What Makes a Good Logo?

Think about some of the most famous logos which are recognized by millions across the globe. What makes them different from the others? Why are they so popular and easy to identify anywhere? Logos such as the Nike Swoosh, Coca-Cola’s wordmark and Apple’s half bitten icon are just a few examples of brand designs which have made a lasting impression. These symbols also bring out positive feelings in people and inspire them.

One of the biggest reasons behind the success of the logo is the way it connects with the audience. With the colors, icons, shapes or imagery, fonts and typography, you can easily create a design which instantly catches the eye and stays in memory as well. This brings us to the question of what makes a good logo.

Well, there are quite a few factors which you need to focus on to make a timeless brand symbol which gets attention immediately and has a strong impact. In our free logo generator, you can browse through the various templates and customize the elements to generate a design which creates recognition and establishes credibility.

Elements of A Good Logo Design

Before you start the design process, it’s important to get a clear idea of how you want people to perceive your brand. Ask a few questions such as what information are you looking to convey? Which emotions do you want to bring out? What values should be highlighted? This can make it easier for you to narrow down a relevant logo style that makes a great first impression.

In case, there is some confusion, you can look through the hundreds of logo templates in our logo maker for inspiration. Be it for your small business or startup, web design project or blog, there are a lot of options that you can explore!

The following are a few key principles of making a memorable logo design that you should keep in mind when creating a brand identity.

1. Unique or Distinct

One basic purpose of a logo is to spread awareness and make more people familiar with your business, personal brand or work. Your target audience identifies or recognizes the products or projects with the symbol or icon across print and digital mediums. It’s how they can differentiate between your company and the competitors. So it’s essential for the logo to be distinct or unique from other ones in the industry.

Influential

The first element or principle of a great brand design is what makes it stand out among the rest. When you think of a fast food logo for instance, chances are that the McDonald’s ‘M’ is one of the first things that come to mind. This is the power of an impressive and simple logo which can influence the consumer’s decisions.

Choose a style in our logo generator studio which does not particularly follow any trends and can last for years with minimal upgrades. You can go with imagery or meaningful abstract icons which cleverly tell people about your business or expertise. For a financial logo, choose a minimalist design which is unique to the company and highlights the nature of work as well. Pair it up with a wordmark to make it easier for the target audience to recognize the symbol.

It is also a good idea to create a distinctive logo by choosing a relevant color palette which sends out the right message and can be associated with your brand. If you are looking to make a home improvement logo, pick a subtle and soothing color scheme which makes a strong impression instantly. Similarly, fashion & apparel logos can have unique or customized fonts for lettermarks or a symbol which catches the eye anywhere.

2. Simple Design

You may have come across the ‘less is more’ phrase many times. When it comes to logo design or graphics, this can be an important factor to consider. Professional designers also focus on creating logos which are simple and easy to understand. If people are spending a lot of time trying to figure out what you have to say, then they might move on to another option.

Clarity

The idea is to convey the message and showcase your brand values with a clear design, relevant colors and fonts.Complex logos can confuse or overwhelm the viewer and create problems with branding as well. You want a simplistic design which creates recognition on business cards, stationery, postcards, emails and social media pages.

Take a look at some of the logo designs below. You can see how people can easily tell what the business or service is about on the first look.

Our logo creator has a range of tools which you can use to customize the design according to your requirements. Select icons, animal imagery or shapes to create a simple brand logo which people can recall later too. Just think about Nike’s symbol here.

The minimalist swoosh has become known for how it represents speed, motivation and performance. Due to the simplicity of design, it’s very easy to remember the brand mark and think of the sportswear company.

3. Relevant Graphics

The logo is usually the first thing that people see on packaging, website, flyers or any other promotional material. So you want to make sure that it’s relevant to the business, application or blog. This makes it easier for the target audience to identify the design and remember the logo. The appeal of a logo depends on its relevance. If it’s able to communicate with the audience, it will be successful.

In order to create a relevant one with our business logo maker, you need to focus on three main graphic elements:

Colors

Start by selecting the right colors which showcase your industry and the nature of work. There are some which might be used commonly in a few sectors like construction logos, information technology, security & investigation or finance logos. The color blue is associated with professionalism, trustworthiness and loyalty too, so it’s popular in tech logos or banking and investment icons.

You can create a contrast with white or green for a strong impact. Neutrals can work very well for the background and add a serious look to the logo as well. If you consider an industry such as designing an accounting logo, you want to tell people that your company or services can offer them a serious solution. So solid colors are more relevant for such brand designs and send out the right message. It’s a good idea to avoid bright or fun colors as they could end up confusing people.

Fonts

Just as it is with the colors, you need to focus on picking out relevant fonts for your logo design. In our logo generator, there are different options that you can choose from easily. The font styles in the brand symbol should reflect the brand’s personality and type of business or services which you have to offer. For an internet logo, modern and minimalist fonts are a good choice as they communicate that the company is up to date with the latest trends.

You can choose Sans Serif fonts such as Futura, Helvetica or Avenir. With clear-cut typography, you can make it easier to create a digital branding campaign and create awareness on social media headers, email signatures or web pages. For a childcare logo or communication & media brand icon, script or handwritten fonts can appeal to your target audience.

So one of the best ways to create a relevant design is to choose suitable fonts for the wordmark, lettermark or slogan.

Symbols

Lastly, pay attention to the symbols or shapes which you include in the logo. They can be used by the consumers to remember brands. So it’s important to choose one which represents the startup, small business or application closely. For a sports logo, you can go with a shield or badge to create a club or team emblem. Organizations which are associated with soccer or basketballs can have a speeding ball or figure throwing it.

If you are looking to make attorney and law logos , symbols such as the lady of justice, scales, law books or pillars are quite common. They are relevant to the industry and tell people about your services clearly. In our logo creator, you can easily add or remove any symbol or shape to the template. Look through the ones which convey the purpose of the business or project.

Customize the logo design and download the logo for free in a few minutes. You can even use the symbol as a watermark for photography or on social media accounts.

4. Timeless

When you are about to start creating a logo, it is essential to keep this principle in mind. A good logo is one that is timeless and lasts for a long time without requiring any major changes. The most popular brand designs today are mostly those which have kept their primary elements over the years.

Minimalism

Chanel’s iconic logo with the two ‘C’s has never been revamped or upgraded since it was created in 1925. It has the same classic black and white color scheme and bold, clean Sans Serif fonts. This is one of the most popular examples of a timeless logo which is recognized across the world and grabs attention on the products, website or in print.

Similarly, you can focus on creating a design which does not need to be revamped frequently and is relevant at all times.Go with a minimalist wordmark which can stand out in any size or resolution and builds loyalty as well.

If you want to opt for imagery or an attractive symbol, make sure that it represents the business and tells people what they can find. Avoid going with a trendy design as that might soon change and you may be left with a logo which has a lot of clutter or overwhelms the viewer.

5. Scalable

Scalability is very important as there are different print and digital mediums used for marketing and promotions. So a lasting or memorable logo design is one that appears clearly on web formats, social media platforms, business cards, letterheads and stickers.

The icons also need to be adaptable for applications and various screen sizes in smartphones or tablets. If the logo becomes confusing and does not maintain its quality, businesses can lose potential customers or clients. It’s a good idea to test different styles so you can pick one which is versatile and draws attention immediately.

In order to create a scalable logo, most professional designers also recommend choosing a simple layout and keeping the clutter away. This allows people to recognize the symbol, company or brand name and tagline if there is one, anywhere. You can get started with our logo maker and preview the finalized design on display before downloading the files.

More Logos

6. Balance

It is essential to maintain or create a visual balance in the design so that people can easily get the information they want. With striking color contrasts, alignment, typography and negative space, you can create an eye-catching logo.

Think about the various background or places the logo might appear. Then, focus on maintaining a visual balance which allows people to identify the design in a short time.

You want to make sure that it does not disturb the image or becomes difficult to recognize. Go with ample white space for a clean look or opt for icons or images that are relevant to the type of business. Explore your options before selecting a logo template and customize the layers to maintain balance.

7. Readability

While this may seem similar to scalability, it's actually slightly different. The readability has more to do with the letters and name then other elements. You want to make sure that the target audience is able to focus on the wordmark or lettermark and understand it clearly. So the font style or typeface you choose should keep the text legible across various platforms.

Test the readability of the company name on mobile or a larger screen so that you can avoid any problems later on. It is a good idea to get a closer look at how the text appears in different sizes. This way, you can make any changes or adjustments before finalizing the design.

8. Contrast

This brings us to the last principle of a good brand symbol. Now, you don’t have to stick with it but a striking color contrast can help boost the popularity and appeal of a logo. So keep that in mind when selecting a color scheme for the brand design. You can create a contrast with the background and opt for a light and dark combination or complementary colors.

Experiment with the palette and opt for monochromatic hues for a bright and dim look. Colors are not your only choice for a contrast, you can also add shapes or lines to highlight the elements. If you are confused about the colors, try out some of the templates in our logo maker and get inspiration for your brand symbol before starting the design process.

The Bottom Line

These are some of the key elements or principles of an impressive logo design which makes a lasting impact. Once you are ready to design your symbol, make sure that you consider them carefully and choose the layout, colors, symbols and fonts accordingly.