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What’s in a Logo?

January 27th, 2010

By Matt Cook
Point.Click Media

Is there a more important piece to your overall brand than your company logo? Your logo is essentially the face of your business in the commercial world. It’s important to have a name, brand, and overall image that you’re proud to stand behind. So what makes a good logo? A great logo should have a few key attributes attached to it:

1. Is it easy to recognize? Is it describable?

A good logo doesn’t necessarily have to be a sexy symbol per se, but it should be able to leave an impression. Take McDonalds for example. The logo in itself is pretty simple: a large yellow ‘M’ and a simple wordmark with the company name. It’s been around for years and been left relatively unchanged. It’s not the best looking logo in the world today, but everyone from here to Saturn can identify those golden arches.

2. Color is secondary

Another key aspect in identifying a good logo is its effectiveness in various media. A good logo works well in black & white and also in gray scale. Incorporating negative space into a logo also enhances a logo’s ability to stand alone in black & white. For instance, have you ever noticed the arrow in the FedEx logo? Look for it in the white space. After you do, you’ll wonder how you ever missed it.

3. Scalability

A logo appears in many different places, in many different sizes and in many different forms including faxes, web, shirts, hats, billboards, etc. A busy logo may look great when printed at large scale on a sign or billboard, but it should have the same effect when it’s printed on the side of a pen, or embroidered on a sweater.

4. Does it fit my industry?

It wouldn’t make much sense for Mr. Peanut to be the face of an insurance broker. A logo should be able to help place its owner into a proper marketplace. If the company is looking to exhibit a clean, professional image, then its logo should fit the bill.

Having a logo that leaves a lasting impression is not something that you slap together in Microsoft Word while you’re waiting for the latest season of Lost to download. Great logos have hours upon hours of research behind them, regardless of how simple they may look. Some corporations spend millions of dollars just to tweak a logo enough to emphasize a certain feeling to their demographic, when most of us wouldn’t even recognize these changes. It’s all about the value of their image.

Let’s be realistic. Not every business has 10 million bucks to throw at a wordmark to make sure a Q makes their demographic feel all warm and fuzzy inside. If you’re looking for help in making your presence felt, or if you’re just looking to establish a solid footing for your brand, contact Point.Click Media.

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Posted in Branding Tips on January 27th, 2010

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