What Makes A Good Logo
You know that a logo is an important identifying mark for any legitimate business, but do you know what it takes to have a logo that is iconic and timeless? Here I’m sharing the three qualities of a good logo. Afterward, I go into a bit more detail about each quality.
A good logo has three distinct qualities:
- Appropriate
- Distinctive
- Simple
Appropriate
First, an appropriate logo relates to the feelings/emotions behind the business or the character it wants to portray. So if the tone of the business is lighthearted and friendly, it would be entirely inappropriate to have a skull and bones logo or a delicate butterfly for a product that is strongly masculine and refined.
Distinctive
Next, a distinctive logo is memorable and easy to describe after seeing it a couple of times. It can even be sketched on paper, but it is by no means generic. Think about the Amazon logo, you can picture it in your head, describe it to your grandma, and draw a simple sketch even if drawing isn’t your thing.
Simple
Finally, the simplicity of a good logo. This means the logo isn’t overly detailed so it’s not an illustration. Instead, it’s a simple mark or graphic. The focus here is on what is most important or necessary for a strong, bold, distinctive mark. The simpler the better since this will allow for consistent application of the logo mark whether it’s placed on a small business card or a large billboard.
Long Story Short
To sum things up, the logo identifies the business but it does not necessarily identify what the business does. Think about Apple, for example. Do they sell apples? Absolutely not! They sell computers but nowhere in their logo is this evident. Businesses that understand these three qualities are not promoting the product or service through the logo. If they did this it would bog down the logo and make it less identifiable. They leave the promotion of the business to other outlets, not through the logo.
Now What?
A logo is only a piece of the puzzle for your business and a small part of the entire branding process. If you’d like to talk about branding or website design for your business, message me at hello@8ninedesign.com or DM me on Instagram @8ninedesign.
