Why?
Because a logo design needs to cover a number of key aspects for successful delivery as we will explore in today’s entry.
At Mediamojo we understand that a logo is the first point of visual contact for your customers, but we also keep in mind how its going to be used across different mediums. Before we tackle any graphic design project, careful consideration is given to the following aspects: reproducability, colours, reversibility, complex simplicity, font and versatility.
The initial idea…
This is where the target audience is identified, relevant symbolism applied, sketches are made and the main idea conveyed in a few final concepts…
Reproducability
It is very important to think about where the logo is going to appear, what is it going to be printed on and how can it be reproduced to suit other media such as signage and packaging. Aspects we consider are: how much detail to add to your logo design. Lots of small shapes and skinny lines should be avoided as they could disappear or print very broken and rough when reduced to small sizes. We also look at the evenness of white negative or white spacing and carefully consider any gradients which may be used to colourise your logo. As a client you may be very easily tempted to get carried away with your design and add cool or funky effects, but the bottom line is “does it make the design better, or does it make it worse.” When in doubt, leave it out.
Reversibility
This is process where your logo should be able to look outstanding on a black background, usually in muted shades of black, grey and white.
Colours
Colour is one of the most emotive elements at your disposal and can vary from warm, cool, neutral, vivid, complimentary, analogous, soft, light, dark, bright and saturated. Colour unfortunately is bound by ethics and morals so subject matter can never be overlooked when applying colour… for example a butchers would not be painted red, red is alarming and can symbolize blood – in the same way wrong combinations of colours can alter the message such as: primary colours used for a deep and serious Law Firm, reds, yellows and blues symbolise variety and happiness. There are some colours that will convey a message more successfully than others.
Complex simplicity
This could be looked at as bit of an artform at turning something very simple into something interesting by making a couple of graphical adjustments to create a bit of visual flare and excitement. Overly complex logos are a no no as when reduced for business card or letterhead format some of the intricate detail can be lost or filled in by printer inks.
Font
In the careful design process, we choose a font that is appropriate and looks great alongside your logo, often customising the type to appear as to be part of the logo. Often, a logo is simply stylised text so its very important to choose fonts appropriate to the message being conveyed, similar to choosing colour palettes. An important aspect of font is its readability and the simple rule applies once again – funky things like drop shadows and 3d effects can make things a little hard to read and reproduce, so when in doubt, leave it out.
At the end of the day, your logo should be “stretchy” in the way that it should cover all the above aspects and if it is, then your branding for further collateral, websites etc.. will come together very nicely.
We hope this helps and gives you an insight as to how we do things and if you like, let us know! We look forward to working with you on your next big project!
