8 secrets guaranteed to make your logo remarkable

Your logo is super important. It is the back bone of your visual identity, which in turn is the foundation of your brand.

There are literally a million people in the world who will design your logo, including your niece, your college roommate and crowdsourcing sites based overseas.

So how do you, as a business owner, make sure that your company has a logo that’s as awesome as your product or service?

Well, there are 8 secrets below that I will reveal to you.

Color – Listen up, this is vitally important. Which is why I put it first. This is one of the most important decisions you will make. But you should start out by asking your designer to create a black logo. Wait, what? You need to know that the design will work in one color. Then you can move on to color. Colors can communicate a mood, they carry meanings and they help make you stand out.

Simplicity – Do not over estimate the beauty of simplicity in a logo. This is not a time to get all tricky and clever. You must pare away anything in your logo design that is not absolutely necessary. Your tag line, for instance, is not part of your logo. Simple logos stand the test of time. Think of the Nike Swoosh. There is more elegance in simplicity than there is in contrived design solutions.

Attributes – Your brand has attributes associated with it. Is your brand clean and modern? Or is it timeless and classic? Is your brand approachable? Then your logo should be also. Try making a list of attributes and see if your logo maps back to that list.

Scalability – Think about what the very smallest application of your logo will be and also the very largest. Typically that might be something like a business card and a giant billboard on the highway. Your logo needs to look great no matter what size it is.

Typeface – Be super selective when you are choosing your logo typeface. Forget about using one that came on your laptop. It needs to be distinctive. You should limit your use of that typeface to the logo only. Think of it as sacred to your logo. But, do make sure to choose secondary typefaces that work well with your logo.

Own it – This goes right along with the note above about typeface. Your logo should not look like anyone else’s. You have to push past the first idea you have and create something that is truly distinctive and yours.

Longevity – Make sure your logo has staying power. It’s exhausting, not to mention expensive, to keep changing your logo. If I have any advice for you it’s hire the very best designer you can afford out of the gate to design your visual identity. It will save you time, money and heartache later on.

Avoid Cliche – Um. I hope this goes without saying. Avoid fads in logo design. Hipster logos are so yesterday. I might not go ombre, either.

Think about some of your very favorite brands and their logos. What makes them stand out? I bet most of them follow the list of 8 secrets above.