniquely suited to brainstorming graphics. Write a word in the center of a sheet of paper held horizontally; I normally use the customer's name. Then begin writing the main images/words this brings to mind, and connect these words to the central thought. Continue branching out from each word, using either words or images as appropriate. Mind mapping is essentially a visual way to brainstorm. Just as with brainstorming, nothing is too stupid. Just let your ideas flow.
- Consider the competition
We hotly debated on the forum recently whether or not a company's logo should stand out. I believe that it should; that that is the whole purpose of a logo ? to stand out from the crowd. Others argued that while a logo should be unique, it should still be similar to other logos of similar companies. Whatever your opinion on the subject, it's a good idea to take a look at the competition. The Yellow Pages can be a good starting point. Magazines
devoted to your customer's industry may also be helpful. A search on the Web will doubtless turn up a variety of logos for the competition. If you find that every medical company uses a cross, for instance, you may want to avoid using a cross.
Color can play an important role in logo design. Your customer doesn't want to hear that you chose that blue because it looks cool; they want to know what psychological connotations it has. Below are some common color associations:
- Blue: trust, loyalty, water, relaxing, power, dignity
- Yellow: energy, joy, light, hope
- Pink: calming, feminine
- Green: life, growth, money, jealousy, nature, fertility
- Purple: richness, power, love, sophistication
- Brown: credibility, stability
- White: purity, cleanliness, innocence
- Red: heat, passion, danger, power
The shape of the logo can also effect the company's image. Below are some of the associations we make with common shapes:
- Circle: connection, community, movement, safety
- Rectangle: solid, security
- Triangle: exciting, powerful, aggression
Consider the customer's budget When you interview a prospective client, it's important to ask about their budget; not only for the design of the logo, but also for printing. Maybe they're a large company and can afford four color process printing, or have a need for four color advertising. Then it's okay to design a four color logo ? after you've designed the black and white version, of course. Maybe they're a medium sized business, and can afford two color printing with bleeds and metal plates. Then it's okay to use shades of a color, and touching colors ? this sort of logo will
require metal plates to be printed, which drives up the cost of printing. What if it's a small start-up company with a limited budget? You might consider a one color design, with shades of that one color. You'll still need metal plates, but you'll only need one, which will cut costs considerably. Or you might design a two color logo, but one that doesn't use shades of those colors and whose colors don't touch. Then you can get away with laser copy for camera ready or veloxes; metal plates won't be required, and costs will be significantly reduced. Another option is to design several versions of the logo, and make
sure your customer is aware which versions will be more expensive to print. Sometimes when the customer sees a good logo that will be more expensive to print, they're willing to spend the extra money. LOGO DESIGN - Start without the Computer The computer can be a wonderful tool for designing. You can work up ten variations of a design in a matter of minutes, often designs that might not have even occurred to you without the flexibility of a computer. Whether or not you can draw, I encourage you to start designing without your computer. Designing without the computer really forces you to
focus on the job at hand. Instead of just grabbing the rectangle or ellipse tool, you begin to really think about what that rectangle or circle says about the company. It doesn't matter that you're not Da Vinci. You don't have to show anyone your initial sketches. It only matters that they have meaning to you. Sketches, or thumbnails, are the visual equivalent of brainstorming. Be sure to make some notes on your scribbles so you remember where you were going with that idea. Make as many sketches as you like, then look them over and pick the best to develop further on the computer. The thumbnail process serves
another function: it saturates your brain with the logo you're working on, and visual images are often more powerful than words. Your brain will continue to work on the logo subconsciously, and you may very well have one of those "aha!" moments when you sit down at your computer: suddenly the logo just comes together. That's because your brain has been working on it subconsciously from the time you started making sketches to the time you sat in front of your computer. If you've never made sketches before designing a logo, I encourage you to try. You may be surprised at the results.
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