Do’s and Don’t’s of Logo Designing

A logo is a visual representation of your company that conveys your message through colours, shapes and fonts. A good logo is simple, timeless, memorable, versatile and appropriate.

Magento development can help you in designing your logo.

The types of logos are:

1. Brand mark: These are logos that are easy to read, simple and iconic. Examples of brand mark logos are the Nike Swoosh, Target Bullseye and the Apple icon.
2. Word mark: This is a logo that is the company’s name spelled out. Examples of work mark logos are Facebook, Virgin, Nokia and Google.
3. Letter mark: This is a logo that makes use of the company’s initials. Examples of letter mark logos are CNN, HP, YSL and KFC.
4. Combo mark: This is a logo where a brand mark is combined with a letter mark. Examples include Blackberry and Walmart.
5. Emblem: In emblem, the company name is on the logo. Examples of emblems include Volkswagen, Lamborghini and Ford.

The Do’s of logo designing are:

1. Use the right colour: Choose a colour that stands-out and is meaningful. Choose a colour that conveys your brand. Know your audience and use the right colours for them. Research colour psychology as there is meaning to all colours. Choose a colour that is the best for your logo. Magento development can help you choose the right colour for your logo. The most common interpretations of colours are:

• Blue: Peace, sincerity, tranquility and integrity.
• Red: Love, passion, energy and danger
• Black: Power, mystery, sophistication and death
• Green: Life, nature, growth, freshness and money.
• Orange: Creativity, innovation and ideas.
• Pink: Softness, gentleness and tranquility
• Purple: Dignity, luxury, royalty and wisdom
• White: Hope, purity, goodness, simplicity and cleanliness
• Yellow: Intellect, caution, friendliness and warmth
• Grey: Authority, maturity, stability and security

1. Know your audience: When designing your logo, it is important that you define and research your audience. SEO agency can help you better understand the audience you are trying to reach.
2. Shape: Shape is important in designing a logo. Shapes help us recognize things.  Make sure people can easily recognize your logo. Make sure the shape of your logo is simple, relevant and appropriate. The common interpretations of shapes are:

• Circles: This project a positive message. Using a circle in a logo can be interpreted as friendship, community, unity, love and relationships.
• Squares and triangles: Squares and triangles are associated stability and balance.
• Vertical lines: Vertical lines imply strength, masculinity and aggression.
• Horizontal lines: This implies tranquility, calm and community.

1. Be different: Make your logo unique by differentiating yourself
2. Keep it simple: Keep your logo simple and legible. Your logo should be easy to read.
3. Space and composition: Effective use space and consider composition when designing your logo.
4. Alter a typeface: You can add movement to your logo by using swashes.
5. Create variations: It is important that you create variations of your logo. You need an icon for your logo on social media. You also need a black version of your logo for an imprint.
6. Get feedback: Get feedback from other people about your logo. Other people may see what you don’t see. They might notice you made in your designs. You can also get valuable advice from feedbacks.
7. Versatility: Make sure your logo is versatile and it can be used in all platforms. Your logo will reach a wider audience if it is versatile.

The Don’ts of logo designing are:

1. Too much detail: Do not put too much detail into your logo as it will affect the legibility of your logo and the scaling of your logo. Using too many words in a logo defeats the purpose of the logo
2. Do not use your favourite colour: For your logo design; do not use your favourite colour as it may not be the best colour choice. Your logo must work for your audience. Pick a colour that is the best choice for your audience.
3. Switching up your logo: Do not switch up your logo. Do not continuously change your logo as it will affect your brands consistency and recognition. Changing your logo too often is bad as it will confuse your audience.
4. Designed by amateurs: Do not hire an amateur to design your logo as the outcome can be disastrous to your business.
5. Imitation: Do not imitate the logo of another brand. Do not steal a logo as it is illegal and it will confuse your audience. Do not plagiarize the logo of others.
6. Using raster images: Do not use raster images when designing your logo. Raster images experience problems during reproduction and they are unusable when they are zoomed in or out. It is important that you have visual consistency for all sizes of your logo.
7. Too many colours: Using too many colours in your logo will overwhelm your visitors and interfere with your message.
8. Do not use your favourite symbol or animal: Resonate with your audience. Pick a symbol or animal that is related to your brand for your logo. Your logo must tell a story.
9. Don’t use your favourite font: Do not use your favourite script font for your logo. Look out for readability when picking a font. You should pick a font that fits your business tone.
10. Using too many fonts: Do not use too many fonts on your logo as it will affect legibility and recognition. Use a maximum of two fonts in your logo. Also avoid using shadows on your font
11. Using stock art: Do not use stock art when you design your logo as you might experience problems such as copyright issues in the future. Logos should be original and unique.
12. Following trends: Do not follow trends when designing your logo as trends come and go. Your design should be timeless. According to Smashingmagazine, “Focusing on current logo trends is like putting a sell-by date on a logo.” Trends ultimately turn into clichés.
13. Using the wrong imagery: Do not mislead your clients and customers. Use the right imagery for your logo. Your story must show value.
14. Ignoring feedback: Do not ignore feedbacks, comments and suggestions of your audience.

You should give the creation of your logo to a designer when you do not have the required designing skills, if you cannot get your ideas on paper, if you cannot commit the time to work on your logo, if the feedback you are getting is not good and if your logo does not adequately represent your vision.

Image source: pixabay.com