14 Jun 2012

Creating a Successful Logo

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I frequently get requests from my clients asking me to create a logo for their business. A logo isn’t just a pretty picture – it identifies a business’s commercial brand through the use of shape, fonts, color or image.

Sadly, too often people make their logos too complicated – and by that I mean too many words, too complicated an image, too many colors or a combination of all of the above. Complicated logos are often hard to reproduce on hats, shirts, and other items, plus they don’t size well (shrink or blow up). But more importantly, complicated logos are also hard for clients to remember. I’ll bet everyone can bring to mind the McDonald’s logo, or the Target logo. That’s because they are simple, iconic images that are easily recognizable.

So here are a few tips to help create a business identity that is simple, but memorable.

1. You should be able to describe the logo in one sentence. A big yellow M or golden arches for McDonalds, or a red bullseye image for Target.
2. As we’ve already discussed, a logo must be memorable. The yellow aches of McDonald’s stick in everyone’s mind.
3. A logo must be effective without color – your logo should still be recognizable as your brand with or without color.
4. And finally, the logo must be scaleable i.e. effective when just an inch in size or 14 feet tall!

Keep these simple tips in mind when creating your next logo, whether you are just starting a business, or giving your current business a face lift!

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