Your company logo will be the primary visual identifier of your entire business for many years to come. That means you shouldn’t take shortcuts when it comes to logo design. The same holds true for business card design because your business card is often the first and only tangible identifier of who you are and what you do.
Therefore, you need to understand the fundamental logo design guidelines that affect your entire logo design and business card design processes. Whether you decide to hire a branding agency or graphic designer to design your company logo or you decide to use a do-it-yourself logo design tool, you need to understand how images, shapes, fonts, and colors can affect your entire brand perception in people’s minds.
Take a look at some of the logos you come in contact with each day. The memorable logos have distinct elements that make them unique. However, they may achieve that uniqueness using different but specific logo design details. For example, the Coca-Cola logo relies on color and typeface–called a wordmark. Apple relies primarily on its apple icon while H&R Block relies on a logo that uses both type and a symbol. All three approaches to logo design can work, but you need to know what you want your logo to communicate about your brand and company before you can determine which choice is right for your company’s marketing logo design.
Logo Design Guidelines by Industry
There are no strict rules of logo design, but there are some commonly accepted design choices that companies tend to adhere to in order to meet customer expectations for products and services in that industry. Following are some common logo guidelines based on industry, but again, you are not required to follow them.
• High-tech company logo design: Logos in this industry tend to be angular with hard lines. The logo design is based on a desire to communicate innovation.
• Service company logo design: Logos for companies in services industries often use smooth lines and rounded elements. The logo design is based on a desire to communicate friendliness and creativity.
• Business-to-business company logo design: Logos of B2B companies are often a combination of the high-tech and service company logo design formats. The logo design is based on a desire to communicate trustworthiness and stability.
Logo design is also affected by usage. For example, your logo needs to look perfect in all media and at all sizes. It also needs to be different from your competitors’ logos. You don’t want your logo to confuse consumers. Instead, you want them to remember it and identify it specifically with your company and brand!
Logo Design Details
Your logo helps to define your company and communicate your brand promise. Every element of your logo from the images and shapes to the fonts and colors will affect your company and brand. Therefore, you need to invest time into developing the best logo for your business, not just a logo that looks nice. Following are some tips to help you get started:
• Simple is better. Logos that are simple and clean are always better than highly detailed logos with an abundance of colors. Simpler logos are easier and more cost effective to reproduce, and they’re more memorable.
• Color should enhance logo design. The best logos are just as powerful in black and white or in a single color as they are in full-color. Don’t create a logo that relies on color to be effective.
• Choose colors and fonts with care. Colors and typefaces can mean different things to different people. Make sure the colors and fonts you use in your logo are appropriate for your brand and your target audience.
As you develop your logo design, make sure that you do so with the intention to use that logo for many years to come. Launching a new logo can be costly. Take the time to design a company logo that is unique, visually appealing, and appropriate for your brand and audience, and you won’t have to worry about changing it for a long time.
