As the face of your business and the first point of contact for most customers, your logo is an essential asset for building your brand. But for every iconic logo, there are dozens that fail to make a memorable impression on consumers. 

The good news for business leaders is that there is a science behind designing a great logo. Many of the best logos follow a similar set of rules and best practices that have remained unchanged for decades. 

We recently caught up with our graphic design studio to discuss what makes a good logo – here’s what they had to say. 

Five tips for designing a great logo

A great logo takes time, creativity and a whole lot of planning. Below, you’ll find five tips followed by professional design agencies to keep in mind when working on your new logo. 

Define your brand

Before you start browsing fonts and colour palettes for your logo, it’s vital that you break down your brand in terms of its messaging and values. These are the core elements that your logo should seek to communicate. 

An experienced graphic design agency will begin by evaluating brand identity. How is the brand viewed by consumers? What kind of adjectives can used to describe it? Which values are most important to the brand? 

The answers to these questions will set the ground rules for the design process, with every choice of colour, graphics or typography purposefully aligned to the brand’s identity.  

Keep it simple

It’s something of a truism in the design industry, but minimalist logos work best. When we think of iconic logos, simple ones like Nike’s swoosh or Apple’s apple generally spring to mind. 

Potential customers are likely to spend only a second or two taking in your logo. It should therefore be simple enough to catch the eye of passers-by on a supermarket shelf or internet users on a social media platform. 

Our graphic design studio usually take a minimalist approach to logo design, including only the most essential elements. Overcrowding your logo with competing features will only cause confusion and likely lead consumers to pass over your brand.

Use colour psychology 

Colour psychology is a practice employed widely by logo design agencies. Its basic premise is that different colours evoke different emotions, and these can be used to influence how people respond to logos. 

For example, blue is often associated with trust and stability, while red can be seen as energetic and exciting. It’s why logos in industries like law and finance typically feature dark colours while the logos of toy manufacturers are almost always bright. 

The same goes for typography; certain fonts are seen as modern and innovative while others are perceived as traditional and authoritative. A design agency will use these kinds of connotations to your advantage in order to build and reinforce brand identity.

Consider proportion

Most people have an instinctive preference for well-proportioned (and often symmetrical) imagery. This is because proportion provides a sense of order and harmony – feelings that any brand would like to be associated with. 

A well-proportioned logo is one in which the weight of different elements is balanced. The various shapes that make up the logo should be sized proportionally and the spacing between these shapes should be equal. 

Proportion is a technique used widely by design agencies, though you may not always notice it. Using the Apple logo as an example, you’ll see that the curve at the base of the apple is proportional to the bite that has been taken out of it, with other parts of the apple also proportional.

Make it versatile

Letterheads, company cars, email signatures, social media profiles – nowadays, logos appear in more places than ever. It’s not enough for your logo to look good in print; it needs to be adaptable to all these channels. 

As a digital design agency, we always create a series of responsive logos for our clients. A responsive logo is adapted slightly from the main logo for use across different media, whether that’s a website or a business card. 

And it’s not just the size or composition that changes responsive logos. Sometimes, it may be necessary to change the colour of your logo. As such, it’s always worth checking how your designs look in black and white and other common combinations before signing off on a logo. 

Need a hand with your new logo?

Every brand deserves a great logo. By following these tips and working with a professional design agency, you can benefit from a striking and original logo that makes the right impression on consumers.  

As an accomplished Birmingham design agency with vast experience creating logos for a wide variety of sectors, we have what it takes to convey the identity of your brand in a visually impactful way. Get in touch today to find out how our graphic design services can benefit your business.