A great logo communicates the right message to the right people. Through visual communication, it catches the eye of the target market and speaks to their interests. It tells them who you are, what you’re about, and why the two of you will be a perfect match.

Here are some of the most important elements of a logo design. If you’re wondering if your logo is good or if its time to update, these will help you understand how to look at your logo analytically. Because one of the secrets of design is that creativity is only 10% of the process.

1. The Logo Explains What you Do
Fairly obvious, right? When someone looks at your logo, they should be able to tell what you do. But it’s easy to fall into the thinking that you can represent your business with a simple logo mark–a graphic without any words. In the example below we can see that the Under Armour brand started with a logo that included their company name and a description of their product. As they grew bigger they were able to remove the text elements because they had achieved enough recognition. If you aren’t already wildly successful, your logo should include the name of your business and if necessary, a tagline that explains your product/services.

2. Simplicity
Less is more. With logos, we want instant recognition from the audience. Nike. Shell. Ford. These are all logos that even a small child could draw on a piece of paper from memory. The more complicated the design, the more time it requires the audience to digest and the less likely they are to able to recall it clearly. This example shows how Starbucks’ logo has evolved to become more and more simplified over the years to achieve this visual clarity for customers. Read more ›