Logotastic

Many may argue that the success of a logo depends entirely on how well a brand identity is marketed. Some of the world’s most successful logos may not actually be great designs; they have just been marketed spectacularly. This may or may not be the case; regardless of this I believe we should all have a good old recipe for an effective logo. Therefore we must ask the all important question…’What makes a good logo’ - from a purely creative perspective?

1. Memorable – the best logos are the ones that stick in your mind. A strong image that is eye catching and grabs the attention of a consumer will be memorable and have a lasting impact. Being inspiring and unique with your designs will result in people noticing and remembering them.

2. Simple – simplicity is key when designing an image, the simpler it is the more likely consumers are to remember it. Some of the most iconic logos in the world are simple to the core. The new Olympic logo designed by Wolff Olins is being criticized greatly for many reasons, one being that it’s too complicated.

Just follow the basic rule - K.I.S.S - Keep It Simple Stupid

As many leading design gurus state – “don’t play with filters, grunge backgrounds, art brushes, spray brushes, transparencies, sparkles, dots or swirls in a vain attempt to be original. Just focus on a good grid design structure or getting a competent drawing” … nothing says ‘I can’t draw’ louder than a bunch of zany images without a well-formed structure to hang off. If old school means naive, I’m all for being naive!

3. Versatile - A good logo must be able to be travel well. It may have to appear on buildings, letterheads, signs, products, promotional items, etc. A good logo will look as impressive on a letterhead as it does when it’s stretched across a billboard. In the same sense – it might need to be squeezed onto a memory stick and will need to be recognisable.

4. Timeless – You don’t want to create a corporate identity that will have to be changed in five years time because it looks out of date. A logo identifies a business or product so changing it is counter – productive and always bad for business, the longer it’s been around the more exposure the brand will have had and the more people will recognize it. The coca cola logo has remained remarkably similar for 124 years. A timeless logo that has become iconic, definitely not bad for business!

5. Representative – Finally make sure that your image appropriately represents the business or product it’s supposed too. The style of the logo needs to be perfectly in tune with the brands image and a designer should be prepared to tweak it for as long as it takes in order to reach the desired result.