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A Great Logo Design Goes a Long Way in Building Your Brand

 

A corporate logo design need not be flashy, intricate or extremely modern to be effective. Effective logos do, however, have to elicit some sort of response. At the very least, all logos should inspire a basic level of confidence and, ideally, interest in your brand.

Style and Font

a great logo design helps you build your brandThere are far more fonts available for corporate logo design than there are on Microsoft Word or Mac Pages, for example. New fonts are constantly being created and can even be custom designed for your brand. So, it’s worth exploring different options through a bit of online research and consultation with your branding company.

See what similar brands in your area are using as fonts. What inspires confidence in one industry may be confusing, meaningless or even detrimental in another. There are certain fonts that say “digital” or “cutting-edge” while others might say “traditional,” “reliable” or “powerful”. Figure out what you’re trying to say first and then seek out your ideal font.

Corporate Logo Design and Color

As mentioned above, simple designs can achieve everything you’re looking for, but a word of caution: Don’t be so simple as to seem common or derivative. In other words, your logo should never be mistaken for Clip Art.

Choose colors that speak to your brand. Much like fonts, colors and color tones or brightness levels suggest different moods, characteristics and strengths of your brand. Colors in combination also have different effects. Sample different color combinations across all of your sample font and design schemes.

Also consider color in terms of light, texture and shadow. A strong designer can suggest modifications in color, texture, shading and tone to differentiate your logo.

Convergence

Sample a few different designs in a few different color schemes each. In the brainstorming and creative phase, all options should be on the table, including fun and wild ideas. In the end you can tie all the elements—style, font, design, color—together with your brand message.


Comments

I would just add that a set of design guidelines ought to be established, so that the logo is in the right place and there is an underlying structure to things like marketing deliverables, etc. I personally tend to favor simple logos because reproduction, when in print or on the web, can be problematic for some complex logos.
Posted @ Wednesday, December 23, 2009 11:30 AM by Michael Gury
Good points. Creating the guidelines is a step that can be easily skipped to save time or a few bucks, but it's always worth it in the long-run. I'm on the same page with you on the simple logos also. Going the complex route will require constant alternatives as you try to apply it in different ways. Thanks for you comment. 
Chris
Posted @ Wednesday, December 23, 2009 7:38 PM by Chris Knipper
Make sure you hire the right lawyer to protect that trademark.
Posted @ Thursday, December 24, 2009 7:20 AM by James Lindon
Nice intro to logo development and to Guidelines (also to Specifications in a formal setting). May I also add that Guidelines should include instructions to users (such as associates) not "as" digitally aware to avoid, for instance, using logos with drop shadows in GIF format for email (insertion for Outlook signatures, etc.). Prior to setting up the Guidelines, I encourage testing of the logo in all deliverable environments. In some cases, different versions of the logo (i.e. Drop Shadow, Knockout, etc.) may have to be created for each environment. Thanks! (and Happy Holiday)
Posted @ Thursday, December 24, 2009 10:52 AM by Jay Piz
Dear Chris, thanks. And Jay, I couldn't agree more. Logo designs must be torture tested before acceptance. We sometimes forget that these things inevitably get sewn onto polo shirts or hats, among other merchandising atrocities, and as good as these manufacturers are these days, logos with 400 colors (I've seen a few), are going to try even the bravest of the brave. And let's not even go into drop shadows . . . :)
Posted @ Thursday, December 31, 2009 8:22 AM by Michael Gury
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