What is Good Logo Design: The Principles of a Good Logo within Brand Identity Development
The first challenge with every new brand identity is the logo development. Many clients struggle to understand what a logo is, and what a logo is not. Behind every successful and strong brand there is a great logo. We believe it’s important to understand exactly what is good logo design as a first step in brand development. We define the logo as a symbol or a design with the purpose to identify an individual or organization’s key products or services.
The logo, in a brand identity is the graphical element (icon) for the business, individual, organization or corporation. Your logo is the symbol for your company or product. A good logo helps to create an instant recognition of your business to the public. However, there are many logos that do not do this. The primary purpose of every logo is the representation of the company’s brand.  When your logo is used correctly, the results is immediate customer recognition. Ultimately, your logo is something that you want to design only once.
Do you have a Bad Logo Design?
We believe our clients need to know what makes a good logo and what makes a bad logo.  We find the clearest definition for a bad logo is to describe what a logo should not have. Some of these features include:
- A bad logo uses photography or stock clip art –  Many startup companies and executives will “feel” the best, cost effective route to their logo is a photograph. Furthermore, they will pair this with text (note – system fonts only here) or clip art. A good logo has a vector format. Because of this, it will allow be able to scale up to fit a billboard. Similarly it will be able to decrease to fit on a company pen without any loss in quality. Photographs and clip art cannot increase or decrease without a great loss of quality. The end result of these is an unprofessional brand.
- A bad logo will try to communicate an entire story. Many companies feel that their logo should visually communicate who and what they do. Your logo is not your brand identity. Instead, it is the essential element in the branding process.
- A bad logo will be very busy. On the opposite end, a good logo will be simple. If  it has simplicity, it will help to create a memorable icon. How you brand your company determines the success or failure of the company, not trying to cram all elements into a single design.
- A bad logo will be trendy. It will have the current design trends of the era that produces it. It will be short lived, and easily dated.
What Makes a Good Logo?
In the world, your brand image is everything. Society thrives on image. Due to this, how your brand looks will affect whether your target market invests in your company. A huge mistake of startup businesses is putting logo design to the side, with the hope of building a better image when (and if) they get clients and profit / revenue increases. An unprofessional logo creates an inefficient and sloppy business image. It’s true that the mass public does not have a critical “design eye,” however most people will be able to determine a professional logo from an unprofessional one.
A good logo helps your company stand out from your competitors. The best logos will have these important traits:
- Uniqueness – Does your logo follow the stereotypical representations of your industry? Or does it put a new and unique spin on former ideas?
- Simplicity– A complex logo will date quickly and go out of style. Keep it simple from the start.
- Consistent with your company  – Does your logo convey your industry, target market, brand personality and level of quality from the start?
- Adaptability – Can your customer still see your logo well if its prints very small?
- Visual Polish – Your logo should not display a homemade sketch or look like clip-art. If it does, you will relay an unprofessional brand image.
Good logo design together with proper brand and market strategies determines the success or failure of the company. A good logo will speak volumes, and inform their target market that they are legitimate and credible. On the negative side, a poor logo does the opposite. It lends to skepticism and eliminates trust. Ultimately, businesses without a professional logo are invisible and pass on the vital opportunity to communicate credibility and memorability.
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No, Watson, this was not done by accident, but by design.
— SHERLOCK HOLMES