5 Most Important Considerations When Designing a Unique Logo – Branding 101 – 08

As an entrepreneur, your logo is a critical part of your brand identity. It’s the visual representation of your business, and it can have a significant impact on how potential customers perceive your company. 

With so much riding on your logo, it’s essential to put thought and care into its design. Here are five important considerations to keep in mind as you design or select your logo:

Simplicity

A good logo should be simple and easy to understand. It should be able to convey your brand’s message or values quickly and effectively.

Avoid using too many colors or overly complicated designs, as these can make your logo difficult to read or remember.

I like to say that your logo should be “iconographic”. Think of some of the major brands you know and love (or hate) – McDonald’s golden arches, Apple’s … apple. Their simplicity lets you easily identify them on sight.

Versatility

Your logo should be versatile enough to be used in a variety of contexts. It should look good on your website, on business cards, and on promotional materials like t-shirts or pens.

It should also be able to be reproduced in different sizes without losing its impact.

This is one of the area where less experienced logo designers may fail – if they haven’t had experience with commercial or large format printers. The requirements for posting something online or printing it on your ink jet printer are VERY different than commercial print shops.

You also need to consider several orientations, such as horizontal, square, vertical. I cringe every time I drive past a hair salon (I think) while I’m going to the Galleria. Their storefront signage is made for a large horizontal logo – that’s so it can be seen from the road. Whoever did their design made a very busy and small vertical logo – which cannot be read from the street. Professional designers understand all of the possible ways your logo may be used, and the requirements it needs to meet so that it will be most effective across all uses for your business.

Relevance

Your logo should be relevant to your business and your target audience. It should accurately reflect what your company does and the values it represents.

Avoid using generic or overused images or symbols, as these can make your logo appear unoriginal and forgettable.

Uniqueness

In today’s crowded marketplace, it’s essential to have a logo that stands out from the competition. Your logo should be unique and memorable, so it’s easily recognizable to potential customers.

Avoid copying other logos or using generic images, as these can make your business appear unoriginal and unremarkable.

Professionalism

Your logo should convey a sense of professionalism and credibility. It should be well-designed and polished, using high-quality graphics and fonts.

Avoid using clip art or amateurish designs, as these can make your business appear unprofessional and untrustworthy.

I do always say that you need to start anywhere. I know some entrepreneurs start out by making their own logo, so that simply have something to use – and that’s often better than doing nothing. I answer the question is a cheap logo ok?

Realize at some point, and probably sooner than you think, you will need to have a professional designed logo created.  And when you’re ready, I have a team of graphic designers that can help create a logo that meets your needs – we always consider all of these elements of branding that we’ve been discussing, even if only creating one piece of your brand.

Until you’re ready for that professional logo, you can use some of the same basic creative processes that I use in my logo design process to develop something that will be functional for you for now.

In conclusion, your logo is an essential part of your brand identity. As an entrepreneur, it’s important to carefully consider these five factors when designing or selecting your logo. By keeping simplicity, versatility, relevance, uniqueness, and professionalism in mind, you can create a logo that effectively represents your business and attracts potential customers – and more importantly the RIGHT customers.