Logos are one of the most important aspects of a brand, they enable your client’s current or new business to stand out among other competitors and help it become distinguishable! The logo you design not only gives the business an identity but displays a great first impression for the company you’re working for. Brand recognition often influences quick consumer decisions when considering purchasing a product or service; so to help, here’s a few things to consider before designing a logo!

Research your client’s company

Questions you need to ask yourself: What is the company? Which target audience is their brand aimed at? What product or service do they provide? All of these questions are important when thinking of the initial designs of a logo. Starting off with an unclear vision and no understanding of the company you’re working for leads to wasted time, a lack of inspiration and an unhappy client. Creating a concept that is relevant to the business makes it clear to the consumer what the business is and what it aims to provide.

Additionally, sourcing inspiration online helps spark new ideas! I find it useful to look through websites such as Pinterest, Behance and Dribbble before starting a design as it allows me to have a better perspective on new concepts/ideas that are relevant!

Create a useful amount of logo concepts

Give the client options, but reserve the amount of logos you present. Providing too many options commonly leads to difficulty when the client is choosing which design to finalise; so I recommend sending over the best (for example) 3 -4 concepts; it’ll be less overwhelming and overall more helpful! Remember not every idea you propose will be to the client’s taste, so be prepared to create multiple versions before the final logo has been approved!

Proportions and scalability 

As a logo may appear not only online but on promotional printed items (such as packaging/ leaflets/ business cards), ensuring the proportions of the logo are understandable/readable at different sizes is something to be considered during the design process.

Consider Colours 

First of all, you need to identify what your client’s brand purpose is so you can select relevant colours! For example if the target audience is children; choosing bright, fun and bold colours is more appealing as opposed to muted, dark colours. Here is a list of moods colours portray:

Red – Excitement, Passion, Urgency.
Orange – Energetic, Playful, Invigorating.
Yellow – Accessible, Friendly, Cheerful.
Green – Peaceful, Healthy.
Blue – Calm, Cleanly, Mature, Trustworthy.
Purple – Cutting Edge, Wise, Imaginative.
Pink – Fem, Youthful, Luxe.
Brown – Rugged, Masculine, Serious.
Black – Professional, Modern, Credible.
White – Economical, Balanced, Simplistic.
Grey – Mysterious, Classic, Responsible.

There are no rules as to how many colours you can choose for a logo, however often the standard amount is around 3. You have a base (the main colour), the accent (the colour that contrasts) and the natural colour. Picking a group of complimentary colours can be challenging, however I find referring to colour theory helps, as well as researching complimentary colour groups online.

Lastly, when designing the logo concepts, research the competitors of the business so the designs don’t appear similar.  Not only does this make it look like a copy, but it stops the brand from standing out and having its own identity.

Summary

To summarise, having a clear understanding of the brand you’re designing for, enables you to create a relevant and unique logo. Always remember to research and source inspiration before starting, and when finished filter down the amount of concepts you initially send over to your client!

I hope you’ve found this blog helpful for all the future logos you design!