Corporate Logo Design / Logo Design Articles / The Lowdown on Logos

The Lowdown on Logos

By Melanie Brahams Silver

When is a spiral not just a spiral? When it's a logo design, a marker of your corporate identity and the distilled essence of your company mission.

Developing a Corporate Identity with a Logo Design

When potential customers see your company logo design , (emblazoned on letterhead, business card, etc.), will it serve as an instant trigger for all that your company's about? Notes CFX Creative, a U.S.-based design company, "Your logo design is at the center of that identity and should be as defining and unique as your own fingerprint."

Swooshes, swirls and twirls

Play the association game with some of the world's most recognizable logos: the Coca-Cola name, the Nike swoosh, the McDonald's golden arches, the Lacoste crocodile, the Mac apple, and the Microsoft window. Each logo design has been elevated to icon status, representing specific qualities and attributes. Driving on that dusty road, a sighting of the golden arches will probably spark off immediate associations of taste, service, bright decor, child-friendliness, and may well entice you to make a pitstop. The relentless assault of flying Microsoft windows might have more complex connotations, but the logo is a major point of recognition for the corporation.

If you already have one, look at your logo design. Does it in any way reflect your company aims, products, target market? If you're in the process of developing your corporate identity, Neil Cohen of clickz.com advises, "Ask yourself whether you want your company to be perceived as big and traditional or modern and eclectic, technology - or service-driven… Whatever your answers, they need to be conveyed in your corporate logo design."

Instant messaging

What you want to convey is one thing; how you can convey it is another, and you'll need focus and a good designer to successfully make that transition. The design, font, size, and colors should all be appropriate to your company. Depending on your message, your logo design could be:

Based on the company name or initials (think cK for Calvin Klein or the distinctive night sky N for Netscape).
A symbol that conveys qualities appropriate to your company. Rene Lacoste, French tennis player and creator of the Lacoste polo shirt, said that his logo design — the crocodile — "conveyed the tenacity I displayed on the tennis courts, never letting go of my prey."
Discreet or prominent, abstract or concrete, elegant or funky (within limits).
Design experts would advise against anything too current or specifically product-related, unless you are planning to change your logo annually — which might miss the point of the entire "corporate identity development" exercise.

More do's than don'ts

The KISS principle certainly applies here (KISS stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid, and sounds less abusive as an acronym). Simple logo designs are more recognizable than cluttered and convoluted efforts, which might only serve to confuse and possibly turn off your target audience.

Make your logo design multipurpose and multifunctional. Will it look good in black and white as well as color? Will the design stay true and clear whether it's enlarged, reduced, faxed, or photocopied? Can you use it on the Web?

Keep it consistent. Business Leader editor Amy Nelson notes, "No matter how sophisticated or simple your logo design may be, make sure the key elements are the same on all media."

Some things change, some stay the same

If corporate identity development needs dictate changing your logo design, the experts advise retaining some recognizable elements to maintain "a connection with the previously established identity," according to Smal lBusiness Learning. "Use of the same color scheme or font can help maintain a company's historical investment in its logo," it adds.

Have logo will mobilize

Don't keep your logo design a trade secret. Embed the logo into your customer's retail memory (that's the one we keep for shopping and ordering), even if what you're selling is not strictly retail. Make sure the logo appears on everything: from business cards, brochures, and your Web site (every page) to trade show posters and premiums such as key chains, mugs, and caps. And don't forget your product and its packaging, instruction manual, and label. Your logo design is an integral part of your corporate identity— wear it with pride.