Design something unique
Put your logo in a grid of different logos, make sure that you can recognize it easily, it's your identifier, it should be unique.
Design a symbol an icon and a jewel
If your logo has an iconic symbol like Apple and Mercedes then your design is more effective, symbols promote imagination, it can build intimate relationship between the brand and the audience.
Design for application
Apply your logo in advertising, packaging, apply it in different medias, in different scales, in different Brand Touchpoints. Ask yourself, can you recognize your logo in different colors, can you recognize it upside down, can you recognize it if it's too small or too large.
Design a concept
Make your logo meaningful, put a smart concept in it, there is a deep intellectual process has to be done to come up with good logos. Mercedes logo was designed to imply that the company is manufacturing engines to work on the ground, the sea and the sky, and that was the code of the silver arrows pointing in the three different directions.
Design in black
Start designing only in black color, this brings more focus on building a concept and a meaningful symbol.
Design something memorable
If you need help figuring out how memorable your logo is, show it to people for a minute, ask them after a while to draw it, if they were able to, then you are doing memorable design which is important for recognizing your brand.
Design something durable
Make your logo timeless, make it a logo that can live long time without changes, this is not easy, this happens when your design is original, when it's simple. Consistency in design is hard, it needs a great design, and a courage and understanding from the owner of the brand to keep the original logo, for example Mercedes kept their silver arrows since 1909, Mitsubishi kept the three red diamonds since 1870.
Design for different cultures
Think about different cultures, some symbols might be offensive or have different meanings for some people, you don't want to get misunderstood in some cultures.
Design for legacy
If you are doing a rebrand, try to make a smooth transition to avoid cutting the connection with the audience, sometimes if the old logo is really not woking you may need to completely do new one. In 1976 Apple made a big change on their logo, back then the old one was too complex it had Newton holding a book and sitting under an apple tree, the new one was completely different, they went for symbolic design, in 1998 Apple removed the colored stripes from its logo, and that was a smoother transition especially after the brand became more recognizable.
by
Syed Kamran Hyder , Senior UI/UX / Web & Graphic Designer / SharePoint Designer , Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC)
1-Preliminary Work Is a Must
Preliminary sketches are an important first step in designing an effective logo.
These can be as simple as paper and pen drawings or drafts made using a vector program, such as Illustrator.
An effective graphic designer will spend more time on this preliminary work than any other step in the design process.
2-Create Balance
Balance is important in logo design because our minds naturally perceive a balanced design as being pleasing and appealing.
Keep your logo balanced by keeping the “weight” of the graphics, colors, and size equal on each side.
Though the rule of balance can occasionally be broken, remember that your logo will be viewed by the masses, not just those with an eye for great art, so a balanced design is the safest approach.
3-Size Matters
When it comes to logo design, size does matter. A logo has to look good and be legible at all sizes.
A logo is not effective if it loses too much definition when scaled down for letterheads, envelopes, and small promotional items. The logo also has to look good when used for larger formats, such as posters, billboards, and electronic formats such as TV and the Web.
4. Clever Use of Color
Color theory is complex, but designers who understand the basics are able to use color to their advantage.
The basic rules to keep in mind are:
Use colors near to each other on the color wheel (e.g. for a “warm” palette, use red, orange, and yellow hues).
Don’t use colors that are so bright that they are hard on the eyes.
The logo must also look good in black and white, grayscale, and two colors.
Breaking the rules sometimes is okay; just make sure you have a good reason to!
5-Design Style Should Suit the Company
You can use various design styles when creating a logo, and to pick the right one, you should have some background information about the client and the brand.
A recent trend in logo design is the Web 2.0 style of 3D-looking logos, with “bubbly” graphics, gradients, and drop shadows.
This style may work well for a Web 2.0 website or tech company, but may not be effective for other kinds of brands.
6-Typography Matters… a Lot!
Choosing the right font type and size is much more difficult than many beginner designers realize.
Avoid the most commonly used fonts, such as Comic Sans, or else your design may come off as amateurish.
Make sure the font is legible when scaled down, especially with script fonts.
One font is ideal, and avoid more than two.
7-Dare to be Different
To stand out from the competition, you must distinguish yourself as a designer with a distinct style. Rather than copy another design or style, be innovative and stand out from the crowd.
Try a variety of styles to find the one that works best for your client. Try different color combinations until you find one that makes your design truly original.
8-Develop a Design “Assembly Line”
To produce consistently high-quality logos, you need to develop your own design process, or “assembly line.” This should include the following steps:
Research
Brainstorm and generate ideas
Preliminary sketches
Develop vector designs
Send to client
Add or remove anything the client wants
Finalize the design and resubmit to client
The logo of any company should be attractive, unique and memorable so people can recognise it immediately. It should be specific yet creative and esdy to understand.
The logo should indicate the company name and should be that attractive to be seen or choosen first, and such a specific sign that as you could recognise it immediatly,The colors and the design should be appealing and the size should be adequate; neither too big, nor too small.
Creating a visually appealing logo is not enough. When designing your company logo, you should first and foremost recognize that your logo is a representation of your brand and its identity. So, before you start developing a company logo be sure that you clearly spell out what your company stands for and what it plans to become. Only when your company's vision, mission and goals are clearly defined will you be able to create a truly effective logo.
When working on a logo, a designer should focus most on what the company wants to show in it. A company's logo is its very own brand, it has to be very meaningful and memorable.
A logo should be creative, catchy and easy to remember. The colors and the design should be appealing and the size should be adequate; neither too big, nor too small.