A logo design is actually a challenging task for the designer :
a) The logo should fit into a tiny space, ( most cases on the website or on a printed material like business cards )
b) The logo should say something unique about your business ( how is your business differentiate from others? )
c) The logo should emphases your brand, business, service, product, etc ( focus on these aspects )
d) The logo should be easy to remember ( so keep it clean and simple )
When you hire a designer for a logo you need to give good feedback to your designer.
Please Specify Use of Logo
- Where will the logo be used? ( a website, printed material, brochure, business card)
- What restrictions the designer should be aware of ? (size, color, readability, etc. The print cost : for color or black & white print)
- What future uses seem likely for the logo beside the website? Do you need black & white version and color?
Describing what you want sentences like that is NOT helpful:
- I want some good bold font logo which defines my business name
( what font? If you have any font name in your mind, share with your designer, there are thousands of fonts, a font name that you like would be tremendous help for the designer) - A graphic maybe , perhaps icon logo. ( Graphic like abstract or icon like? Such as if you are a writer, a pencil icon )
- Combination of colorful letters and some symbol. ( Define what colors you like, what sort of symbol you prefer)
In general there are five types of logos:
- Text plus Image (Iconic Logo / Combination logo)
- Only Text (Wordmark Logo)
- Abbreviation plus Image (Iconic Logo / Combination logo)
- Only Abbreviation (Lettermark Logo)
- Only Image (Graphic Logo / Symbol Logo / Brandmark Symbol)
You can see some famous brands logos as examples.
Example Logos:
Wordmark Logo – Only Text
The New York Time Logo
CNN Logo
Text Based Logo Two Color
Fedex Logo
Text Based Logo Multiple Color
eBay Logo
Text Based Logo One Color
Disney Logo
Graphic Logo / Symbol Logo
Target Logo
Iconic Logo Combination with text
Target Logo with text
Text based logo with small icon
Angie's List Logo
Text Based Logo ( Two colors )
Mobil Logo
Only Abbreviation (Lettermark Logo)
Presented on white background IBM letters used blue or black version of colors
IBM Logo
Only Image Logo Example
Shell Logo
Image Logo with Text Example
Wikipedia Logo
Graphic Image Logo Example
Nike Logo
Brandmark Symbol with Text Combination
Nike Logo with text
What to pay attention?
Please do not tell these to your designer if you want a nice logo work:
- Make me a logo, anything is fine ( the truth is; never is anything fine)
- I want an image, but have not decided what image, pick something ( how about giving hint to your designer? )
- Text based (playing with font) logo is not logo in my opinion , make me something that defines my brand name without telling the name ( Actually text based logo are common to use on the web and printed materials, it emphases your brand and always it is simple to remember )
- Can we use my photo as an logo? It is a good photo, just clean up with Photoshop, then it would be fine! ( Graphic symbols are not photos, the designer actually creates these symbol graphics, a photo can be helpful, but turning to a logo, a bit too optimistic thinking. )
- I want my slogan as logo. Can you make it? ( A long sentence is not suitable for a logo design usually. How about focusing on brand name abbreviation instead? )
The bottom line you need to explain what logo you would like to have it. Even you do not know what you want, you may describe what you do not want to see, that is a good start as well. Therefore please give detail feedback to your designer about what you want. The designer can not read your mind, if you have something special in your mind, describe to the designer as detail as possible, so it can be visualized on the paper or on the computer screen! A good communication is the key to success.