In everyday life, we constantly meet thousands of logos. Some are quickly forgotten or simply go unnoticed while others are deposited in our memory for a long time thanks to some successful or even unsuccessful associations.
Abstracting from the theme of this or that sign, let’s classify logos according to the method of execution.
1. Text Logos
Such logos are made by writing the name of the company or product in selected font. Depending on the type of font, this group can be divided into two subgroups: classical and decorative. The first group includes serif fonts such as Times and chopped like Pragmatica, as well as some similar that are different only in width, thickness, or proportions of letters. All other fonts are decorative.
At first glance, creating a text logo is the easiest and the fastest way. Although it’s technically simple, you risk getting lost in the mass of similar logos of competitors. Experience shows that the novice business owners often underestimate the number and the power of competitors they will have to face when entering the market. Of course, there are exceptions here:
All depends solely on your talent, imagination and desire to create something new. You can check https://www.designcontest.com/logo-design/ to see the examples of good text logos made for design contests.
P.S. A decorative font and originality are not the same. Never use standard decorative sets (Windows, Мs Office, Согеl). Every proficient designer will tell you that it’s the poorest way you can go.
2. Sign Logos
To make your brand recognizable at the first glance, you have either launch a massive advertising marketing campaign or turn the name into the sign. Note that the sing logo is efficient only if the name of the brand is no longer than 4 letters. The more letters are in the word, the more difficult it’s to find the balance and the connection between each one.
3. Combined Logos
This type of logos combines the two previous. We have to say that these logos are the most commonly used. The use of the graphic element in the logo makes them more memorable comparing to text logos and allows making a long company name more visually appealing. And let’s not forget about such an important component of the logo as an advertising slogan: to connect the customer directly to your company and goods, you may use both visual and slogan opportunities.
A good slogan will be the part of the brand for many years, being put next to the logo and forming a part of it.
How to Create an Attractive Logo: Key Points
Where will it be placed?
The first question that you should ask when designing the future logo is where will it be seen the most frequently – on product packaging, in printed, visual or outdoor advertising, on the signboard of shops? By the answer you will make some important conclusions:
If the logo is supposed to be small (for example, on the packaging of medicines), then its small elements will become a gray spot, no matter how high is the quality of the print.
The use of serif or decorative fonts makes text unreadable.
Consequently, the sign forms should be streamlined as possible, without small detailed items while the font – scalable and readable when used in any of advertising sources. If you want to use both large and small sizes of the letters, then try to come up with some compromise version, or the sub-option for each size.
The Composition
The incorrect composition is one the main reasons why the appearance of the logo can cause some discomfort and be hard to agree with the other elements of advertising. Let’s try to explain the situation in the simplest way:
Put the logo on the plane limited by the size of the logo. Imagine that the paint has its weight: a) for the light background, the lighter the paint – the less it weighs, the darker the paint – the more it weights; b) for the dark background – quite the opposite.
Put the paint on the plane and define the center of balance. Ideally, the balance center lies at the intersection of the vertical and horizontal axes. Being still on the vertical axis, the balance can be shifted slightly, but if it’s at a different point far away from the ideal one – you still have to work on your logo.
P.S. Theoretically, the asymmetry may be compensated by other elements of the composition.
Colors and Effects
Color says a lot. However, you have to understand that setting a specific "branded" color you automatically limit the color palette of the future of advertisings, dooming your creation to live in the color stagnation.
If you do decide to make the logo in a few colors, use up to three colors which contrast to each other and to the background. The use of full-colored palette with halftones will make the logo an advertising poster, which is hard to use in advertising, when printed on the packaging, and even or the product itself.
By the way, there’s sometimes a situation when a designer, getting an expensive order, just can’t let himself design "too simple" or too "laconic logo" since the customer "won’t see the correspondence between the money spent and the result obtained." The result is something that is not a logo but artsy work of art.
As for the colors, they bring associations. For example, if the organization's activities are related to the sea, it makes sense to use marine colors: blue, light blue, azure, or combinations. A few more examples of associative role of color:
The main thing that anyone has to realize is that not the logo makes its owner famous, but the company’s products bring fame to the logo. Almost every experienced designer heard the hope of the client that one only the appearance of the logo would attract new customers while the company itself was poor. Remember that the logo is always behind the brand.
Look at Mercedes: a simple sign, but how much it says us. But it is the quality of cars that has brought fame and popularity to the logo, and not vice versa. For absolutely the same reason, the poor quality of the product brings a bad name to the manufacturer and its trademark, no matter how perfect it seems in terms of design. Sometimes it’s simpler to create a new brand than to restore the lost reputation. So if your customer does not agree with this state of affairs, you should politely refuse to cooperate with him. Otherwise, you risk acquiring an enemy in the face of the customer, who won’t pay you a penny but leave negative feedback.
About the Author
Brian Jens is a designer and a blogger working at DesignContest.com. He has long been an individual freelancing until he found in this crowdsourcing platform the potential for personal growth. Brian constantly researches the market and shares the results with the world. So don’t hesitate and contact Brian if you want him to bring your bright ideas to life.
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1. Text Logos
Such logos are made by writing the name of the company or product in selected font. Depending on the type of font, this group can be divided into two subgroups: classical and decorative. The first group includes serif fonts such as Times and chopped like Pragmatica, as well as some similar that are different only in width, thickness, or proportions of letters. All other fonts are decorative.
At first glance, creating a text logo is the easiest and the fastest way. Although it’s technically simple, you risk getting lost in the mass of similar logos of competitors. Experience shows that the novice business owners often underestimate the number and the power of competitors they will have to face when entering the market. Of course, there are exceptions here:
- You can highlight your logo with a frequent advertising and, what’s even more important, high-quality products. Or you can use an original font, created specifically for the logo. However, putting diversity in the text logo makes the design process much more complicated.
All depends solely on your talent, imagination and desire to create something new. You can check https://www.designcontest.com/logo-design/ to see the examples of good text logos made for design contests.
P.S. A decorative font and originality are not the same. Never use standard decorative sets (Windows, Мs Office, Согеl). Every proficient designer will tell you that it’s the poorest way you can go.
 |
To make your brand recognizable at the first glance, you have either launch a massive advertising marketing campaign or turn the name into the sign. Note that the sing logo is efficient only if the name of the brand is no longer than 4 letters. The more letters are in the word, the more difficult it’s to find the balance and the connection between each one.
3. Combined Logos
This type of logos combines the two previous. We have to say that these logos are the most commonly used. The use of the graphic element in the logo makes them more memorable comparing to text logos and allows making a long company name more visually appealing. And let’s not forget about such an important component of the logo as an advertising slogan: to connect the customer directly to your company and goods, you may use both visual and slogan opportunities.
 |
How to Create an Attractive Logo: Key Points
Where will it be placed?
The first question that you should ask when designing the future logo is where will it be seen the most frequently – on product packaging, in printed, visual or outdoor advertising, on the signboard of shops? By the answer you will make some important conclusions:
If the logo is supposed to be small (for example, on the packaging of medicines), then its small elements will become a gray spot, no matter how high is the quality of the print.
The use of serif or decorative fonts makes text unreadable.
Consequently, the sign forms should be streamlined as possible, without small detailed items while the font – scalable and readable when used in any of advertising sources. If you want to use both large and small sizes of the letters, then try to come up with some compromise version, or the sub-option for each size.
The Composition
The incorrect composition is one the main reasons why the appearance of the logo can cause some discomfort and be hard to agree with the other elements of advertising. Let’s try to explain the situation in the simplest way:
Put the logo on the plane limited by the size of the logo. Imagine that the paint has its weight: a) for the light background, the lighter the paint – the less it weighs, the darker the paint – the more it weights; b) for the dark background – quite the opposite.
P.S. Theoretically, the asymmetry may be compensated by other elements of the composition.
Colors and Effects
Color says a lot. However, you have to understand that setting a specific "branded" color you automatically limit the color palette of the future of advertisings, dooming your creation to live in the color stagnation.
If you do decide to make the logo in a few colors, use up to three colors which contrast to each other and to the background. The use of full-colored palette with halftones will make the logo an advertising poster, which is hard to use in advertising, when printed on the packaging, and even or the product itself.
 |
As for the colors, they bring associations. For example, if the organization's activities are related to the sea, it makes sense to use marine colors: blue, light blue, azure, or combinations. A few more examples of associative role of color:
- Blue-black color is typical for metal and engineering industry.
- Red color warns of danger.
- Purple color conveys melancholy, uncertainty, and anxiety.
- Back and white colors, as well as shades of gray, are neutral: they never conflict with other logo colors.
The main thing that anyone has to realize is that not the logo makes its owner famous, but the company’s products bring fame to the logo. Almost every experienced designer heard the hope of the client that one only the appearance of the logo would attract new customers while the company itself was poor. Remember that the logo is always behind the brand.
Look at Mercedes: a simple sign, but how much it says us. But it is the quality of cars that has brought fame and popularity to the logo, and not vice versa. For absolutely the same reason, the poor quality of the product brings a bad name to the manufacturer and its trademark, no matter how perfect it seems in terms of design. Sometimes it’s simpler to create a new brand than to restore the lost reputation. So if your customer does not agree with this state of affairs, you should politely refuse to cooperate with him. Otherwise, you risk acquiring an enemy in the face of the customer, who won’t pay you a penny but leave negative feedback.
About the Author
Brian Jens is a designer and a blogger working at DesignContest.com. He has long been an individual freelancing until he found in this crowdsourcing platform the potential for personal growth. Brian constantly researches the market and shares the results with the world. So don’t hesitate and contact Brian if you want him to bring your bright ideas to life.
