What makes a logo timeless?
Logo design is one of the most important investments a business can make. The primary aim of a logo is to help the world simply and clearly identify a brand. A logo becomes the face of a brand’s identity and a powerful vessel for all the associations and feelings people have with a brand over time.
Great logos have one thing in common — they’re timeless. Creating a logo that can stand the test of time follows a relatively simple formula. In this article, I’ll provide some key principles and considerations for designing a timeless logo for your brand.
Observing a few of the greatest logos of all time
First, let’s get familiar with logos that have endured the test of time with little to no iterations.
What do all timeless logos have in common?
The greatest logos of all time have 3 distinct things in common.
1. Simplicity
The most memorable logos are simple in design. Brands that use a clear and simple logo will stand out and be more memorable for the general public. “Less is always more. Simpler is always better” — Steve Jobs.
A great logo is not about following the latest, coolest and most interesting trends out there right now because they get old really quick. Many of the biggest brands replaced their 3D, glossy, complex and shadowy logo with a simple, flat, minimal one.
Simpler logos are a lot easier for the brain to process and easily form a connection with the brand’s identity. You don’t want someone to overspend time analysing a logo trying to find something that’s interesting in it. Simplicity, and enough uniqueness so it’s distinguishable, is the foundation for a timeless logo.
How special can we make it without making it complicated? How simple can we make it without it becoming generic? The magic balance here is creating a logo that’s simple and distinctive. Legendary logo designer, Paul Rand, once said “Design is so simple, that is why it is so complicated”.
2. Identity
A logo isn’t designed to sell but identify. A logo is not a direct communication device but it is an identification device. A logo is supposed to identify you strongly and clearly. Marketing and advertising is then supposed to communicate what you want to say.
A logo derives meaning from the quality of the company it symbolises and not the other way around. That’s why logos don’t necessarily need to illustrate what a brand does or represents.
A logo becomes meaningful after it’s been used, seen and associated with a brand over time. If the logo is simple and clear enough, it becomes a symbol of the relationship between the brand and the customer. This symbol represents a shortcut that makes customers identify the brand and build trust, rapport and connection.
It’s for the same reason that most people hate it when companies redesign their logos. The stronger our association with a brand, the more negatively we react when its logo changes. We’ve formed a relationship around an identity that a brand has created and when that identity changes, it disrupts our conscious and subconscious association with the brand.
3. Familiarity
Logos work through familiarity. The more you see a logo, the more meaning and power it gains. That’s why first impressions can be misleading. You may see a logo for the first time and not like it immediately. Yet the more you see it and the more familiar you become with it, the more meaning you build with it.
Research has shown that people who are viewing a new logo are more likely to assign negative attributes to the logo as there is no familiarity with it. The familiarity bias is a powerful occurrence and that’s why it is important to recognise that given enough time with consistent use a well-designed logo becomes trusted and respected through familiarity. Easy-to-recognise logos create positive emotional reactions in the people who see them in repetition, leading to the comforting feeling of familiarity.
In a nutshell, the more people see your logo, the more familiar it becomes. The more familiar your logo becomes to the people who see it, the more likeable it is. The more likeable it is, the more preferred your brand becomes.
How to create a great logo?
Now that we have a foundational knowledge of what all great logos have in common (simplicity, identity and familiarity), we can begin to come up with a simple formula for designing a great logo.
1. Appropriate in feeling
A great logo should be fit for purpose. The logo should feel appropriate for the intended audience and become a relatable symbol. Here are a few examples to illustrate this concept:
2. Distinctive and memorable
An effective logo needs to be distinctive and memorable to persist in your mind. To do that, it needs to be unusual enough so it’s not generic. Your audience should be able to see it once or twice and be able to describe it to someone or be able to draw it themselves.
3. Simple in design
A logo needs to be simple enough for people to easily recognise and identify a brand. A simple logo will be easily recognisable, versatile and memorable. A simple logo will be timeless and will still be effective in 5,10, 50 years time. A simple logo will also be versatile — where it can be used in a variety of sizes, colours and formats — whether it be as small as a website Favicon to as large as a billboard, and everything in between.
Conclusion
A logo is a vessel for all the associations and feelings people have with a brand over time. All great logos are timeless and follow a relatively simple formula: Appropriate, Distinctive and Simple. By investing in an effective logo, businesses gain a powerful and meaningful identification symbol that builds trust, rapport and connection with all people that are in contact with it.
