The Principles of Effective Logo Design

by Katie Donohue, Fletcher Prince

When I say the word “logo,” what comes to mind? Quick, write down the names of the first five companies that pop into your head.

Did you think of Apple, Coca-Cola, Adidas, McDonald’s, NBC, Disney, or Nike?

Chances are you wrote down at least one of these companies. All of these companies have invested millions of dollars to perfect their brand through visually pleasing logo designs. All of these marks have something in common. They all follow the principles of good logo design. There are certain rules that graphic designers, and advertisers follow when creating logos to make the company’s mark memorable and, therefore, successful to their audience.

The first rule of successful logo design is simplicity. A logo should work as big as a billboard, and as small as a business card. Therefore it needs to be versatile and simple. If a company’s mark has several images within the design, it may lose detail if printed small on a business card, or pen. Keep in mind the power of simple shapes and limited color. Three-fourths of the most successful logos use one or two colors at most.

The second rule for logo design is legibility. Your logo may have the most unique and creative design, but if the text isn’t readable, no one will understand what the name of your company is. Think of some of the companies mentioned above (Apple, McDonald’s, Nike). They all use very legible serifs in their logos. Serifs and san serif fonts are usually safe, but don’t necessarily rule out a nice script. Both Coca-Cola and Disney are based on the handwriting of their founders, and both are legible marks.

The third rule of a good logo design is making a connection. When brainstorming ideas for a logo of a company, think about the attitude, personality and attributes of that company. What graphic elements, designs, shapes, or colors come to mind? There needs to be a clear connection with the mark and the company’s positioning.