Logo design is so much more than picking out a trendy font for your company name and slapping an icon next to it. It takes deep thought and precision to bring a company’s product, mission and values to life in a visual form. Even more, the colors and typography need to carefully resonate positively with consumers and target audiences. In this Design 101, you’ll learn 3 vital considerations for designing a successful logo.
Experiencing designer’s block? Check out our “Logo Vault” series to see how we approached a few of our client’s logo designs!
#1: “Keep it Simple, Stupid”
It’s important to keep your logo simple. Why? The world is mobile, and screens aren’t that big – especially if someone is using a standard 3×5” phone screen like the one I use. Think of it this way, the smaller the screen, the more detail will be lost. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a few complexities such as gradients or intricate line work in your logo, but it’s always best to keep it minimal and clean. A good trick is to use my 50 pixel method: When you shrink your logo down to 50 pixels, can you still see all of the details of your logo? If you answered yes, it’s great! If not, then you need to simplify it some more.
Tweet This: Have you heard @KyleJCDesign’s 50 pixel method? Learn how it can make or break a logo #design: #GraphicDesign
#2: Draw it From Scratch
We live in the internet age, where we process an insane amount of images and information daily. In fact, according an article from Tech 21 Century, everyday the human eyes and ears reach an average volume of 34 gigabytes of information. This is considering all the pictures, videos, games, etc., we encounter. What’s more, the world is extremely saturated with logos. In order to stand out, you need to draw your logos from scratch. This will ensure the design and its featured colors and shapes are original and fueled by strategy and deep meaning.
Try sketching on paper and drawing digital doodles to start. Once you locked in your design, perfect it using your preferred design program. For typefaces, you can always use Google Fonts since they are available for commercial use. Of course, you can take a stab at drawing and creating your own typeface, too. That way it will be unlike any other brands. Be sure to choose non-clashing colors that relate to your logo. Last and most importantly, never use stock images in your logo. This is a bad practice because you can run into a slew of problems including copyright infringement and rasterization when scaling.
“I feel designers and even the average person can spot a stock image—Frankenstein logo creation—a mile away… It feels like cheating,” Michael adds. “A good rule of thumb is if you didn’t create it or are not manipulating it, then don’t use it.”
– Chad Michael, Quote from the article “6 Things to Avoid When Designing a Logo” on HOW Design (@HOWBrand)
Try adding a texture to your logo for an added unique quality. Experiment with metal textures by learning, here!
Tweet This: Be sure you have these 3 #vital considerations in mind when designing your next logo:
#3: Never be a Hipster.
One of the core competencies of a successful logo is its timelessness. To be honest if you love that Dollar Shave Club logo, don’t be tempted by the style for your own logo design. It’s a trendy, hipster logo fad. And it will die. Once it does, your logo will look outdated, overused and more than likely turn away viewers. Think you may have already made a hipster logo mistake? Check yourself with this hipster logo parody article from Lifehack. When designing your logo, dig deep and design with your heart and soul.
Tweet This: Logo rule no. 3: Don’t be a #hipster. Read more in @KyleJCDesign’s latest #design101 article:
Logo design is incredible work that uses both sides of a designer’s brain. It’s an opportunity to unleash your full creative potential with your right brain and instill meaning and simplify it logically with your left brain. Remember to “Keep it Simple, Stupid,” draw it by hand and never be a hipster. Loved reading all of these considerations? Try adding in design shack’s “10 Tips for Designing Logos That Don’t Suck” to your logo process, too!
Sources
http://www.howdesign.com/design-business/design-thinking/6-things-to-avoid-when-designing-a-logo/
https://twitter.com/HOWbrand
https://redbranchmedia.com/blog/design-101-how-to-make-apply-basic-metal-textures-to-3d-words-in-illustrator/
https://redbranchmedia.com/?s=logo+vault
https://www.tech21century.com/the-human-brain-is-loaded-daily-with-34-gb-of-information/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/complex-logos-bad-idea-corey-steiner/
http://mediag.com/news/popular-screen-resolutions-designing-for-all/
https://designshack.net/articles/inspiration/10-tips-for-designing-logos-that-dont-suck/
https://www.healthline.com/health/left-brain-vs-right-brain#overview1
https://dollarshaveclub.com
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/create-your-own-hipster-logo.html
