Top 6 Tips for a Killer Logo Design

This article was contributed by Lucy Benton.

Regardless of the industry, a general rule of logo design is to make it as simple as possible. The reason for this is obvious: a simple logo is much easier to memorize.

However, producing a simple yet effective logo is a challenging task. Besides simplicity, one must consider the uniqueness of the brand, colors, visual appeal, and many other factors.

You know what they say about first impressions. Well, the same rule applies in logo recognition as well. No one will know you if they don’t memorize your logo. As the result, your logo is a prominent and undeniably important part of your marketing effort.

The good news is that one does not need to spend years in design to make a killer logo. However, there are still some essential rules to follow in order to achieve this goal. Below, you will find these rules as well as helpful tools to make a great logo, whether you are a designer or business owner.

See here for more logo resources:

• 11 Logo Design Tips for Small Business Owners
• The Ultimate Guide to Logo Design eBook
• The Latest Logo Design Trends

1. Capture the essence of your brand

Vero Water branding & logo by Jacob Cass.

Your brand has a unique history that defines its present, or soon will. All the things that were important to you while establishing your company, as well as its core values need to be conveyed in the logo, at least in its essence.

For example, if you need to create a logo for a company that produces sparkling water, you may want to concentrate on the features of the product, including its refreshing, hydrating, and calming capabilities, such as Vero above.

The color also plays a prominent role in connecting the logo to the essence of the brand. For example, a logo of a sparkling water company may be blue to convey the power of water and desire to improve the health of the customers. In other words, the color of the logo should mean something special and not be chosen arbitrarily.

A logo design session commonly starts with brainstorming featuring the aspects described above. Don’t forget to write down the ideas you like. See here for how to unlock your creativity.

2. Use colors effectively

Columbia Farmers Market logo design by SDKY

Let me discuss the colors a little bit more. There is a science called color psychology that studies the meanings of colors and how they are perceived by people. The knowledge provided by this science is a great source of ideas for logo design.

According to color psychologists, green symbolizes safety, nature, health, and freshness. Obviously, it is a good option for companies that produce foods. Next, yellow is commonly perceived by people as a color of innovation and optimism, so it can be utilized by high tech companies. Blue is considered beneficial to the body because it symbolizes wisdom, confidence, and stability. Be careful with using black: in addition to elegance and power, it also implies death.

Let’s continue to work on the example of a logo for a company that produces sparkling water. Apparently, black and yellow are not perfect in this case but green and blue might be the ones to use.

3. Don’t be a copycat

Logo copyright by Jacob Cass.

Making a logo surprisingly similar to somebody else’s is one of the worst things that could happen in this case. Apart from the copyright issues, the viewers might have a hard time remembering it as your logo because it reminds them of a different one. As the result, a confusion occurs, and it’s very likely that you won’t benefit from it.

Of course, there are thousands of logos out there and some features of your own will be similar to some of them. To ensure that copyright is not an issue, you could perform an Internet or trademark search to determine if someone else has a similar idea before you even thought of producing a logo. As soon as your search does not show similar designs, proceed to the next step.

4. Simplicity is the key

All iconic logos are simple: Apple, Nike, Microsoft, Audi and many other ones are perfect examples. You will recognize them from thousands of others because they have simple yet unique features. The main feature should be the most recognizable, like four rings in Audi logo and the tick sign in Nike.

Be aware that the design of your logo may be changed in the future as the company grows, so it must be flexible as well. Make your logo as simple as possible by using simple elements like circles, lines, rings, etc. but don’t discount creativity when doing so.

5. Use the right font(s) 

There are so many fonts out there, so you will become overwhelmed very quickly, but these are the main categories. First, Serif is used for logos that need to look traditional. Second, Sans-Serif is perfect for modern-looking ones. Script is recommended if you need to make the logo more carefree or formal, depending on the typeface. Regardless of the choice of the typeface, you should also remember to make it versatile to adapt it well to the surroundings, especially pairing it correctly with other fonts.

For example, if you are running a company that is related to travel (a travel blog etc.), you may want to consider using a hand written script. If you want to look traditional, Serif is the way to go. However, if your brand produces innovative products, using Sans-Serif might be a good idea. Understanding the power of typography in logo design is crucial to success.

6. Consider making an “active” logo

Having an active logo is an expert tip that has been considered by many companies. The best example of an effective active logo is the one used by Twitter. On earlier versions of the logo, the bird appeared standing, so it was a passive bird. Later, the designers of the company changed the logo: the bird became active and took flight! The latest logo of Twitter took it to another level by making the bird flying in the upward direction.

If you to include an object in your logo, consider making it active. For example, a sport equipment brand may use a spinning ball or have a line to convey motion.

Every logo should resemble the uniqueness of the brand. Make yours filled with meaning, and follow the tips above for a killer logo!

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Lucy Benton is a writing coach, editor at BestEssayTips. She specializes in content writing for marketing purposes. She studied Creative and Professional Writing at Maharishi University of Management.