Design a Successful Company Logo

In today's world, successful logos need to inspire trust, loyalty and admiration; imply superiority; and be instantly recognizable. A logo is just one part of a company's brand and its shapes, colors, fonts, and images should be different from all others in the marketplace. By understanding what a logo is and what it is meant to do, you are that much closer to designing a winning logo. Understanding the principles of logo design and then following a design process will make your logo designs more successful. At the end of the process, you should have a professional logo that is original, recognizable and representative of the corporate image it portrays.

Principles of logo design

In a nutshell, there are four basic rules to follow when designing a logo. Your logo must be:

1. Describable
2. Memorable
3. Effective without color
4. Scalable

Keep these concepts in mind and then look at some successful (and not so successful logos). It should become apparent where one logo succeeds (Nike, McDonald's, Google, for instance), while others fail (there's a reason none come to mind). Many logos fail because the designers try to take shortcuts or do not have a true logo design process, which we will look at next.

Follow a design process

A good logo design process includes the following steps:

Conceptualization and sketching - Prior to jumping onto your computer, you should do some sketches to allow you to conceptualize the logo you want to design. It will get your creative juices flowing. Remember to use the research you have gathered while laying out these initial designs. Allow yourself time to sit back and reflect, both during this stage of the process and when you are creating the drafts for your client.

Draft - Once you have a good idea of your design, use your software to create mockups for your client's review. Depending on your agreement, you may want to include a large number of different logo choices; or you may want to just present a few favorites.

Review and finalize - Based on the feedback from the client, you can finalize the logos and then celebrate your success! Remember that when you design a winning logo it will stand the test of time; it will become instantly recognizable and synonymous with your company's virtues. What your company means to your customers is what your logo will become, so invest the time to do it right the first go around to start branding your company now.