Whether you're creating an image for a brand-new company, or refreshing your existing brand's identity, knowing the right logo design principles to follow is crucial.
A great logo is more powerful than you think. It doesn't just differentiate your company from the competition, it forges emotional connections with your customers, and conveys crucial information to your target audience. In fact, a professionally-designed logo can increase a customer's confidence in your brand by 75%, just by showing you're invested in building a professional business.
Although there's no one-size-fits-all template for professional logo design, there are key design principles you can follow to boost your chances of making the right impression on your audience.
Here's your guide to building a powerful brand with logo design.
What is a Logo? The Basics
A logo is essentially a symbol that represents your business. It can be a basic wordmark, like the Google logo, a graphic like the Nike Swoosh, or a combination of multiple elements. Whatever design you choose, however, your logo should highlight your name, purpose, and brand personality.
The important thing to remember is that logos aren't just images. They're icons that tell the story of your brand using elements like imagery, shapes, color, and fonts.
Amazon's logo features a curved orange arrow stretching from A to Z, highlighting the extensive range of products they offer. The arrow also looks a little like a smile, referencing the company's commitment to exceptional customer service.
Great logos instantly identify your company, and tell your customers what to expect when they're interacting with you. It should communicate something about your company's values, vision, or goals, that helps you connect with your audience in a memorable, emotional way.
The X Logo Design Principles to Follow
The good news is you don't necessarily need to be an expert in graphic design to create an amazing logo. All you really need is a good understanding of design principles that will help your business and brand to stand out. Based on our evaluation of the world's leading logos, these are the most important principles you'll need to keep in mind when working on your design.
-
1. Make it Simple
How often do you see complicated logos in today's world? The chances are, it's not often. Simplicity makes logo designs easier to remember. It's much easier for your brain to retain the sleek Nike "Swoosh" logo than it would be for it to remember dozens of shapes and components.
Aside from being more memorable and recognizable than a complex logo, a simple logo is also more versatile. Imagine if Apple had held onto the artistic logo, it first created for its company. That image never would have worked on smaller phone screens or on social media channels.
A simple logo ensures you can use the same consistent design easily across multiple channels and mediums without losing any meaning or depth. It even makes it easier to print your logos onto labels and products, so you can differentiate your items on shelves.
-
2. Ensure It is Original
This might sound like an obvious tip, but it's one of the most important logo design principles to follow. Your logos should always be unique to your brand. Your company has its own specific vision, goals, and values, and your logo should convey that.
Think of all the most popular logos in the world. They're memorable and powerful because they're different. The Tesla logo, for instance, is sleek and powerful, it includes the letter "T" to represent the company's name, but it's also based on a cross-section from an electric motor.
This provides customers with a direct insight into Tesla's focus and what it stands for.
While you can always evaluate the logos of other competitors in your industry for inspiration, make sure your logo is specific to you. Not only will a unique logo help to differentiate your brand, and elevate your marketing strategies, but it will help you attract the right audience too.
-
3. Give it Balance
Visual balance is a concept in both graphic design and art. In the principles of logo design, it refers to how the elements of your logo work together to create a cohesive image. Achieving balance when you create a logo can be difficult. After all, balance doesn't necessarily mean making each piece of your logo, from your name, to your logo graphic the same size.
Instead, it involves creating a sense of harmony between all of the elements in your image. This could mean using techniques like the "golden ratio" and the "rule of thirds".
Logos don't necessarily need to be even or symmetrical, but they need to appease the human eye. Usually, simply examining your graphic, and considering how different elements slot into place will give you a good idea if your logo has balance or not.
-
4. Prioritize Versatility
Effective logo designs need to be versatile in today's world. Remember, you'll be using your logo in a lot of different ways. It'll appear on your business card, on your website, as the icon for the mobile app you create for your customers, and in your email templates.
Your logo will need to work in large scale if you're creating billboards and signage for physical offices, and it'll need to look great in a smaller format, if you're using it on labels, product packaging, and in favicons. With that in mind, check the flexibility of your logo.
Consider creating mock-ups for a variety of different applications, and consider checking to see your logo still looks great in different color schemes, such as black and white.
-
5. Make Your Logo Timeless
Although many companies do update their logo over time, you shouldn't be planning to have to change your brand's image every couple of years. Ideally, the best logo design will be one that can evolve with your business, maintaining a timeless look.
For instance, Nike hasn't changed the Swoosh logo much over the years, it has simply removed a few additional elements over time.
Following logo design principles means trying to find an image that's modern, but not necessarily "trendy". You don't want to create a logo based exclusively on what's popular right now, as design trends can change rapidly.
Again, sticking to a simple design will usually help here. Logos that are minimalistic and straightforward are less likely to seem old-fashioned as time passes. Choose straightforward color palettes, crisp graphic elements, and simple, legible fonts to appeal to a wide range of people.
-
6. Pick Colors Carefully
Colors are one of the most important concepts to consider with logo design, for a few reasons. First, choosing the right colors will help your logo stand out from the competition. Secondly, colors have a psychological impact on human beings.
Different shades resonate with us in different ways. Blue is a color commonly associated with feelings of tranquillity, as well as stability and trust. Red is a color we associate with energy, action, and passion. You don't necessarily need to choose a single color for your logo, but it's best to keep things simple. Most guides on logo design principles recommend no more than two colors.
With that in mind, choose a "signature color" for your logo, such as red, blue, purple, or green, then pick one or two accent colors at most, like black, or white.
There are instances when more than 2 colors can work, such as in the Google logo, or the Slack logo, but you'll need to be cautious if you want to avoid overwhelming your audience.
-
7. Choose a Scalable Font
Next to colors, fonts are another common concept addressed in logo design principles. The right choice of typography can also have an emotional impact on your audience. Most people see serif fonts, like Times New Roman as traditional and professional.
Alternatively, sans-serif fonts are more likely to appear modern, friendly, and welcoming. In today's digital world, sans serif fonts are usually a lot more scalable and versatile.
These typefaces can easily adapt to multiple sizes and colors, and remain easy to read. While you can always consider using a standard well-known font for your logo, you could also think about tweaking it a little. Simple changes to elements of a font, like Google turning the angle of the "e" on its logo slightly, can send messages about your brand's personality to your audience.
-
8. Design for your Audience
Finally, this is one of the top logo design principles that is commonly overlooked by many beginner brands. It's easy to assume that your logo should appeal to as many different types of people as possible. After all, the better the reach of your logo, the more customers you'll attract.
However good logo design often hinges on your ability to connect with a very specific group of people. When you're making your logo design unique and memorable, you need to think carefully about what's going to appeal most to your target customers.
What kind of colors and typefaces will resonate most with them? Which shapes and graphics will they recognize? Considering your target audience carefully will help you to create a more impactful logo that stands the test of time. For instance, the Chupa Chups logo, with its bright colors and flower shape, instant appeals to a younger audience.
Master the Top Logo Design Principles
Following the right logo design principles is crucial when you want to ensure your company makes the right impression on your intended target audience. Everything from the colors you choose, to your font options, and the simplicity of your design will impact how effective your logo is.
Investing more time and effort into creating the right logo now, will also help to reduce your risk of having to redesign your brand going forward (this can be an expensive process).
You can start experimenting with logo designs using online logo builders, or even design tools like the design suite offered by NovaTomato. With NovaTomato, you can even add your logo to a range of print-on-demand garments, so your team members can show it off wherever they go.
Get started with your brand building journey today. Contact the NovaTomato team to learn more.
FAQs
What are the 5 principles of logo design?
- Simplicity
- Originality
- Versatility
- Timelessness
- Balance
What is the golden rule of logo design?
A good logo should always send a valuable message about your brand to your audience. They should help customers to identify your values, your purpose and your vision, and differentiate you from the competition. Choose logos that are simple, unique, and memorable.
How can I make my logo stand out?
When designing a logo, do your research. Learn about the competitors in your space and the designs they use. Consider your target audience and their preferences, and make sure your unique brand's personality shines through in your choice of font, colors, and imagery.
Which tools may I use to design logo?
There are many tools available in the market to design logos, ranging from simple, user-friendly options for beginners to more advanced tools for professional designers. Here are some popular ones:
User-Friendly Logo Design Tools:
- Canva: a wide range of templates and design elements for creating logos easily.
- LogoMaker: An online tool that provides customizable templates and design options.
- Hatchful by Shopify: A free online logo maker with various templates.
- Looka: Uses AI to generate logo designs based on your preferences and style.
- DesignEvo: An online logo maker with a library of icons and fonts for creating logos.
Advanced Logo Design Tools:
- Adobe Illustrator: commonly used vector graphics editor for professionals
- CorelDRAW: Another powerful vector graphic design software for creating detailed and scalable logos, largely used by professional designers
- Affinity Designer: A vector graphic design tool that is often seen as a more affordable alternative to Adobe Illustrator.
- Gravit Designer: A versatile vector design app that offers advanced design features.
- Inkscape: A free and open-source vector graphics editor suitable for professional logo design.
Specialized Logo Design Tools:
- LogoJoy (Now Looka): Uses AI to help create logos quickly based on your input and preferences.
- Tailor Brands: An AI-driven platform that helps design logos and branding materials.
- Vectr: A free vector graphic design software that's easy to use for simple logo designs.
