The Basic Rules of Good Branding – Making A Logo

Every day we see hundreds of brands just by engaging in our day-to-day activities. We see trademark logos on the food in supermarkets, on billboards and cars, on the passersby clothes and even on domestic items. Some of these we are familiar with, and others are yet to be known – but one thing is sure enough – that the more frequently we see a certain brand, the more chances they have to gain popularity.

As it is widely believed, the logo quality is directly related to the brand quality itself, as well as the goods and services it represents. But if you are thinking of making a new brand, you better think about how it looks and feels to the potential customers from the start.

At first, let’s define – what is a logo, in fact? It is a symbol or emblem, representing the goods or services provided, or sometimes even a person or a team.

Based on the above definition, let’s try to determine, which visual or technical demands to the logo are justified, so that your future logo might serve you well until your next re-branding.

Recognizability

The first important quality of any logo – is how recognizable it is. Most people grasp visual information much better than audible or text one, which is why it is very important to make your logo visually unique and attractive.

If you are selling furniture for example, you don’t necessarily have to use a sofa or chair-shaped logo, but if it is possible, it is quite acceptable to do so. Taking it even further, it is possible that your business might grow over time, and expanding your selection of goods and services, you might have to stop using a certain specialized logo – so it might be a good idea to think in advance.

Simplicity

Simple shapes are easier to remember. A logo overloaded with details could pass for a mere illustration at a glance, or simply left without any attention by your client, especially considering the fact that the logo could be observed by people with impaired vision and over large distances (take note, that it is hard to miss McDonalds while driving along the highway, isn’t it?). Use a minimum of details, colors and fonts.

The old logo of the University of California could serve as good example of logo overloaded with details:

Your logo might end up anywhere or be recolored, which is why it is preferable to have it in vector format (read more @ https://rfclipart.com) and flat colors. It is supposed to look good both on billboards and on business cards; both in color and grayscale (or strict black and white).

Uniqueness

These days it is hard to make something truly original, but the main rule stands – don’t mimic the successful brands. It is highly unlikely that you should be able to snatch a piece of glory from some other brand instead of getting into trouble.

Try to avoid visual similarities; if your competitors use a certain visual element, it is then a good idea not to use such elements in your own design.

Graphic and technical aspects

Color and shape influence the way a brand is perceived quite a lot. For instance, a square signifies stability, while a circle could mean integrity, unity and all-around perfection. Considering the things which make your particular business special, your logo could reflect that, passing on the message to the client in a quiet way. This trick could also be extended to a coloring as well.

Don’t let the modern graphic design ideas influence you, except perhaps in cases where you got a short-lived or a one-time project. Using gradient or a lot of color could distort your logo, which is why it is highly important to have a simpler version on hand.

Logo should fit in style with your business model and activities. For example, if you provide legal services – you should try to avoid using ‘funny’ and game-like fonts; customers have certain expectations there.

Logos can be graphic (1), text (2) or contain both text and graphics (3). You should choose which type suits your brand the best without complicating things too much.

It would be perfect, if your logo could be saved in the vector SVG format, as vector graphics are supported by most operating systems and platforms, and retain the ability to change image size without losing any quality. This is especially important for web development, with your website being visited both from desktop computers as well as from portable devices – and vector graphics should easily scale to fit the appropriate screen size on-the-fly.

Test your logo

Show your logo to your friends and acquaintances and see if it scales on different screens. If it is colored, make sure that colors look the same on all devices and systems, both using RGB and CMYK color models.

So, let’s summarize

Bearing in mind what was said above – your logo should be simple, recognizable and, if possible, unlike any other, or at least not visually similar to any of your competitors’ ones. You should make a logo thinking ahead, considering your company might grow, expand and diversify the services or goods provided; do also note that the logo could end up anywhere.

But do not forget about what matters the most – of course, logo plays a key role in the making of your brand, but the goods’ (or services’) quality is way more important – and in the future, your brand shall build the reputation for your logo – not the other way around.

About the Author!

RFclipart (abbreviation from “Royalty-Free clipart”) is a stock vector images broker company. They offer images, vector graphics, icons and illustrations in EPS format, which are uploaded by their authors. The company is present on market since 2010; and located in Prague, Czech Republic, Europe.