Before answering the question: “What makes a logo good?“It is important to know what, you are supposed to make a logo. The job of a logo is to represent what is essentially a brand.
A logo should be a trigger for brand recognition, whether you see it at the bottom of an ad or as a sticker on someone’s laptop. You should cover everything you want to say about your brand in a compact and easy to recognize symbol. To do its job properly, a logo must be simple, versatile, relevant to the times, and appropriate for its consumers.
Simple
Many designers are taught about KISS Design Principle, which translates to Keep it Simple, Stupid. A good logo should be simple enough to convey the brand’s message without adding too much clutter. Unless “clutter” is vital to the brand’s legacy, simple symbols are the way to go. Keep in mind that some of the most recognized logos in the world can be drawn by a five year old.
Versatile
Logos are inevitably used by many different people and in many different mediums. When creating a logo, it is important that you think about where it might end up and what hands it might be in. Creating a brand manual can help, but if you give someone your logo accompanied by a 200-page brand manual, you may want to rethink your choices Think of creating a logo as a children’s design – you want it to be flexible so it can be used in various ways and simple enough that no one can destroy it.
Relevant
It is important to be aware of design trends. Ideally, a logo should be created to be timeless (like the Coca Cola logo), but what is standard practice today might not be popular twenty years from now. If the brand and the character behind the logo evolve with the times, so should the logo.
Appropriate
Logos must be appropriate for the clientele to which they advertise. Toy store logos should be loud and colorful, and a law firm logo should be calm and serious. However, logos don’t have to be literal representations of what your companies sell. The Harley Davidson logo does not include a motorcycle, and the Apple logo does not include a computer. A logo does not need to explain the entire history of a company, it is just for identification.
It is important to note that a logo is nothing without a solid company to back it up. A logo helps the consumer to remember your brand. It is a visual trigger that they associate with a good company or service.
“A poor logo does not mean that a business will fail, and a good logo does not mean that it will succeed, it just helps. Ultimately, a good logo is something that people instantly recognize and relate to. ” -Matt Mickiewicz
Let your logo do its job. Keeping it simple, versatile, relevant, and appropriate will help your business stand out in our fast-paced consumer society.
