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A logo is the very first impression of any brand. As we all know that the first impression is the last impression. So, its design is very important as it’s the face of any brand. A logo can be a powerful asset when executed correctly. Knowledge is the power for any graphic designer. Logo design requires practice and experience. We have outlined 12 extremely important rules to follow for logo designing.
Before you start creating a logo using a graphic tool, you need to do some brain storming. Take a pen and paper and draw 10 to 20 sketches or ideas. Then create variations of the original idea. A professional designer will spend more time on preliminary work as he knows that skipping this will compromise the fixed result.
Human mind naturally perceive a balanced design as appealing and pleasing. This fact makes balance in a logo design very important. This rule can be broken occasionally as a logo will be viewed by the masses. Not everyone has the eye for great art. However, balance design is the safest approach.
Size does matter when it comes to logo design. A logo must look good in all sizes. A logo design is not effective if it loses too much definition when scaled down. A logo also has to look great in large formats. The best way to check your logo is to test yourself. Take print outs of your logo in different sizes and look how it looks.
Color combination is very important part of any design. Color theory is complex but experienced designers who understand the basics of color usage can use the colors for their advantage. Following are the basic rules of color usage that you should follow.
Colors have impact on human mind and moods. You must know how colors can evoke feelings. For example red color can evoke feelings such as love, strength, passion and aggression. Keep in mind that you must choose colors according to the overall tone and feel of the brand.
You must do some research on your client’s business and his target audience. This information will help you choose the design style most suitable to your client’s business. This exercise will save your time and effort.
If there is text in your logo, either as part of logo or in the tagline, you need to spend some time for font selection. Try different font styles in your logo and see how they look. Consider the following three points when choosing a font for your logo.
The best way to look unique is to use custom font. Look at the logo of Twitter, Coca-Cola and Yahoo.
The sole purpose of creating a logo is to build brand recognition. Whenever you see swoosh, you call Nike in your mind. Few other examples are Pepsi, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. If you see just a glimpse of any of them, you recognize the brand. So, whatever logo you are designing, make sure it reflects a unique identity.
If you want yourself to stand out from the competition, you must adopt a unique style. Be innovative and produce something unique which distinguishes you as a graphic designer with a distinct style. Keep playing with the design program and keep tweaking your design until you feel you have got what you want.
Keep your logo as simple as possible. The simpler it is the more recognizable it will be. Take Nike swoosh or Apple’s logo as an example.
You need to go easy on graphic effects. There are many tools which allow you to use various effects on your logo. Don’t get carried away. Simplicity is the key so, use these effects with precaution.
You need to develop your own design process or design assembly line. Consider the following points:
You can use the work of other designers for inspiration purpose only. There is no harm in getting the idea from other’s work as long as the idea is original. Copying other’s idea is wrong both morally and legally.
Source: This list is based on the content published by RE2QA on their official blog.
