Your company'southward logo is the foundation of your business organization branding. It is probably the offset interaction that you will have with your customers. An effective logo can establish the correct tone and set up the proper ethos. After years of crafting logos for different projects, I've come up up with a set of questions that I always ask myself before delivering a new logo.

1. What emotions does the logo evoke?

To a higher place all design guidelines, the about important criterion is whether the logo reflects the character of the company. The emotions that the logo evoke should exist appropriate to the company values. For instance, the Disney logo evokes a sense of happiness and optimism. The curvy, fun typeface is advisable for a visitor that has been making cartoons and blithe pictures for kids. However, a similar logo style on a sales platform would not exist appropriate.

Designers should empathize the psychology of colors and the effect that typeface has on the design of a great logo. For example, green promotes relaxation and usually reflects growth, health, and the environment. Red, on the other paw, may evoke danger and passionate emotions. Similarly for typefaces, Garamond, Helvetica, and Comic Sans all arm-twist very different sentiments. Serif fonts similar Garamond promote the thought of respect and tradition, and are hence more than suitable for an surround that demands integrity such every bit a university or a news publisher. Sans Serif fonts like Helvetica are clean and modern, and are well suited for high-tech businesses. Casual script fonts like Comic Sans are probably best left for fun companies such as toy companies. A skillful understanding of the psychology of colors, typefaces, and shapes is an important part of making a corking logo.

The styling of the Disney logo is appropriate for a company that aims to be fun, but such a style would not be advisable for a sales platform visitor.

2. What's the meaning behind the logo?

Backside every great logo is a story. A great logo is not nearly slapping your business name on a generic shape, which is why choosing from ready-made logos is a poor idea. A logo has to have a meaningful story. A expert designer first understands the culture of the company, the tone of the product, and the vision of the business, much before embarking on ideas for the logo. The cease result of a quality logo is reflective of the philosophy and values of the company.

The pointer in the logo represents that Amazon sells everything from A to Z and the smile on the customer'southward face up when they buy a product.

iii. Volition the logo stand the test of fourth dimension?

How will the logo look in two, 10, twenty years? Designers should avoid getting sucked into flavor-of the-calendar month trends. Trends similar ultra-thin fonts and flat shadows are design styles that will probably non stand up the test of time. Simple is far better than complex. A unproblematic however memorable logo tin be used in 20 years without looking dated.

A good manner to exam the logo is to permit it sit with you lot for a while earlier releasing it. Some logos grow with you lot–the more y'all expect at it, the more than y'all similar it. Some logos start to experience nauseating after a while–the more y'all look at it, the more yous hate information technology. If later on a couple of weeks with the logo you find it irksome, the logo is probably non strong or timeless plenty.

The simplistic outline and shape of the Apple Inc. logo allows information technology to suffer the test of time. The starting time prototype of the logo would definitely not be suitable today.

4. Is information technology unique? Can information technology be instantly recognizable?

A great logo is distinctive, memorable, and recognizable. Even if you have just seen it in one case, you should still exist able to recall what it looks like after a period of time. A skillful fashion to examination this is to evidence your logo to a friend, then encompass it up and take your friend describe the logo in a week. A fresh pair of eyes can exist very effective in figuring out the virtually memorable components of a logo.

In add-on, if the logo reminds you of others you lot have seen, it is not distinct plenty.

The logos of Path and Pinterest are very similar.

5. How does it look in black and white?

When I begin designing a logo, I always beginning in blackness and white. Designing with this limitation outset forces you to make sure that the logo is recognizable purely past its shape and outline, and not by its color. A strong logo is one that is yet memorable just by its contours.

A one-colour logo also provides the benefit of using your make easily in multiple mediums with dissimilar backgrounds and textures.

It is much harder to recognize the National Geographic symbol in one case nosotros remove its signature yellow colour.

6. Is it clear and singled-out in pocket-size dimensions?

Another fashion to brand sure logos are elementary and recognizable is to scale it down dramatically. Even at tiny resolutions, a strong logo should withal be recognizable at a glance. This is also a good test to make sure that the logo is non complicated with unnecessary design flourishes. Hither, you lot see that the Nike, McDonalds, Twitter, and WWF logos are still very distinct at small sizes. The GE and Starbucks logos are far more cluttered, and less recognizable when they are small.

These are non hard-and-fast rules, but guidelines for making an effective logo. It is nevertheless possible to make a strong, complicated logo, simply understand the merchandise-offs.

This commodity was edited and republished with permission from the author. Read the original hither.