15 Basic Rules To Create A Good Logo Design
However, you can simply learn and understand the basic rules to accomplish a good design!
Created by Nikoloz Narsia | https://dribbble.com/shots/18348908-Elephant-Logo
Every company has a logo, and it seems that a logo is not an option but it is a must. A brand without a logo is just like a baby in a tummy. Nobody knows it, and nobody recognizes it. When the logo is created, then the baby is born. The reason is that the logo becomes an identity of any company or brand. It gives the very first impression, and it is very crucial to think of its design.
When it is designed well and correctly, your brand logo becomes a powerful asset to your company.But, making an effective and good visual logo design for a brand needs more than just graphic design.Just like other graphic design projects that require specific skills and expertise, logo design needs more experience and practice so you can finish it successfully. Besides, you also need good knowledge about graphic design and the basic rules.
Created by Tornike Uchava | https://dribbble.com/shots/18939156-logo-mark-logo-design-brand-mark-symbol-abstract-logo
That’s why you need to read these essential basic rules so that you can design a good and effective logo.
1. You need preliminary work
A preliminary sketch is the first basic rule when you design a logo. You can start it from scratch. It can be as simple as drawing on paper in which you can use drafts made with a vector program or application like photoshop, CorelDRAW, and adobe Illustrator.
You may begin to draw 10 to 20 ideas using a pencil and then create more variations to compare one another. If it is not that good, you can draw again and get more ideas to draw. You may spend more time dealing with preliminary work because this is the most difficult one, finding ideas.
Created by Kyle Anthony Miller | https://dribbble.com/shots/19229237-Logos
2. You need to create balance
Balance also becomes a crucial part of logo design since our brain will naturally perceive a balanced design as being appealing and pleasing.
If you want to make it balanced, then you can keep the “weight” of the colors, graphics, and size equal on each side.
Even though the balance rule may probably be broken, keep in mind that the logo will be seen by many people from different sight. That’s why a balanced design must be the safest step to deal with.
Created by MD ALAMIN | https://dribbble.com/shots/17983688-Balance
3. You need to think of the size
Anytime you deal with logo design creation, the size must be a very important thing to consider. Your logo must look well as well as it must be legible in all sizes.
It will not be so effective when it does not show up its definition when somebody scales down for envelopes, letterheads, and small promotional products. Besides, it also must look nice when somebody uses the logo on larger spaces or formats, like billboards, posters, or digital formats like websites or TVs.
The best way to find out if the logo is compatible with all formats is by testing yourself before you release it.
Created by Ramotion | https://dribbble.com/shots/18326274-Transcend-branding-logo-design-visual-identity-product-guide
Remember that the smallest scale commonly becomes the most difficult part to deal with. In this case, you can try it first on an envelope or letterhead and check out whether it is still legible.
Moreover, you also have to try to print it on a large scale like on a poster-sized version or space banners.
The best logo should be able to be applied in a variety of media. Usually, this logo is made in vector format so that the logo can be adjusted into various types of sizes. In checking the logo that we created, we can ask a few things:
- Can the logo be applied to the inverse plane? For instance, if you can use it on a dark background.
- Can the logo be printed in one color?
- Is the logo still clear when printed on postage-sized media?
- Can the logo be applied to media the size of a billboard?
Created by VASK®️ Studio | https://dribbble.com/shots/18906485-Seventy-Studios
4. You must be smart in choosing Color
The basic rule theory of Color is not that simple, but if you already understand the basic usage of color, then you can apply it to your logo design project.
In this case, you can consider the following basic rules to deal with a color choice:
- You need to select and use colors that are close to each other on the wheel of colors. For instance, to create a warm palette, you can choose orange, red, and yellow hues.
- You should not select too bright colors which are not comfortable on the eyes.
- The logo should look attractive in white and black, grayscale, and two accents.
- Breaking the basic rules may not be wrong, but you need to know the reasons.
- You should understand the way colors evoke moods and feelings. For instance, red refers to love, aggression, passion, and strength.
- Remember to try out different combinations of color and attempt to match the color until you get the feeling and taste.
- You also may try to deal with individual colors because several companies may be known for their special accent. For instance, anytime somebody talks about John Deere, you must be thinking about green that no other companies have, and it makes it so special to be recognizable.
Created by Yoga Perdana | https://dribbble.com/shots/17188968-P-Logo-Client-Project
5. You need to design a style that suits the business
You may try a wide variety of design styles to create a logo. Then you take the right one. Moreover, you need to know the background information about the brand and the clients.
The latest trend in logo design goes to the 3D-looking Web 2.0 style logos, with “bubbly” gradients, graphics, and drop shadows. This style is compatible with a Web 2.0 site or technology business. However, it sounds less effective to be applied to other businesses.
You need to know who your client is before you start to design the logo. Otherwise, it will disappoint them, or it is not as effective as they wish. By understanding the clients, you will know the best and most reliable logo design style from the scratch according to the brand.
Created by The Monochromatic Institute | https://dribbble.com/shots/19189875-The-Dynes-Media-Logo
6. It is important to consider the typography
Selecting a suitable font size and type can be frustrating for most logo design experts. Suppose the logo design requires text, whether it is the logo itself or just an additional tagline, it may take to choose one of the font types because there are so many font types available, and you have to test them hundreds of times before the final release.
You can try the most common reliable fonts that are easy to use and look nice for logo design, like Sans-serif, Arial, Century Gothic, and much more. Moreover, you can try it on italics, underline, bold, and other custom fonts.
Think about the three main points when selecting a font to insert into your logo design project; they are:
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Don’t use a mainstream font like Comic Sans and other fonts that do not look so professional for logo design.
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You need to ensure that the font is legible if you scale it down, particularly with script fonts.
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Never try to use more than one because it may look awkward.
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You also need to think of a custom font for the logo design. Make sure that you designed it originally so the logo will look special and not like others. You can see some examples like Twitter, Yahoo!, and Coca-Cola.
Created by Gert van Duinen | https://dribbble.com/shots/19151803-WIP-2
7. You have to make sure that the logo is recognizable
The main purpose of designing a logo is to make sure that people will recognize the brand through the logo. What do you need to do to get this?
Anyway, every logo has its own purpose, but the main goal is to attract anybody who sees the logo so that he or she will always remember it and keep it in his or her brain. You can check some examples from Pepsi, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Nike.
When you see the logo, you will instantly recognize who has it and what they sell, even when it is just a glimpse. How to make it recognizable? The trick to making the logo popular is to mix every element in the logo design as mentioned before such as originality, typography, color, style, and size.
Created by Kakha Kakhadzen | https://dribbble.com/shots/18266045-N
So, you have to check the logo design again before you release it, whether you forget to include some of those elements. You can even ask for suggestions from your clients or other parties. Or you can try graphic design software that will test the recognition. Moreover, you can see it in the mirror whether it is still recognizable when seen mirror.
Don’t forget that your logo may look different when it is put on other spaces, like on a billboard or on the side of a bus. Thus, it is important to look at your logo design from different perspectives or angles. Then, you need to make sure that everybody will recognize it from any direction.
Created by Pixtocraft | https://dribbble.com/shots/17518796-R-modern-logo-unique-creative-minimal
8. You need to dare to be different
If you want the logo to look different from other brand logos, you need to make it different or like no other. You should not imitate or copy other styles or designs. Just be creative and make sure it looks so special.
So, how do you do it? You may break the basic rules and take risks. Why don’t you apply style variations to know if it works best for the brand? You can mix different colors until you get the design that makes the logo look original and special. You have time to edit the logo design using your favorite logo design app until you feel it.
Created by Turgay Mutlay | https://dribbble.com/shots/18949069-Brand-Zext
9. You need to try to keep it simple
If you want anybody to recognize the logo you create, you must make it simple. This is another basic rule that you must remember. For instance, Nike is a very simple and recognizable logo with its attractive design.
You can consider this rule to get a successful logo design. Never try to make a very crowded logo. Many designers try complicated designs in the beginning, but they finally choose the simple ones in the end. Simply, you can remove all unnecessary elements and keep the essentials.
Created by Kakha Kakhadzen | https://dribbble.com/shots/17458368-Monday-com-Logo-proposal
10. You can use the simple effects
You can use some of the following programs like Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, and much more in order to add effects or filters to your logo design. But, you have to keep in mind that you do not use it too much. A logo does not need many effects because it may make it look weird.
However, you still have a chance to apply some effects to know whether it works on your logo, or you can just keep it simple.
Created by Aditya | https://dribbble.com/shots/18968523-H-logo-mark
11. Create Your Own Elements For A High-Quality Design
If you want to make a consistently high-quality logo, you can try to develop your own design progress which is commonly known as the “assembly line.” It includes some of the points, they are:
- Researching
- Generating ideas
- Working on sketches
- Developing vectors
- Sending to client
- Re-editing as the client's wish
- Finalizing the logo design
- Resending to clients
Those are some important steps to creating a logo design from scratch in order to make it stay organized. Besides, you can also maintain focus and get the best logo design quality that is satisfying for your clients.
Created by Tornike Uchava | https://dribbble.com/shots/18088327-logo-mark-logo-design-brand-mark-symbol-abstract-logo
12. Don’t copy other logos
Keep in mind this rule because it will have a big impact on your logo design project in the future. Copying logo designs from others is prohibited. You can see their logos for inspiration only.
You can get motivation from other works, but you need to make sure that it is different from your logo design project. Even though there are many well-done logo designs that you can download or buy, it is still better to create one by yourself.
The point is that once you consider the basic rules above, you can create a logo for your clients professionally. Since you already have knowledge all about graphic design and the use of logo creator apps, you can start from scratch. It will be easy when you have enough experience, and you can get a lot of money from this job.
Created by VASK®️ Studio | https://dribbble.com/shots/17039872-Dineup-Logo-design
13. You have to make sure the logo is passive and dynamic
The next basic rule is to make sure the logo is passive and active. Passive and active, a logo gives the impression of being more alive or more real when given movement. Here, for example, Twitter. Let's see, the logo on the left doesn't really give the impression that it's a real bird. But let's see, the version on the right gives a more lively impression, right? Well, therefore if a company logo looks passive, it will not provide interaction to users or customers in seeing the identity of the company. It's different if the company logo looks active, which will make the user or customer pay more attention to the identity of the company.
Created by Abdullah Mubin | https://dribbble.com/shots/18873460-Pango-Logo-Design
14. You Might Want To Try Using VDE Technique
Visual Double Entendre becomes a method that you can use to join two pictures into one amazing form. You can see the logo of Lion Bird. It's a perfect example of using the VDE technique, which shows birds as a sign of freedom and also shows a lion shape as a sign of courage. This technique is quite difficult to implement because it has to explore thoughts and concepts that take a long time. But the results given will be very interesting, like the example above.
Created by Tornike Uchava | https://dribbble.com/shots/18520580-logo-mark-logo-design-brand-mark-symbol-abstract-logo
15. The Logo Should Be Unaltered
The best brand styles may be seen once the area unit is terribly little on a pencil or terribly giant on an ad. Logos ultimately find yourself on a range of media and will be usable in all told forms of things. For this reason, the emblem ought to be designed in vector format to confirm that it may be scaled to any size.
Logos that area unit too vertical or horizontal is going to be tough to scan once enlarged or reduced in size. It does not matter how fancy or cool your brand appearance is if it is not straightforward to ascertain. Believe it or not, several logos use the common San line font.
Popular fonts area unit Myriad, Arial, Verdana, and Open Sans. Solely a couple of a third of logos use a lined font like Times New Roman or Garamond.
Created by Ahteshamul Haque | https://dribbble.com/shots/19183180-Swapp-logo-design
Final Words
Finally, those are a few basic rules that you must follow when you want to create a good logo design. You need to know that originality is very important in designing a logo for a brand. A company trusts you to design a logo, so you must not disappoint them. When you can combine every element needed in the logo, you can feel it. Even though it is quite difficult in the beginning, it will be easy once you know the concept. Keep in mind that you need to practice every day to improve your skills in designing a logo, especially if you are a beginner who has just gotten a job from a client.