Your company's logo is one of the most important element in developing your brand identity, after the first being your name and the second your message. Of course, these should be backed by quality products and services.
Your logo is only one piece of your brand identity and it will take time to design. But don't put so much emphasis on your logo design that you bring your business to a halt or delay the creation of your website. Many companies have missed business opportunities because they spent too much time trying to come up with the "perfect" logo. This time could have been spent building a new online presence and customer base.
If you hire a designer, he/she will work closely with you to identify your style, formulate your message, and create images and colors that best reflect your company goals and values. During this process, you will be able to explore a variety of fonts, graphics and color combinations.
A good logo should have the following primary criteria:
1) Good in black and white or grayscale.3) Good on buildings, outdoor signs, displays, business cards, papers and uniforms.4) A standard print or web browser color.5) Make sense to customers.6) Won't appear outdated in a short moment.
To look at it in more details, below are some what a logo should have and shouldn't have:
- A logo should use simple font and design that can be resized for different purposes.
- A logo should have a design that looks good in grayscale, particularly if you have lots of printed materials.
- A logo should use colors that are common in your industry.
- A logo should have colors that reflect your company’s style and message.
- A logo should not have image or font that is similar to that of your competition or is trademarked or copyrighted.
- A logo should not use free clip art. Someone else might use it and your logo won’t be unique.
- A logo should not have many colors or non-complementary colors.
- A logo should not be busy or trendy. It may appear outdated in a few years.