Your logo is like your brand’s handshake. It’s your first impression. It is the thing that identifies you to customers, and it can make or break your brand identity. Many people overlook the importance of the logo, not realizing what a huge impact it can have on the success or failure of your company’s marketing. A great logo can mean the difference between someone forgetting you entirely and becoming a repeat customer for life.

So, what makes a great logo? That’s hard to answer. Look at a few of the most famous logos and you’ll see a huge variety in design styles. Some are very simple, even just a couple of letters. Some are more complicated, with intricate shapes and patterns, and subtle layers for keen observers to notice. So, when answering this question, bear in mind that there aren’t any clear rules. And any rules that exist can be broken. What really matters with a logo is that the style and attitude of your brand is clearly conveyed. It should stand out, and stick in the mind of anyone who sees it. The next time they need your services, your logo should flash across their mind, ending their search. 

With that in mind, here are some general tips and ideas to consider as you begin to decide what you want your logo to be like. 

Simplicity

Logos are typically small. Granted, they can be printed in any size, for different formats and mediums. But, a logo typically isn’t taking up the most space on an advertisement. That doesn’t mean the logo should feel tiny, quite the opposite. Because the logo is so important, but not always the most easily seen, it shouldn’t be too complicated. If there are any words or letters, they should be easy to read at a glance, because sometimes that might be all they’re given.  

A good logo is easy to recognize, remember, and describe. Picture Nike’s swoosh, or the golden arches of Mcdonald’s. They’re bold, powerful, memorable – but ultimately very simple. They trust their audience to recognize them quickly and recall them later with ease. Granted, these are huge brands, that can rely on a whole lot of other advertising (and enormous budgets for it) to make sure you remember them. But, simplicity is still a powerful tool in design, and an overcomplicated logo is often harder to understand and discern the meaning of.  

Boldness 

At a glance, it might seem that boldness contrasts with simplicity. But they go hand in hand. If you focus too much on making your logo simple, you might forget that it needs to stand out, too. It needs to be exciting and leave an impression on anyone who sees it. Boldness might mean breaking the rules you read here. It might mean going against the grain. It might mean taking a small feature and making it huge.  

At the very least, it means being creative. Go above and beyond and come up with something truly original. There are so many brands, which means a lot of logos. You don’t exactly have to compete with every logo in existence, but people’s minds can only contain and recall so much information. If your logo is unique and stands out, it’s that much easier for someone to think of or recognize your brand when you want them to. 

Relevance 

So, your logo is simple and bold...but does it make sense? There are exceptions, of course, but typically a good logo makes it clear the name of the company, what industry it represents, or both. That makes it easier for people to connect your logo to your company in their minds. This could be expressed in a huge variety of ways. A lumber company may feature a woodcutter’s axe. A real estate company may incorporate a house or city skyline. 

Whatever kind of business you’re running or designing a logo for, there is some kind of visual cue that will make it obvious what it’s all about. At the same time, you may want to avoid cliché, so be creative when thinking about what can visually showcase your industry. You could use your logo as a way to show what’s different about your company, highlighting a key feature that you believe competitors tend to overlook. Your logo is a great opportunity to present what makes you unique. 

Versatility

When you’re designing or choosing your logo, it can be easy to only picture it in one context. You see it on a letterhead, as the profile picture for your social media, at the top of your website. But remember that it will be used in all these places and more. It won’t always be small. Your logo might be printed on a huge banner or billboard.  

With such a range of possible sizes – from a tiny icon on a smartphone screen to the side of a huge blimp – it's important that your logo look good no matter what. A technical note here – this is why it’s so important to have your logo in a vector file. A .jpg stretched out, will look pixelated and embarrass your company. If your logo is in a vector format, it can be stretched to any size without issue. 

A good logo designer, like Logo Mumsie, will be sure to deliver your design in a vector format. If you already have a logo but it’s not vectorized, Logo Mumsie can even convert it to the correct format for you, so you never have to worry about an embarrassingly stretched logo. 

But, beyond the size, the visual design of your logo should be versatile, too. That means the colors, the shapes, and the overall presentation. You may have several different versions of your logo that you use in different contexts. If you go this route, they should all be similar enough to still be recognizable in any presentation. 

Memorability

If you’re following the rest of the guidelines so far, this should hopefully be easy. Your logo must be memorable. It should be like the afterglow of bright light, lingering on in your target audience’s vision even after they’ve looked away. The next time they see it, they should be able to quickly associate it with your brand.  

Simplicity is a big part of this, but there are exceptions to that rule. If your design is complex but works together well, it may add to the memorability. What industry you’re in and what kind of advertising you use are relevant as well. If your audience is typically going to have more time to look at your logo, that means more time for you to make an impression. 

Professionalism

Professionalism is hard to define and changes frequently, especially when it comes to design. But as far as your logo is concerned, it should be timeless and exact. If you’re not a logo designer yourself, but seeking a new logo for your business, you might want to consider hiring out the task. Logos are deceptively simple, and it may seem like something you could throw together with ease. And, you could, but you’d be missing out on the subtle details and insight that a professional designer has. 

Logo Mumsie is, simply put, the best logo design company that exists. We have a number of design experts on our staff, with experience covering every industry and style. No matter what your brand is, we’ll work closely with you to understand it and produce the perfect logo. With us, you don’t get a cookie-cutter, copy-and-pasted logo with no creativity. You get an inspired creation that is just as unique as your company.