What makes a memorable logo

Conversely, if it looks unprofessional or unclear, it alone may be the reason they choose to look somewhere else. Your logo affords a unique opportunity for you to look like a bigger that is, more established business than what you are.

With the right logo, you can look like a larger company that's been around for awhile even if you have only one employee and just opened your doors last month. People who see it will associate the positive attributes of big companies--like security and financial stability--with your company. And you can still deliver the entrepreneurial qualities--like personal attention and superior customer service--that you're known for.

Building a solid brand identity is pivotal to success in business today. Lay the right foundation with a professional, brandable logo. John Williams is the founder and president of LogoYes. During John's 25 years in advertising, he's created brand standards for Fortune companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous awards for his design work. Justine Beauregard. Saikiran Chandha. Ytzia Belausteguigoitia. Mark Vickery. Eric Hanson.

Skip to content Profile Avatar. Subscribe to Entrepreneur. Magazine Subscriptions. Crafting a Memorable Logo Our branding expert shares five reasons why your business needs a logo your customers won't forget. By John Williams. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. More About Marketing. Growth Strategies. Something else to consider is the readability of the font in relation to the font size.

You want your logo typeface to be clear and readable at a smaller size, as well as when it is viewed on screen at a larger size. Typical our recommendation is to select a simple font so that it will be readable at any size. The following sites are great for finding some font inspiration and to break out of the default fonts that you might be used to using:.

After choosing a great typeface, deciding on colors can seem like an overwhelming task. But it should not feel impossible!

Colors affect everyone in different ways so it is important to think about what you want people to feel when they see your colors. Colors also should never clash with the message you're trying to convey. For example, if your brand identity is all about youth and happiness then it might not be a great idea for you to choose dark colors like black or purple because that could potentially make people feel sad or depressed when they see them.

Looking for some color inspiration? Check out these amazing color palette generators and color trend websites:. It can be easy to get carried away with selecting multiple colors for your logo, however it is never a good idea.

When selecting colors for your logo, you always want to pick two that compliment each other nicely. If you think it might be difficult to choose the perfect color pairing then there are tons of great tools online that will help you find the right ones!

When a logo is properly balanced, it appears well-organized and polished. Not too much in the design is shifted to one side or the other; when your design is off balance, it can appear chaotic and make it difficult for viewers to absorb all of the information at once.

Alignment, spacing, and symmetry all help in creating a balanced design. Proper alignment can make an otherwise busy composition feel more cohesive.

Visual hierarchy is the arrangement of design elements such as shapes, lines and text in a way that guides the observer through your work.

All other principles of design work together to create strong visual hierarchy with framing, typography, color palettes and more. A clear way to visually differentiate between the different types of information is your concept of visual hierarchy. A good logo often has less elements than what you think it should. Otherwise known as negative space or blank space, plenty of white space in your design is essential for achieving balance.

This is simply what parts of your design have no visual content in them and allows the logo to breathe bringing a sense of balance to an otherwise chaotic layout. It is important to remove any unnecessary elements from a logo to make it the most effective and timeless. The cost to design a logo is different for every company and cannot be easily answered without understanding what they need it to do. There are some designers who will charge a flat fee for any job, while other designers may have packages or require you to meet with them to discuss your exact goals before providing a quote.

There are lots of options online for cheap logos, but the investment in a great logo is time and money well spent.

Here are some tips to create a simple mark that resonates and sticks around:. The best logo designs are classic, simple and easy to understand. They often include a simple mark and company name. Users see the mark and think of the company. Simple logos also tend to work well in a number of applications and uses. Look at the mark for Nike, above, and all the different ways the mark is used.

Regardless of the application, you know the brand every time. The mistake that most designers make when creating a logo is that it contains too much information. To ensure simplicity in the logo design, consider these guidelines:. It is important that your logo is an accurate representation of your company or product. Think about the meaning of colors and shapes when planning the design and how those associations can impact users.

One of the best starting lists for how to think about imagery in a logo design comes from AdWeek. The magazine noted how certain logo marks resonated with users.

In the vein of keeping the logo design simple, stick to a simple color palette — no more than three colors — for the logo design.

Flatter logo design styles are trendy right now. Even MasterCard recently moved to a much flatter version of its pair of interlocking circles. Paired with flatter styles and logo design ideas borrowed from Material Design is the use of bright color.