Sand off those “Special Effects”
A logo that depends on fancy special effects is not a solid logo. “Special effects” include drop shadows, bevels, lens flares, reflections, and stylistic filters. We remove these effects to distill the underlying logo concept so that we can better improve it. Only once the logo concept is strong by itself should you experiment with special effects …and even then, only in moderation. Also, since special effects are used as crutches by bad designers, the effects themselves are usually tacky. For some “groovy” perspective, see Microsoft’s original logo.

Don’t Add, Only Subtract
Every element in a logo design is a potential distraction and every extra detail is one more thing to forget. The most successful logos of the biggest companies are usually one or two words with maybe one simple symbol. Be absolutely ruthless while subtracting from your logo. Leave only the most important elements.

No Photographs
Photographs, pieces of photographs, and bitmapped images like photographs do not belong in a logo. They don’t scale and are difficult to recognize, especially when your logo is resized. Replace photographic elements with a symbol equivalent (or remove them completely).

Multiple Versions
Once your logo concept is solid, sometimes you’ll need different logo versions for specific uses. For instance, you may need a logo for printing on dark backgrounds, a version that is very small, or a very simple version for photocopy and fax. A strong logo must be flexible.

Legibility
Small print text blurs when the logo is small, decorative fonts are difficult to read, and low contrast colors hide your text. Text should typically be large, use conservative fonts, and have high contrast with its background. Unreadable text is ugly and wasteful.

Scaling and Spacing
People like certain ratios common in nature so use them in your logo to improve its wow gold composition. The most famous natural ratio is the “golden ratio” Phi. (about 1.618) Also, use the typographic scale for to keep your font sizes “in tune.” In good design, these natural ratios appear often. But don’t rely on intuition; break out those rulers and calculators and verify those ratios. Yes… calculators. See? Math is good for everything. (fact)

Vectors
Vector graphics are shapes, lines, and colors that can be mathematically defined. A vector master-copy of your logo is important, especially for printing and for maintaining the integrity of your logo. A logo only saved as a bitmap (or worse, only as physical copy) like a jpg or tiff can’t be enlarged, loses data when shrunk, and usually prints poorly. What looks good on a computer screen rarely looks good in print.

When I began my career in the graphics industry, almost 17 years ago, I would approach the design of any new logo by first taking out a pad of paper and a pencil and sketching out basic ideas before diving into any real concept creation.  As computers and design software became more and more a part of the logo design process I tended to find myself heading to the computer immediately to put together my ideas.  This only tended to result in a lot of time spent staring at a blank computer screen.  As my business expanded and time became a more precious commodity I began to head back to my early days and approached my designs again with a pencil and paper before sitting down at the computer.   This not only gave me more free time but helped me to increase the profitability of my business.  The following is an outline of the design process I now take whenever I am creating a logo for a client.  I hope it will inspire some of you to take pencil in hand prior to sitting down in front of the computer.
 
 
Core Practice Partners is a leading international expert in Labor Management for companies that don’t work a traditional “9 to 5″ schedule. Their clients have included such industry leaders as Kraft, BMW, and General Electric. Their approach to creating solutions for their clients is unique and their desire was to have a logo that was both professional and creative.
They approached my company with a few ideas of their own, but were very uncertain whether the look they truly wanted could be achieved. I first set up a phone conference with their president, John Frehse, to discuss the goals he had for the logo and how he wanted to be perceived by the clients he serviced. After our initial discussion I sat down at the drawing board to rough out some ideas for the logo. This is the normal approach that I take in the designing of any logo. It allows for the creation of many concepts within a short period of time and dramatically decreases the amount of time spent producing the initial concepts to be presented to the client.

Once I had 6-8 rough ideas conceived I then scanned in the designs and used them as templates for the creation of computer generated concepts. I typically place them in the background and insert text and graphics over the top. Once the groundwork has been laid in I then remove the sketch from the background and add the finishing touches.

The initial presentation to the client contained anywhere 4 concepts that I felt worked best with the impression they were looking to achieve. These first ideas were presented in black & white. I have found that clients will initially lose interest in a concept if the colors are not to their liking. On more than one occasion I have seen ideas rejected solely on the basis of the colors used without the client giving any regard to the overall design presented.

Once a concept was chosen by the client the design was revised, if logo design necessary, and then rendered in color and resubmitted to the client for approval. There are usually 6-8 color renderings for the client to choose from, in this case there were 8. Most of these featured colors from the same palette (warm, cool, etc.) and there will be perhaps one or two ideas that could be considered “outside the box”. It is these additional color options that will either direct the client towards the preferred palette or will illicit a sense of excitement from the client about color choices they never imagined would be appealing. This can be one of the steps where a real sense of creativity can be injected into the design process.

The client immediately accepted one of the designs and now the only step left was to finalize the project. I provide most of my clients with a CD that contains their logo design in a number of different formats. Some designers may feel this enables the client to take the design and use other sources for the rest of their design work, but I have found that this merely gives the client a sense that they have recieved something concrete and if I have done my job correctly and have fulfilled all their desires then they will certainly use my services again.

As it turned out in this case I was hired by Core Practice Partners to design their stationery as well as numerous marketing materials. The logo of a company is an integral part of their brand identity. By establishing a good relationship with a client in this critical step towards creating the brand that will become their public presence you can build a solid foundation to creating a long term position as their designer of choice.

A Logo Design is the image which represents a company or its product. It’s function is to create a memorable, recognizable impression on the mind of a potential client or customer. A logo is essentially at the heart of a corporate identity.

So what makes a “good” logo? Most people would answer “I just know it when I see it!” and this isn’t so far from the truth. A good logo catches the eye - it makes the observer curious or engaged, if only for a short moment. A moment in which an image and the existence of your company is embedded in the mind rather than filtered out with a million other daily stimuli. But even if a good logo ‘just is’, there are elements for making it happen and we will look at some of those.

There are three basic types of logos, which can be used alone or combined within one design:

illustrative logos (a logo which clearly illustrates what your company does),
graphic logos (a logo that includes a graphic, often an abstraction, of what your company does), and
font-based logos (a text treatment which represents your company)
Creating a logo is always a process - though different designers have their own methods. Many designers will begin by sketching thumbnails or playing with shapes on the computer screen, until something “clicks” and they follow that path to see where it leads. One way to start is to select a shape which represents the concept of the company, and begin playing with it. The idea is to come up with something interesting or clever, whether a viewpoint which is different, or an unusual combination of shapes. Perhaps it will be something which will require some guesswork on the part of the viewer, but then be crystal clear when they look at it another way.

Many designers prefer to developing logos beginning with, or consisting entirely of text. By experimenting with fonts, size, shapes they seek to find an interesting way to represent the company using the form of letters. Again, simplicity is extremely important - this is not the time to use fancy decorative fonts. Whether alone or combined with graphic elements, the text in a logo must be easily readable at small sizes.

Once a form for the logo has been defined, color needs to be considered. Again, color for a logo should remain simple. You can wow gold always get fancy with the web version, but a good logo must work well in one color and gradients of that color. The color should enhance and support the form of the logo - for example, various shades of blue on the sides of a 3D box should be the same as they would in real life.

Contrast is another powerful concept in the creation of logos - you can contrast size, color, fonts, textures - to create visual interest.

A logo should be simple and abstract, not be complicated or confusing, and again, all elements must be discernible when reproduced in small sizes.