The Fundamentals of a Good Logo Design

A logo is so much more than just a visual. It’s the first impression of your company and how people relate to it. 

They say that first impressions are everything and your personal logo design matters much more than you realize. You have about 10 seconds for people to decide to do business with you or not.

That time is spent looking at your logo and your logo will influence potential customers one way or another. Don’t leave that decision to chance.

Follow these principles of logo design to make sure your logo leaves a great impression and is memorable.

1. Your Logo Means Something

Every great logo has a great story behind it. A logo with a story that represents something aspirational carries a lot more power behind it.

Starbucks is a classic example of a logo with a story. The siren in the logo represents the importance of the sea to Starbucks in being located in a port city (Seattle) and the way coffee travels from farmers across the world.

If you don’t give your logo meaning, other people will. Take the Apple logo as an example. It’s a simple apple with a bite taken out of it. Stories have popped up relating it to Sir Isaac Newton and a tribute to Alan Turing.

The reality is far from those myths. The designers just didn’t want the apple to be confused with a cherry tomato.

2. Keep It Simple

One of the most difficult tasks for designers is to create a logo that says a lot in a very small space. It’s tempting to say what you want to say by adding a lot of different colors and words and images.

Creating a logo isn’t about having a ton of elements that you don’t need. It’s about simplicity. When you design a logo, brainstorm different logo ideas and sketch them down on paper.

Your first design may have so many elements, it’s hard to figure out what it’s about. This is where you have to decide what to keep and what to cut from the logo.

Every single element of the logo has to have a purpose. If it doesn’t have a good purpose, it doesn’t need to be there.

3. Use Color and Type Correctly

The colors and typefaces that are used have an impact on the design. People process colors and give it meaning before they process the text and what it says.

Bright colors like orange and yellow are used to communicate happiness or cheerfulness. Blue is a color that signifies trust and safety. Red is for a sense of urgency.

Is your company going to be an international brand? You should be aware that colors and fonts have different meanings in different cultures. Do your research to find out what those meanings are before you finalize your design.

4. Text, Abstract, or Both?

You have a number of options in personal logo design. You can create a text-only logo like The Gap and Google, or you can just use an icon or symbol like Nike. 

You can use a combination of the two, similar to what FedEx has done with its logo. 

5. Make It Scalable

The best logos can be used anywhere, such as T-shirts, banners, websites, and dozens of other places. You can do the same by making sure that your logo is scalable. 

It has to look good across the many different applications. If you go with a text-only logo, will it be able to be easily read on websites and promotional items like pens?

The key to having a scalable logo is to save it as a vector file and testing it out in different applications before the design is final.

6. Make Your Logo Timeless

Do you know how many times Coca-Cola changed its logo since the late 1800s? It hasn’t seen a major change in over 130 years. There were minor changes like the addition of a trademark, but that’s it.

That makes Coca-Cola a timeless logo. Pepsi, on the other hand, has tried to position its brand as a trendsetter and cool.

That means that the logo has had to evolve with the times. Would the cool styles of the 1980s fly today? Absolutely not.

You’re much better off creating a timeless brand and a timeless logo will follow suit. Otherwise, you’re going to struggle to remain the cool brand for generations to come.

7. The Value of a Good Logo Grows Over Time

Once you have a logo, you need to make sure that its value grows over time. The big companies like Nike and McDonald’s didn’t start off with billion-dollar logos as soon as they were designed.

The companies had to prove themselves day in and day out for years. That’s how each company grew along with the recognizability and value of their logos.

The lesson for you is to create a company that serves customers every single day. You can’t just do a good job, but you have to be exceptional every single day.

It just takes one bad review or one PR disaster to lose brand value. The most valuable asset in your business would be pretty worthless.

What Is a Great Personal Logo Design?

Designing a great logo isn’t easy, but if you do the hard work before you design it, it will pay off. 

Once you have the story of the logo and design it by using fundamental principles of design, you have to back that up with a great business. A personal logo design represents a connection that people have with you and your business.

You can have a pretty logo with a great story, but if you deliver mediocre service, then people will have a mediocre impression of your company.

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