Top 8 Essential Characteristics of Great Logos

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Introduction

What is a logo? Let’s first discuss it.

I would like to quote Saul Bass — an American graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker. Best known for his design for corporate logos, motion-picture and film posters, Saul says, “Logos are a graphic extension of the internal realities of a company”.

A logo is actually the face of a company. Therefore, it must be unique, compelling and meaningful that conveys the company’s vital information. But not all logos are great. They lack the key characteristics of a great logo and fail to achieve their purpose.

What makes a brand stand out from its competitors? Of course, the product quality, top-notch services, etc. But what if all of the above things are the same? What sets a brand apart in the fiercely competitive market?

It’s the logo.

Irrespective of your business, the market out there is highly competitive — with each company brainstorming to develop killer marketing strategies to surpass their rivals. The first focus of every entrepreneur should always be in creating a powerful visual identity i.e. a logo.

But to make logos that grab the attention of the audience instantly, you must be aware of the key characteristics of great logos. Here in this article, I’ll discuss 8 essential characteristics of great logos.

Top 8 essential characteristics of great logos

1) Inspiration: Before you start designing a logo, take into consideration what others are doing. Study the logo history of some of the reputed brands and figure out how they have successfully conveyed their brands’ values.

Remember, taking inspiration doesn’t mean you copy the essence of another brand. Copying makes your company appear as a watered-down version of another brand. And when the audience sees your copied logo, they will assume that your business offers low-quality products. During your research, create a separate folder for all your research and try to identify what you like the most in the designs. Then, create a logo for your brand using an online logo maker tool, or launching a design contest, or hiring a freelance graphic designer. Choose what suits your budget and needs.

2) Meaningful message: This is perhaps the first thing that you should ask your client (if you’re a designer working for a client) before getting started off. The answer to this very question will help you drive all other decisions.

Let’s understand this with an example. In the Amazon logo, the arrow starting from ‘A’ to ‘Z’ conveys that it’s a one-point solution for all needs — consumers can get everything they want. While the smiling yellow arrow conveys that the online retail major offers friendly customer service. So make sure that when your target audience sees your logo, they get a sense of your brand’s personality and your distinctive point of view. They should know that you are an expert, a real business and different from other competitors.

3) Minimalistic approach: Minimalism is a modern approach for making art in a simpler form by removing irrelevant elements. This approach of designing has been inspired by the philosophy — less is more.

The idea is not to make things plain and simple but to highlight the uncovered, unembellished beauty without depending on artificial elements. The best thing about minimalism is that it fits every business type. The logo of ‘HP’ is the best example of minimalism. If you look into its current logo, you will notice that the company has kept ‘hp’ in a circle making them look very prominent and expressive. The extended tail of these two letters gives an idea of expression and innovation. Other brands that have succeeded in creating minimalistic logos are IBM, Coca-Cola, Chanel, Dove, etc.

4) Right colors and typography: Researches have shown that both colors and typography play a critical role in communicating the brand’s essence. Both have the power to encourage action and influence the mood of the audience.

Being a newbie, choosing the right color for your brand can be a little tricky. It’s better to create a ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ color palette. The primary is used to create a brand identity, while the secondary supports the primary colors. Talking about typography, the wrong font type can ruin the brand image. A thoughtful selection of typography can be as vital as other graphic elements such as color, images, etc. Companies that excelled in choosing the right color and typography are NBC, Airbnb, FedEx, etc.

5) Scalability: The logo of your company can be used everywhere. You can place it on your website, billboards, brochures, business cards, sticker advertising, etc. Putting logos at all possible places not only helps you in building brand identity but also attracting more customers to your business.  So while creating a logo, take care of every single detail of the design. All the elements should be clearly visible without any extra effort. In order to create a scalable logo, you can make use of grid software. There are a lot of free design grids available on the web. When everything is in the right proportion, you can resize the logo without any fear of losing its details.

6) Vector format: Once the final logo has been created, keep the design file in vector format. These are flexible files that allow you to generate a new file when you rescale them. And the best part is — it doesn’t deteriorate the image quality. Not only the logo, but all your branding materials should be designed in vector formats only. Just in case you want to use images on different platforms, these files can easily get converted into PNG and JPG formats.

7. Aesthetics: Make sure your logo design is aesthetically pleasing. Although it’s a little tough to achieve, you can do it by simply launching a survey campaign on social channels or among your friends and family. Do you love looking at your logo? First, ask yourself. Do your seniors, colleagues like it? Ask them to reply honestly whether it stands in your niche market.

8. Eye-catching: An artistically designed logo should have the potential to attract the audience in just 5 seconds. The message must also quickly recognizable. So, check if your logo passes the “five-second test”. If someone were to glance at your logo for 5 seconds, would they know what services/products you offer?
   

Conclusion:

Although, a logo a small visual symbol, it has the power to make or break your brand’s reputation. Humans are naturally drawn to visuals and perceive based on it. A poorly-designed logo may give a bad impression of the company it represents. On the contrary, a well-thought-out logo can help the company carve its success path. Designing a great logo won’t be a cumbersome task if you pay heed to the characteristics mentioned above. If you’re an entrepreneur having a moderate budget, online logo maker and contest are the best options.