I have some rules when it comes to logos 🙈
Five rules of logo design
Many people believe that logo design is subjective. I agree that everyone is entitled to their own personal preferences, however good design follows a set of principles, or rules. When followed, these rules result in a design that’s not only effective but also communicates a bigger idea about the brand. Below you will find my five rules of logo design. I hope you find this post informative and let me know what you think in the comments!
1. It looks good as a solid color
Color plays an important role in design. It has been proven that colors influence human behavior and using certain colors can say a lot about your brand. But when it comes to your logo, it’s even more important that your design can stand on its own without your brand’s color palette. This is really important to me, and not just because I’m color blind! It’s so important because it provides versatility for iconography.
Many times when a logo is printed, embroidered on a t-shirt or hat, or used around the web it’s at the mercy of its medium. If your logo is restricted to black and white, it still needs to be as iconic as it is in color — which is why this is my first rule of logo design. Make sure your logo looks good as a solid color!
2. Carefully considered aspect ratio
My second rule for logo design is to consider the aspect ratio. As mentioned above, your logo will be used in a variety of ways so you need to carefully consider the aspect ratio and make sure it looks good regardless of the size. Sometimes you will need your logo to look good on a poster, while other times you want it to look good as a favicon. So be sure that your logo is scalable and looks good regardless of where it’s used.
3. Readable web typography
If the logo has any text associated with it, it needs to look good online. Luckily, Google makes this really easy and provides a full directory of great designer web fonts. If you use any of these your typography will look just as awesome as your brand. Click here for the full directory!
4. Fully integrated design
If your logo consists of a graphic element and text, they must be fully integrated, or can stand equally on their own. Like I have mentioned throughout this post, your logo will be used in many different ways and on many different mediums. Because of this, you need to make sure the elements are integrated in a way that can adapt given the use case.
Many popular logos such as twitter & apple have a graphic element that can stand on its own. If anyone sees the twitter bird or apple’s apple, they know that the graphic represents the brand. FedEx however has a fully integrated design. Using typography, FedEx not only spells out their name but also seamlessly integrates an arrow using the negative space between the ‘E’ and the ‘x’ — the arrow is meant to symbolise the company’s accuracy and speed.
5. Simple & clean to stand the test of time
Simple and clean design will stand the test of time. This is my fifth and final logo rule. With other design endeavors you may want to capitalize on current trends, such as landing pages and other marketing campaigns with shorter lifespans. But when it comes to logos you want a design that will stand the test of time. The more simple the design, the longer it will last over time. Stay away from current trends, colors and gimmicks…they will soon fade away and so will your logo if you follow in their footsteps.
I hope you found this interesting & useful! If so, please consider sharing it and feel free to ask questions in the comments! Thanks for reading!
