Almost every business has a logo. And every business needs a logo, which as the brand mark, will be the first thing audiences recognize, remember, and associate with your product or service.
But not all logos are created equal. For every beautiful logo that makes a business stand out, ten others exist that are neither memorable nor convincing. How do you make sure that the logo for your business brand falls in the former, rather than the latter group? By keeping in mind these 5 principles of logo design.
Keep it Simple
Above all, a business logo has to be simple. Depending on your marketing strategy, it will appear on yard signs, roll up banners, business cards, and direct mail. And in all of these shapes and sizes, it has to accomplish a singular effect: to associate the printed or digital material with your business.
That’s why simplicity is key. Your logo has to look just as good as a two-inch space as it would in two feet. It’s tempting to design an intricate logo that includes plenty of detail, or go the opposite direction in designing a simplistic piece that’s little more than a word mark. But doing so will limit the logo in its success and the ways in which it can be used effectively.
Of the world’s top 100 logos, 93 percent are simplistic enough to be recognizable in even the smallest possible sizes.
Choosing Colors
We have covered the importance of color in designing and printing promotional materials in detail on this blog. But it bears repeating that in logo design, color should be among your most important considerations.
Choosing a logo color that connects with the emotions of your target audience improves brand recognition by 80 percent, and comprehension by 73 percent. This infographic gives a great overview of the various implied meanings of color within advertising, particularly as it relates to your logo design.
In addition to choosing a color that matches your brand identity, you should adhere to the principle of simplicity in your color choice as well. Less is generally more: 95 percent of the world’s top brands use logos with two or fewer colors.
Ideally, you should also design your logo with enough contrast to keep its shape and appearance when printed in black and white. You never know the ways in which you might use and need your logo, and you don’t want to embark on a redesign or adjustment simply because a logo that looked great in color did not convey the same message in black and white.
Mind the Typography
Color undoubtedly matters, but so does your typography. Typography and fonts have also been covered extensively on this blog, and are a crucial part of any graphic design.
In fact, some of the world’s biggest corporations, such as Disney, Coca Cola, and Amazon use logos that consist of nothing more than a stylized version of their brand name. But they also follow an important 
rule: keeping it simple and to the point.
Whether your logo consists of nothing more than a designed version of your brand name, or your brand name is only part of the design equation, making sure that you keep the font simple and to the point is crucial. Again, this logo will appear on materials as small as business cards, on which your audience will not want to squint just to read its message.
The logo is not a place for your tag line, which should be a separate creative process. Its singular aim is to convey brand recognition, and keeping that in mind when choosing your typography is paramount.
Find Your Balance
Every logo designer will spend a significant amount of time determining the crucial balance between the words and design elements within a brand logo. Even in the above examples consisting only of stylized text, the designers faced a choice of how much to stylize it in order to make it unique and stand out, without losing readability.
Like every other principle we mentioned above, the key to success comes back to simplicity. A design element, such as Nike’s Swoosh or Pizza Hut’s hat, can make your logo stand out among competing businesses. But you can only allow it to dominate your design if your brand has become so successful that adding a name is no longer necessary. In most cases, you should rather aim to ensure a balance between design and text.
Enlist The Help Of A Professional
As a small business in St. Louis, getting professional help when designing your brand logo is a crucial step to a successful and satisfying final product. Professional graphic designers will help you determine the exact dimensions needed, as well as the balance between typography and design elements you need to maximize brand recognition.
Professionals will also be sure to design the logo according to technical best practices, which includes ensuring that the file will be a vector rather than a raster images. The latter consists of pixels, and can only be stretched as large as its original size, while the former can be scaled to any size without losing its visual consistency and resolution. Especially if you plan on using the logo in larger printed materials, such as roll up banners or advertising flags, you need a logo designed as a vector file.
Designing a successful business logo is an important step in creating your brand identity. Ideally, it will become the one recognizable factor about your business, which allows your audience to recognize and recall your product or services. But that can only happen if it’s designed well, which is why you should be sure to follow the above 5 principles for successful logo design.
