The
Logo is a key component of a brand, helps create the identity of the company
through the use of colors, symbols, characters, and allows you to differentiate
it in the eyes of the consumer by its main competitors. Its importance lies in
being able to convey the true essence of the company at a glance.
What makes great logos?
To
impose themselves effectively and be remembered by consumers a logo should
follow some basic principles.
Must
be:
Simple
Easy
to remember
Eternal
Versatile
Appropriate
This
are general rules drawn from my experience in the field and numerous websites
and books that deal with this topic at a professional level. There are examples
of famous logos that contradicted one or more of these principles, but in order
to distort the rules you must first know them!
Let's
see in more detail the characteristics that are ideal for a logo of impact:
1. Simple
The
imperative is "Keep it simple". The simplicity makes it an easily
recognizable logo, versatile and hard to forget, allows him to be unique
without being full of unnecessary details. Everything "in addition"
should be deleted, avoid intricate and complex details, colors to be used
should be at most 3. Should be avoided colors too bright or too dull, and
characters should be easy to read. It’s best not use more than 3 different
fonts, and remember that the logo must be aligned left, right, middle, top or
bottom edge.
Take
example from the Nike logo: a simple and minimal stylized wing (is said to have
cost only $ 35!) has become one of the iconic images in the world.
2. Easy to remember
It
may be useful to use elements that have to do with the business to which it
relates or at least linked culturally. If the naming of the brand is simple to
remember, this may became the logo. But the most important detail is to focus
on an original design, even if provocative (as in the case of the clothing
brand A- Style), with a strong impact and – yet again – simple.
3. Eternal
Do
not try to follow the latest trend, but aims to create something that retains a
sense of 20 years. Good design, in fact, does not fear the passage of time, and
logos as Coca Cola are more current than ever.
4. Versatile
The
logo should be designed in vector format to be scalable to any size. Vector
graphics is a technique used to get images that can be enlarged or reduced
without loss of detail and without the effect of "crumbling", for this you need to
use programs like Adobe Illustrator.
The
logo must also be “valid” even in black and white version.
Might
in future be necessary to reproduce it on a billboard, like on a business card
or a little gadget ... a logo too rich of details would be virtually
unrecognizable; it is important to carefully manage the elements that form it
so that it is clear , legible, identifiable in every situation and format .
And
don't forget the printing costs: the more colors you use, the more it will be
expensive for your business over the long term.
5. Appropriate
The
logo must be adequate to its potential audience. Vibrant colors and childish
notes are perfect for a toy shop, but are definitely out of place in other
contexts. The logo should be consistent with what it represents, but be careful
not to fall into the opposite error : not necessarily the logo should show
clearly the activities of your company. The Apple logo is not a computer, the
Mercedes logo is not a car and Lacoste logo is not a polo shirt .
How to create business logos?
1. Search for the inspiration
Begin
to think about what the company does , what are the objectives , what is the
target audience, and what you want to convey with your logo. Begin to outline
the style that you want to give the logo, bearing in mind the 5 principles that
we just saw.
Are
you looking for inspiration? There are many useful websites that can come in
handy, to open your mind to help you release all the creativity that's in you:
Logoof the day is a site that rewards the best examples of logos from around the
world.
Brandsof the world is the largest collection of logos that can be downloaded in
vector format.
Logomoose
offers a selection of original and creative logos.
Logofaves
is constantly committed to peer between the portfolio of designer and then
catalog the best logos.
2. Get pen and paper
Do
not start working immediately on your pc! Grab pen and paper and start doing
some draft, only when you found something convincing, you can go to the
computer. Do not think of a single variant, creating numerous alternatives is
easier to reach the goal.
3. Scaning
To
draw your logo on the pc you have 2 alternatives:
scan
the drawing and then trace it "to your pc
work
directly to your pc, using drawing tools that you find in the program you've
chosen to use, or, better yet, trying to recreate the image breaking it down
into basic shapes (circles, squares, etc.), as you can see in the image above
with the Apple logo. In this way you will get a more linear and clean design.
You can also use a graphics tablet.
What
software to use? The main alternatives are:
Adobe
Illustrator is one of the best software to create a logo. Allows you to draw in
vector, allowing you to zoom out and zoom in on the image at will, with no loss
of quality. Only flaw: not much immediate use, but on the Internet you will
find many Tutorials.
Corel
Draw is similar to Illustrator as characteristics, according to some is more
immediate, but also presents some problems for color management. There are also
fewer resources and courses to learn how to use compared to Adobe's rival.
Adobe
Photoshop is certainly a very widespread, and widely used in amateur level.
Unlike previous, however, is not meant to draw in vector (this feature also
exists in the program, but is very limited compared to previous software) and
then you could have problems with scalability.
Gimp
has duties similar to Photoshop, although much less powerful. However, the
advantage of being free, you can download it from the official site.
4. Choose the right Font
A
very important phase concerns the choice of Font: often to make an eye-catching
logo simply choose the right Fonts. Don't just use these fonts on your pc, but
try to find new and original. On the Internet there are many sites that offer
collections of fonts:
If
you are looking for free Fonts, remember that not all offer the license for
commercial use. Often the sites that let you download free font without
collecting reference to license, which makes it a little prudent usage. To be
on the safe side go to:
Font
Squirrel offers good quality free fonts, complete license, broken down by
category. There are also some interesting sections: the Most Downloaded, most
downloaded fonts for users; the Newly added, or recently added fonts.
The
League of Moveable Type has a real movement born in order to collect and
distribute open-source fonts.
Remember
not to use more than 3 different Fonts for your logo!
5. Feedback
It
can be very useful when creating a logo to ask for feedback to colleagues, but also to
non-professionals, such as friends and family.
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