As I've been working on coming up with ideas for a new logo I realized that about half of the ideas I've come up with are (at least at the moment) horrible ideas for one reason or another. Some are too complicated, others don't translate well, and the list goes on. Part of the reason I've been doing this is out of a desire to give my client what they asked for. Except as an "expert" in the field, it's my job to properly teach the client what they should be asking for. When a client comes to me knowing they need a logo, I should stop them before they get too deep into telling me what they want their logo to be and educate them on what they need their logo to be. Otherwise I end up in a situation where I keep finding myself trying to paint the Sistine chapel when I should be trying to design Warhol's new Campbell's soup can.
The other part of the reason I keep falling into this time wasting trap is because I haven't effectively ingrained the principles of good logo design into my own mind. As an artist who's learned about logo design, I instinctively can spot what makes a good logo a good logo and what makes a bad logo a bad logo, but its not a list I can read off definitively. Instead its a web of ideas and principles in my brain and when looking at a logo I can instantly tell you what is bad about the design (assuming there is something bad about the design) but I can't read off a check list making sure I told you everything that is good about it. I can't remember everything that makes a good logo a good logo unless I'm looking at a logo that doesn't have a trait that it's supposed to.
To correct this problem I decided I would consult the experts of the interwebs to help me create a definitive list of things good logo design requires. Not that I need to be told how to design a logo, but I did need the help of others to make sure I didn't forget anything. It also helped to see how other people worded the same concepts because when your field is visual, sometimes putting things into words is a challenge. What follows is a list of what I am calling the pillars of logo design. I plan on bringing this list to all my future meetings with clients so I can quickly show them what a good logo needs and through the design process prove to them that I am meeting those needs. After all, if the client doesn't know what they are looking for, how are they going to judge the quality of the work at the end? I also plan on using this list as a checklist at every phase of the design process to help prevent me from wasting time in the future.
The 7 Pillars of Good Logo Design
Scalability
Logo's need to infinitely scalable. Look at the top of any web page and see the tab you have opened. What you see to the far left of the tab is a 6px by 6px logo in the form of a web icon. That's really small, and yet (if it was designed right) it still looks clear. There may also come a time when you see the very same logo on a 50ft banner and (if it was designed right) It will still look clear. Good logos need to be able to retain clarity at all sizes. It is this reason why good logos are designed in vectors. I personally use Adobe Illustrator to create my logos once I have a decent idea on paper.Edit: Web icons are 16X16 pixels. Don't ask why I said 6X6. I couldn't tell you.
Simplicity
Simplicity could actually be considered a pillar of design in general. In good design, even things that look detailed and intricate at first can be reduced to something much simpler upon deeper inspection. All design requires a certain level of simplicity as to not overwhelm the viewer. Simplicity is of even more importance in logo design when you need something that can convey a message quickly, be recognized at any scale, and be recalled instantly by the person who viewed it.A subcategory of simplicity is making sure the logo works well in black and white. As I was taught in school, it's always best to design in black and white first. If a design looks good in black and white, it will always look good in color. Something that looks good in color however, cannot always be translated to black and white. Businesses need their logo to fill many needs and are often times going to need to use a black and white version of their logo. Furthermore, color has a tendency to act as a mask to aspects of poor design. building in black and white first helps avoid this pitfall as well.
Memorability
What good is a logo that people can't remember? Part of building a brand is building something that people can quickly recognize. Seeing a brown UPS logo and instantly thinking of the Brown truck with the worker dressed in brown delivering a brown package to your door is an example of good branding. People see the logo and they instantly think of what it represents. Good logo design can be instantly recalled by anyone who has come into contact with the logo especially if they have a memory of what that logo represents to attach to the logo.Timelessness
This is something people don't often think about when designing a logo or when coming up with ideas about what they want their logo to be. This seemingly unimportant detail is anything but unimportant. The last thing a business wants is for someone 10 years from now to look at their logo and say, "I don't want their outdated product." If someone can look at your logo and determine roughly what time period it was created in, you're in trouble. Logo's with a date on them eventually expire. To this end good logo design avoids trends that come and go and always looks to stay unique and different.Originality
This one should be obvious. A good brand focuses on what sets it apart from the rest and makes it better. A good logo should be a part of this. No one wants a logo that conveys the idea that they are the same as the competition. People want choices and people are going to chose the choice that sounds the best to them. A good logo impresses the importance of choosing you.Coherence
I've stated before that a logo doesn't have to convey a thought. If you were to look at a McDonalds logo for the first time, you wouldn't think of hamburgers. If you were to look at the Nike swoosh or the Pepsi symbol for the first time, you wouldn't think of shoes or soda either. Not until you've had the chance to connect the dots anyways. However, it might not be good advice to walk around saying that your logo shouldn't convey such a thought. Indeed, a logo that tells people what you do without you having to tell them does half the work for you and aids in the memorability of the logo. It's a really good idea to have a logo that articulates what you do in a coherent fashion. I'm still iffy about whether or not this should be considered a pillar of good logo design since it's not required, but since its a really good idea I'm leaving it for now.Afterthought: the three examples I gave don't articulate exactly what the product is but they do still articulate an idea that helps make the connection to the product. The golden M for McDonalds makes you think of the name which makes you think of the food. The color yellow also makes you hungry. The Nike Swoosh doesn't convey the thought of shoes but it does convey the idea of motion, speed, and perpetuity, which will in turn lead you to connect those thoughts to the thoughts of their product. The Pepsi symbol doesn't make you think of soda, but red makes people thirsty, blue relaxes people, and the waves in the symbol are likely to make them think of liquid. So I'm updating my position slightly to say that a good logo should always articulate an idea that you want people to associate with your product in the event that it doesn't convey the idea of the product itself. I guess we're all really only selling ideas anyways.
Very nice post. I think these would definitely help the would-be artist.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I figured if this blog is going to have any value, it might as well say something valuable.
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