7 Tips for Designing a Cool Logo That Will Turn Heads in Any Industry
Devising a cool logo for your business will help you pave a successful path from day one. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be expensive if you know what to watch out for.
In fact, the first Twitter logo, which was taken, in part, from an iStock photo, cost the billion-dollar social media company a mere $15 to create! Of course, some other logos have cost billions.
The key is to know what makes a great logo, which we’ll get into in a moment. First, however, it’s important to understand the two-fold purpose of logos.
Great Logos Draw the Eye
Most logos, even text-based ones like the BBC, have some type of visual component designed to attract the eye. They can be aesthetically pleasing or even disorienting. The main thing is that they are memorable.
They Make People Remember Your Brand
The second thing a logo must do is not only be memorable but also help others link that memory with the purpose of your brand. When people see it, they need to know what you’re about and why they need to remember that.
Once you’ve got a logo that accomplishes these objectives, you’ve got a real winner. You can get there, provided you follow these seven tips.
1. Break Down Successful Examples
A logo is only as good as the sum of its parts. To create a great logo, you need to bring together the right colors, the right style, and the right message.
If any of these elements are missing, your logo won’t work, and it won’t be effective. The most effective logos often have three key elements: shapes, text, and negative space.
The shape represents the brand’s identity or logo mark. The text is the name of the brand. The negative space is the area between the shape and the text that creates the brand’s visual impact.
2. Make Simplicity Your Guiding Light
Great logos are not usually the product of too much complexity. The Nike “Just Do It” swish is about as simple as you can get. Yet, it’s been the most recognized logo in athletic apparel for about a half-century.
Keep in mind lack of complexity does not mean a lack of thought. You want to put a lot of thought into your creation. Connect it to your industry or name in the simplest way possible, and you’ll have the types of cool logos people remember.
3. Use Shapes That Are Relevant
Many do-it-yourself logo designers know just enough about the use of shapes in their logo designs to be dangerous. They know shapes belong, but they don’t think much about purpose.
What they end up with is an array of colored squares or circles that fail to tell much of a story. Juxtapose that type of haphazardness with a logo like Target that uses three circles, two red and one white, to create a bullseye logo that perfectly complements the name and the theme of the store (i.e., to target lower prices).
The shapes are relevant. Therefore, they belong. You don’t see any squares or parallelogram activity because that has nothing to do with the brand.
4. Use White Space
Another important part of the effort to make a logo is the use of white space or negative space as we’ve previously referred to it. White space can do a lot more than act as “the gaps” between colors. Take the pub Wine Forest, for instance.
This location in Guatemala has one of the most memorable logos for how it uses white space. What first draws the eye are dark trees and branches that bend upward. If you look between those, however, you see the negative space has been put to good use by forming three wine bottles when juxtaposed against the colors.
Think about how you can do something similar when designing a logo. What is an object that represents your business? How can you arrange the color schemes so the white part forms the image?
5. Be Choosy With Colors
The best logos are not too complicated when it comes to color choices. They use one, two, maybe three colors altogether. Keep the choices in line with your branding.
It wouldn’t make sense to use blue and red colors on most of your branding materials and for them to be absent on the logo itself. Keep that in mind as you move forward.
6. Experiment
There isn’t an exact science when it comes to knowing what looks best. Not until you experiment with the color schemes, gradients, and fonts will you gravitate toward something that’s irresistible.
Software today has made it possible to go through many iterations in an instant. You can quickly try looks that are pleasing and not-so-pleasing to the eye and then share those with people whom you trust.
Experimentation should be embraced as a necessary part of logo design. If you don’t want to put in the time, then you might be better off outsourcing.
7. Hire Pros
On the subject of outsourcing, don’t just ship it off to anyone willing to take on the job for a rock-bottom price. Entrust your logo and graphic design to someone with experience who knows what to look for in the components of the logo and who’ll take the time to match them up with your company’s mission.
It’s very important for the designer to be a professional. Being a professional means not just knowing what looks good but what aligns with your company’s vision.
These Tips for Designing a Cool Logo Will Make Yours Pop
Every company wants or at least should want, a cool logo. However, it does little good if the visual isn’t connected to what the company does and the audience it serves.
Following the design tips here will keep your business connected. Just remember that every part of the logo, from the colors and shapes to the text and negative space, should have meaning.
Best of luck! For more marketing and design tips, we invite you to check out some of our additional posts!
