Do you already have a logo design for your company or business? are you not sure if you should use it? Or do you think that it needs to be improved or redesigned? Then this effective company logo checklist is perfect for you. Check out the 6 questions below.
1. Is it original?
One of the biggest problems a company will face with its logo is when they cannot copyright their design because it has already been used by another company or the designer they commissioned to design their logo copied it from someone else or used stock images.
One of the ways to check if your logo design is original is to do a Google reverse image search and see if other designs match your logo.
Be sure to have your logo checked. Let us know if you need help with this so we can do it for you.
2. Is it simple enough?
When it comes to effective logo design, simplicity is the key. Just take a look at the top brands today like Apple, Nike, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon and you’ll see that what these designs have in common is their simplicity.
Simple designs are easier to recognize, memorize, adaptable to other media usage, and scalable.
Logo designs that are overly complicated, or use too many fonts will create an impression that your company is unprofessional or all over the place. These types of designs will lose their details when printed and will be unrecognizable in small scales.
Fonts should be restricted up to a maximum of two to ensure its legibility and recognition.
3. Is it recognizable and memorable?
Today’s audiences have a short attention span so you have to make sure that they can recognize and be able to read your company logo design in just a few seconds.
When placed with other logos, it should be able to stand-out for it to be memorable. If it looks too close to other designs, then it will fade away from the sea of other brands.
Try placing your logo along-side the logo designs of your competitors and see if it can stand-out or look too similar to them.
4. Is it adaptable?
Your logo design will not just be used on its own when it comes to your business. How do you think it would look when placed on your business cards, flyers, brochures, websites, and on your banner ads? You have to make sure it will work well in any type of application. It should be usable for both web and print use.
How well does your logo scale? Do you think the details are still clear and legible on small scales? Or when blown-up to billboard size?
Do you have a stand-alone icon variation of your design for profile image use on social media where it can fit in a small circle or square? In the digital age, these stand-alone versions of your logo are very important.
Will your logo work on dark and colored backgrounds? You should also think about how your logo will look on these situations.
What if your logo will be used on single colored prints like on a shirt or a form, will it still look clear and legible? Will it work in a single color? Be sure that your logo works with a single color before thinking about adding in colors.
5. Is it suitable for your company?
One of the biggest mistakes a business owner would commit when it comes to their company’s logo design is having it designed based on what they want and not what their company actually needs.
Just because your favorite color is orange or yellow doesn’t mean that your logo should be colored yellow too. The colors you use should be appropriate with the industry and appeals to your target audience. For example, black gives an impression of luxury, blue for security and dependability, yellow for optimism, etc. You should choose your colors based on your brand’s positioning and not with your personal preference.
The fonts you use matters a lot too. It’s easy to determine what type of business you have based on your fonts. Each design factor of your font like its thickness, spacing, height, curves, and style will give a different impression to your audience. Choose your fonts based on the values you would like your company to project. For example, traditional companies would usually use old serif fonts, while modern companies use thin spaced-out serif fonts.
You should also think about how busy or minimal is your logo? Luxury and serious brands tend to have minimalist designs while companies who want to be seen as friendly and affordable are more colorful and use bolder fonts with more details.
Are the colors, imagery, and fonts suited for your company? Does it reflect the kind of values you want your company to be seen as? Does it appeal to your target audience? These are some question you have to ask yourself to determine if your logo is a suitable symbol for your company. It doesn’t hurt to go over this effective company logo checklist from time to time.
6. Is it timeless?
Building brand awareness requires a lot of time so you have to make sure your company logo design will not look dated. It should not be designed based on fads like using special effects, gradients, and drop shadows.
Coca-Cola’s script logo is a perfect example of a timeless design. It’s clean, bold, clear, with no unnecessary effect applied to it. It’s an elegantly simple design which is easily recognizable.
A timeless logo is a combination of all 5 factors mentioned above: originality, simplicity, memorability, adaptability, and having a suitable design.
How did your company logo design fare with our effective company logo checklist? Did your logo pass all 6 tests? If yes, then you should send a thank you message to your designer right now! I’m sure they will appreciate it. If not, how many of these tests does your logo have a problem with?
If you’re not sure, send us a message and we can do a free logo design audit for your brand.