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Logo Notions - Tips for creating logos

By Laura Tiffany

What does your business do? A good logo design tells the story.

Definition is a part of every business, whether it's defining your product or service, market or advertising strategy. But combining all that defines your business into a concise visual message - your company logo design - is one of the most challenging tasks you'll face.

"A logo has to sum up your business in one small statement." says Kevin Daniels, a designer for text & image, a Huntington Beach, California, graphic design firm.

When designing a logo for your company, follow the guidelines suggested by Daniels:

Begin the design process by brainstorming. Sketch about 12 to 15 ideas; then choose the top three. Bounce your favorites off family and friends before deciding which is the best.
The feeling your logo conveys should be appropriate to your business. "If you're a lawyer, you may want to do something conservative and classic," Daniels says. Consider your target market, and ask yourself whether your potential customers will be attracted by your favorite font and colors.
Design your logo so that it's easily reproducible in all sizes. It needs to be simple and should consist of an icon rather than a photograph, which may be indecipherable if enlarged or reduced significantly.
Create a logo that can be reproduced in black and white so that it can be faxed or photocopied.

If you use colors in your logo, use them consistently. "Decide ahead of time if your logo is going o be black and white or a certain color," says Daniels. Then stick with the colors you choose.

Case Study

Top growth areas in the staffing industry

Technical temporary
services                   27%

Professional Employer
Organizations (PEO)        25%

Professional/specialty
temporary services         22%

Temporary to
permanent staffing         16%

SOURCE: STAFFING INDUSTRY REPORT
1996-1997 GROWTH RATES

Most important, once our logo is in place, don't range it. Daniels says, Your logo design needs to represent your product or service as it is right now and till represent it successfully 10 years down the road."