15 Logo Design Tips from the Experts that Will Serve You Well
Every professional activity whether it’s marketing, accounting or construction, has its own insights and tricks used to improve its efficiency and excel at any job. The same goes for the web design industry. Every web designer has its own specific manner of getting things done. We’ve gathered some lesser-known 15 logo design tips from the experts you need to know about when designing business logo templates.
Well, designers are special – they want to go above and beyond, to explore every nook and cranny, to make everything look great. But with so many logo templates available what exactly makes a great logo worth a thousand words? So, let’s learn, no guess.
Step #1. Research and Discovery
Tip #1. Understand Your Competition
The first thing to do before you even start working up a logo is to research the target market thoroughly. The web is covered with logos pursuing highly competitive designs. When your business is first finding its way, it’s crucial to have a unique brand identity and not to get lost in a crowded niche. It’s safe to say that the most recognized designs get the most attention. So, to stay early out in the game think of your logo design that can catch people’s attention more easily.
Tip #2. Defining a Promise
A company’s culture, mission, and promises are essentials that come together when it comes to designing a great logo. Yet, no matter what your brand’s promise may be whether to provide high-quality food, impressive services, haute couture clothing, or affordable prices, the idea of defining it is of a paramount importance. In fact, this helps separate one brand from another and draws customers to choose one brand over another.
Creating a logo that can portray both your brand’s identity & its promises is by no means an important task. Think different to figure out what makes your business different. The point is, knowing how to turn your promises into action is still necessary before designing a logo. So, does your logo make the promise credible?
Tip #3. Determine Your Target Audience
As one might say, it’s impossible to be all things to all people, so we have to make compromises. It’s incredibly important to understand your target audience needs which means to know their pain point. So, you need to get specific to tailor your mission and your promises to their specific needs. Having said that, solidify a picture in your mind of your potential customer in order to end up with a high-quality logo design.
Tip #4. Black & White Concept
As a good rule of thumb is to start be designing your brand’s logo in black & white first, bringing the color towards the end of the process. By leaving color out of the picture it helps focus on the structure and negative space of your design. By following this rule you’ll be focused on the symbol or letterforms, and not distracted by colors and other identity elements.
Tip #5. Stay Flexible During the Logo Design Process
Flexibility is one of the most important things necessary when developing your logo design. Stay flexible and consider how to adapt it when things don’t quite turn out right is essential. With a flexible mindset, you’ll be able to develop a perfect design by adding the finishing touches. Developing the logo design concept is where creativity comes into play, so stay flexible to get out of your logo design process. Test new formats, and find out what fits. Would your idea work better this way or that way?
Tip #6. Logo is Only a Part of Your Branding Identity
First, think of your logo as only a part of your brand. Remember, they are not one in the same. Well, a brand is made up of lots of different elements, both visual and not. Face it, the logo by itself cannot build a picture of what a brand is about. It’s all about brand’s touchpoints like customer service, products quality, sales assistant interaction and so on. Indeed, a logo is a part of what a brand is, albeit a very important part.
Step #2. Developing Visual Grammar in Logo Design
Tip #7. Logo Font
Logo font choices should represent a well thought out effort. Every typeface has a personality. So, think hard about your brand’s overall personality and the impression you want to make. Find a font that echoes it. It will set the tone and communicate an emotional message. There’s always the opportunity to explore some combinations and crossovers between common typefaces. Be sure that you have developed a brand strategy before designing a logo, so you will know exactly what you need to say. Yet, unique typography is an extremely simple way to look professional.
Tip #8. Don’t be Scared of Color
What most people don’t realize is that color in logo design is incredibly important. Colors convey messages, evoke emotions, and add brilliance to everyday things. Different colors have different wavelengths and some measurable effects on our mood. The truth is that some colors are quiet but eye-catching, while others scream for attention. Remember, that different colors also resonate with different audiences. So, think hard what color can express the mood of your design best.
Tip #9. Logo Composition
Now think, what do you feel when you see a circle? Are you affected by soft gentle curves or by objects with sharp jagged edges? What do all those shapes say about your logo design? It’s important to know that different characteristics of a shape convey different moods and meanings. So, changing the characteristics of a shape you create a powerful way to communicate to your audience. Be conscious of the shapes you form. Notice the shapes you draw, how they affect you and think of the way to use them in your logo design.
Tip #10. Create a Tagline that Shines
Before you decide whether or not a tagline is important for your brand, remember that it should have a long life with your brand, and can only be changed as a part of a rebranding project. In fact, if managed properly, you will end up with a strong external communication tool in place. Just think of some of the most famous taglines, such as Nike’s ‘Just Do It’, Apple’s ‘Think Different’, or Intel’s ‘Intel Inside’ – they may seem almost like no-brainers.
Taglines work best when they reflect the brand’s passion, it’s goals and a reason for being in business. Let this message remain short and clear with no more than four or five words.
Tip #11. Don’t Shy Away from Negative Space
The truth is that negative space is an extremely important part of your logo design. It always serves a purpose in design and allows you to make sense of the positive image. If used creatively, the smart use of negative space can form compelling visuals that have dual or hidden meanings. As a rule, these are duo-tone images used to form a clever visual representation of the brand name. Try to use it in your logo design to create a more compelling final image.
Step #3. Using Your Logo Design
Tip #12. The Value of a Second Opinion
Still feel uncertain about your logo design? Consider having a bit of feedback from someone who has a bit of style or a good eye for detail. Never underestimate the power of a second opinion. When you’re in the process of creating a logo, it’s possible that you may miss some essential details that are not obvious to you. Face it, you need a second pair of eyes to identify things that you might have missed.
Moreover, try to look at your logo sideways, upside down and in reverse. Take care of your logo design. And yes, it can be difficult to listen to the things that you don’t want to hear. Still, collect feedbacks, improve your logo design and repeat.
Tip #13. Consider using Animated Logo
You know what’s better than a well-crafted logo? Well, a well-crafted logo that moves. We live in an emoji world, where it’s much easier to express information with a few images than copious bodies of text. These days a static logo doesn’t resonate with the customers the way animated logo does. As consumers’ tastes are now more personalization-orientated, brands need to become more dynamic and alive.
Consider creating a dynamic logo design that matches with your brand’s identity as well as other commercial expressions, like a tagline and slogan. Add this secret ingredient to success for your brand’s awareness. If possible, keep your mind open and experiment with new techniques to create a logo that grabs the attention for all of the right reasons.
Tip #14. Get Inspiration
Go through an online library of artworks to find some inspiration. Look at the works of art until any unique idea can strike your open mind or stimulate your creative brain. Don’t shy away from admiring the beauty of nature and you’ll surely have some new ideas to work on. Indeed, tastes vary from person to person but get inspiration from the artworks that can make you think, smile or even dazzle with some hidden meaning.
Tip #15. Be Ready to Handle Public Criticism
Today, everyone with a cell phone thinks he’s a photographer. The same goes for the design industry. That’s why designers shouldn’t fear criticism, of course, if it’s constructive. From the other side, we do need more designers who are better critics, and we do really need great critics that are not designers. Why? It’s obvious. People who don’t work in design or branding industry can give you a different, more consumer-oriented perspective. Plus, those people can really show the value of the designer’s work.
Anyway, you need to be thick-skinned to let the constructive critique to improve the logo design process and boost your business. At the same time, your logo can come under the critique radar any day and you should be ready to respond to it.
Final Note
So, are you ready to express your visual brand identity through a well-crafted logo? Soak up everything you can find and learn what works exactly for you. So, go ahead and make something happen.
