5 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNING A GOOD COMPANY LOGO

A logo is said to be the face value of a company, it is the first visual that comes in contact with a current or prospective customer. Why is it important to have a good company logo design? To answer that question we first need to understand what a logo is.

One of the world’s greatest designers, Paul Rand said, “A logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon, a street sign. A logo does not sell (directly), it identifies. A logo is rarely a description of a business. A logo derives meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around. A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it represents is more important than what it looks like. The subject matter of a logo can be almost anything.”

As Paul Rand stated that a logo isn’t more important than a company’s product, but what it represents is more important. So it’s safe to say that an identity represents your entire company as a whole-the products, the services, the mission, the vision, the goals, and everything else.

We can now deduce that it is very important to have a good company logo design. But there are five principles one should keep in mind when designing a good company logo.

SIMPLE

A simple design is not only memorable it’s versatile also. People tend to remember and recognize a simple design easily. The Nike swoosh sign is one of the most memorable and recognizable images of all time.

Memorable

If your identity design has been embedded into the minds of consumers you have attained one of your most important goals. A memorable identity design will draw attention towards your business. Apple’s logo is well embedded into the memory of consumers who don’t even use Apple products.

Timeless

A timeless design will not only be appropriate for the current era but for an era to come. There are many brands whose identities haven’t changed much since their inception, the design has been altered or tweaked a little. McDonald's and Coca cola are an example.

VERSATILE

A versatile design does not lose its essence when put on different mediums. For example a versatile design would look great if put on a print ad or packaging, or even on accessories like a wallet or key-chain.

APPROPRIATE

Do you want your logo to be a controversy or be turned into a joke that goes viral? If not, then much thought should be put into the process of designing an image that will represent your company. I remember when Instagram unveiled their new identity; social media broke with funny jokes and gifs of Instagram’s new identity.