10 Tips for good logo design

Yes, we did it. It started out as a list, and turned into the cliché, “ 10 commandment list.”  We apologize in advance for any triteness you my experience. But as a guilty secret, we have to admit that it was kind of fun to write.

1. Thou shalt not use logo templates.
Online resources for “professionally designed” logo templates are crowding the marketplace with generic graphics ready made for you to slap your name on and go. These templates are a disaster in many ways. First, a logo is supposed to be a voice for your brand story. It should evolve through a process of collaboration with a designer to communicate your vision to the marketplace. It needs to be a custom message that appeals to your consumers, built with your philosophy in mind. There is no way that a pre-created logo created by someone with no thought to your brand strategy can accomplish this.

Logo companies have to use generalities for the types of professions they are designing for. Crosses or hearts for health care, fish for a seafood restaurant, a plane for a travel company for example. Buying into those generalities does nothing to distinguish you from your competition within your industry.

Another downfall is that anyone else can choose that design, too. In many cases these logos are difficult to copyright, and you can pretty much forget about a trademark. So, not only are you not getting a custom message to your customers, you are also saying the exact same uninspired thing as someone else out there.

2. Thou shalt not use system fonts. Especially comic sans.

System fonts, the ones we all know like Times, Arial or Verdana, are boring. Anyone with Word can use one, so they by definition do nothing for your brand messaging or individuality.

3. Thou shalt not use gradients.
Ok, maybe, maybe, there are a few instances in which a gradient in a logo might be acceptable. Maybe. But overall, they are bad news. Depending on your medium, they may not print or reproduce well. You logo needs to be effective big, small, in color, in black and white, on a letterhead, in a newspaper or magazine, on the web, and so on and so on. Gradients just don’t perform well in diverse situations. And really, they tend to make your logo look dated.

4. Thou shalt not pick a color just because it’s “pretty.”
Or because it was one of your college colors. Or because it reminds you of your fish. Or for any reason other than “it helps to communicate my message.” Colors create a mood just through association, so it is critical that you use colors that convey the right message. And you must keep your audience in mind when you pick colors, especially if you plan on doing any international business. Colors mean different things in different cultures, so you may need to be sensitive to that if appropriate.

5. Thou shalt not follow the latest fashion.
While it’s good to be contemporary, it’s critical to be timeless.

6. Thou shalt not use Photoshop.
Or Word. Really, really don’t use Word. Logos need to be scalable, and throwing some images together in Photoshop will make enlarging your logo as needed difficult. Keep it vector. The temptation for inexperienced designers to go crazy with Photoshop filters can overwhelming, but the result will not be good for your brand’s image.

7. Thou shalt honor serif and sans serif equally in your heart, for they are both elegant means of communicating a message.
But know that each has it’s place in design and use them accordingly.

8. Thou shalt not copy you competitors.
Thou may learn from competitors, but taking from them is unacceptable. Why would you want to look like everyone else?

9. Thou shall not ask for (or provide) unlimited revisions.
Design firms can’t promise or provide this. Establish reasonable ground rules for redoes and revisions from the beginning.

10. Thou shalt brainstorm and sketch.
If you don’t have a plan from the beginning, you will waste your time and end up with a mess.

Of course, the most important thing to know is that none of these “commandments” are really unbreakable. There is no “absolute no” in design, and sticking too strictly to a set of rules ultimately stifles creativity. Although we’re sticking to our prohibition on Comic Sans.