The Elements of a Strong Logo - By: charen smith

They come in so many different shapes and styles. Just think for a moment about how many companies have a logo for their brand? I’m sure you can name enough to cover all ten fingers in the span of a few seconds. No matter where you go there are logos everywhere, and with this massive number comes countless different varieties. And yet, all of them have a few basic elements in common. At least, all the successful ones do, and in order to make your logo work, you need to know why all of the others have done such a great job at establishing a company. First, and by far most importantly of all, you need to make a memorable design. Not that simple, is it? How do make a memorable design? Keep things basic. Take a moment to look at some of those logos you know of. Car logos are a prime example because every car has one embedded on it. What do all these logos have in common? Each of them has a very simple look, usually made from only a few lines or a single image, and that’s all. This simplicity helps a person to easily remember what the logo looks like. It also makes your logo immediately recognizable. A complicated image won’t be as easy to spot as a sleek, simple design. A great logo is also something that can be altered to fit anything it needs to. After all, you should be sure to put your logo on everything you can, including your color printing, your building, and any free items you might want to hand out. Next comes coloring. There are a lot of logos that have a specific color theme, but something to note is that the color shouldn’t be necessary for the logo to be effective. What does this mean? Take the Target logo as an example. The logo is simple and reflects the name of the company: it’s a mini bulls eye. Now, the typical color scheme is solid red, but if you alter the color, such as make it blue, it doesn’t take anything away from the logo itself. It remains an easily recognizable bulls eye. The same goes for Microsoft’s windows logo. While it’s given multiple colors, even if you look at it in black and white you can still recognize the logo and the company. Design your logo without any color in mind, and get an image that works great no matter what color it is. That way if you’re using color printing you can be sure to put on a colorful logo and if you’re using plain printing your logo will still work in black and white. As simple as most logos are, that doesn’t mean they’re easy to design. Sometimes the simplistic things can be the hardest to get right, but if you know what makes a logo great, you’ll be on the right track to make a memorable one for your company’s image.