What is a good logo design?
Brand and logo are not very new marketing concepts because logos were founded in ancient Egypt, China and the Greek millenniums before Christ. When we talk about a brand, what comes down to it could be the social status and emotion related to an organization and company while a logo is a tool or a method to establish a brand among many other tools.
Besides, when we talk about a logo, it comes down to a symbol that is an integral part of Neanderthals and Homosapien who were very interested in cave drawings millenniums before civilizations started out with written words. In fact, it is those written words that represent something beyond just mere drawing — written words or symbols or logos represent something beyond itself; it could be a status, a meaning, an explanation or a projection to confirm a societal expectation.
It could be similar to how well you dress so that people have an image of your educational background, personality, social status, etc.
There is no doubt why the ancient Romans called the Germanic tribes and their fellows barbarians considering those tribes did not have written languages at the ancient time.
Then, why is there a need for a logo to build a brand image rather than just some written words to represent those logos?
As a response, it comes down to how much people could process between a sentence and a simple logo. A written sentence is a combination of multiple symbols while a logo is only a symbol on its own. At the same time, it could come down to a cultural context. In the very ancient time, people consider languages sacred, but considering all country members of the United Nations have their own written languages of some sort; it is no longer sacred in the grand scheme of things.
Hence, how do we define a good logo?
Similar to written languages, medium and large corporations start to invest in logo designs in order to build their positive brand images and brand perceptions around their products; yet in a sea of logos only those logos which are simply unique from the plenty of logos we are seeing everywhere could stand out.
Logos are supposed to be eye-catching, convey a meaning or story and be simply unique. At the same time, it should be simple to understand or digest because we are talking about uniquely and beautifully designed logos which compete with all types of information and priorities people are having every day such as personal problems, schools, works, relationships, etc.
A good logo is one that is a bit unique yet not too unique as it could cost much time to understand, and people simply ignore those highly unique logos, but at the same time, it should be beautiful, not create controversy and simple.
Later, it is the job of marketers to build further positive perceptions around those logos through their marketing initiatives and business owners who confirm those positive perceptions through their good product and service offerings.
No matter what, do not overthink when designing a logo because people would not overthink when they see your logo for the first time as well — We move on fast.
