The logo is the most important asset of your brand. The one that gives identity to your business. One which becomes synonymous with your brand and one that (ideally) finds a little corner in your audiences’ minds forever. One is exposed to hundreds (if not more) of brands every day with each vying for that little corner that I spoke of. 

As Sagi Haviv, Partner, Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, often says that the hallmark of a good logo is three things; appropriate in its feeling to the business, distinctive and memorable, but most importantly, SIMPLE. A good logo is memorable and simple enough for one to be able to describe it or doodle it. Some of the most memorable logos are ones which when mentioned, you can visualise clearly in your head. Think of the Nike swoosh, McDonald’s golden arches, National Geographic’s yellow rectangle, or Mercedes’ three-pointer. The moment you think of the brand name, you automatically visualise the logo that it is represented with. The digital age we live in today has added another vital criterion to the whole process of logo design; it should be able to be reproduced in all sizes, from social media avatars to app icons to fav icons on your browser. And by reproducing we don’t mean scaling it down to size. It means adaptable in a way where the identity is distinct if it’s a symbol and legible like in the case of a letter mark.

On the other hand, bad logos are the ones that are generic and overly intricate or complicated. Clients often come to us with a brief that they want their logo to be illustrative in nature, should capture their brand story in a colourful and visual manner. You will often come across logos that are almost like little illustrations comprising of 100 different design elements. And while it may ‘fit the brief’ the real challenge is to strip it down to its bare minimum form such that one can recreate it by hand just by remembering it.

Websites like Fiverr, Upwork, etc. do help you churn out logos in a quick and cost-effective way, however, it often overlooks these basic principles of good logo design. Logo design is an elaborate process that starts with a client brief moving towards research, sketching and visualisation, presentation, feedback, revisions, and eventually, finalisation. The whole process can be extremely cerebral and creative, not just for the designer but also for the client, often opening doors in their minds that they would never have imagined. The resultant output is a logo that really ticks all the above-mentioned boxes and is ready to stand out and also stand the test of time.

Get in touch with us if you want to know more about the logo design process or even if you are casually interested in the subject. We would love to have a conversation to share and learn.