It’s time we learnt how to K.I.S.S. And no dirty mind, by that I do not mean that you go around kissing and telling people what your brand stands for. K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Silly) and narrate your brand story. But how do you do it?
The first impression is the last impression. Similarly the logo is the first impression that imprints in the minds of the viewer. It is the most integral and primary entity that reflects the brand. A symbol that sets it apart from the other brands. Although there are no such hard and fast rules when it comes to designing a logo, but it often helps to maintain certain standard guidelines while designing it. So how do we take this pressure off the most crucial identifier of our business?
Well, we simply be S.M.A.R.T. - Simple. Memorable. Appearance. Relevant. Timeless. Being S.M.A.R.T. is the core principle of any logo design. Whether you’re designing your own logo or hiring the best ad agency to do it, the objective of the logo design should be that it needs to be distinct and clear. So let’s identify the S.M.A.R.T. rules of logo designing.
Rule #1: SIMPLE
A design that says everything… seldom communicates anything. Often there is so much pressure on a logo to convey what the brand stands for, or what are the brands philosophies or what it does, that the logo design suddenly wilts under this pressure. We attach too much responsibility on the logo to mean something… to communicate something. While it isn’t entirely wrong, but the core responsibility of the logo should be that of becoming a good identifier and not of becoming a visual brochure of a brand.
Complex designs and illustrations take away from the detailing of the logo. It is often the simplest logos that have a major brand recall. Think about Apple, Zara, Mango, Nike and so on are some of the most iconic logos that have a great recall value. These logos have stood the test of time. They are easy to recognize, visually attractive and memorable.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Hence, it is essential that you curb that extra want of telling the entire story in a simple logo and make a logo that is uncomplicated, effortless to understand and straightforward.
Rule #2: MEMORABLE
The most important objective of a logo is that it makes a brand recognizable for people. So when people cannot always see the company, the presence of a logo on products, services or in the ads is something that they can certainly notice. Logo becomes a visual representation for a brand.
Several studies show that the logos of Nike, Coca-Cola, Apple, McDonald’s and other global majors are very much unforgettable. So now the question arises is that what makes a logo memorable? Well, the answer is a simple design! Who could’ve guessed!
Simplicity of the design was the number one factor behind some very memorable logos in several studies and surveys.
Rule #3: APPEARANCE
Piggybacking on our earlier point of keeping things simple, the most memorable logos for the general public are those which use a clear and simple design. A memorable logo design ends up being the one that stands out from a sea of logos.
Using different colors and images or maybe styling fonts in your own way is how you can create a unique logo. Even a quirky logo that breaks the conventional design rules sometimes works for brands and could work for you. Whatever you do, remember that the design must be eye-catching because of its uniqueness.
And don’t listen to those who say that appearance doesn’t matter. Because when it comes to logos, appearance certainly does!
Rule #4: RELEVANT
Keep in mind that the logo that you create has to be relevant for your audience. By relevant we mean that you can’t use playful colours and quirky shapes for a group of investors and if you are a toy-company you can’t have possibly have a dull, monochrome logo because children won’t even peek at things with colours that don’t scream rainbow!
You can surely play around with logo designs and stay away from being too literal. It’s not necessary for your logo to show what your business is actually about. Nike doesn’t have shoes or clothes in its logo and Ferrari’s logo doesn’t have a car!
Rule #5: TIMELESS
And here we are! At last, the final point. We’ve seen how our logo has to be simple, unique, relevant and memorable. But it also needs to be modern. Not modern in the sense of ‘today’ or ‘trendy’ but when we say modern, we mean – contemporary and updated. It shouldn’t be that in five years your logo will look outdated or silly and it also shouldn’t be that its based on a trend that will run its course.
When it comes to making it modern, your approach should be about specific elements, using certain colours or updated typefaces.
It is important to be timely and timeless at the same time. You will see how logos of some brands have not changed much over time but they have only tweaked to make them have a more modern look while keeping all the essential elements as they were.
ENOUGH RULES, TIME TO GET CREATIVE!Enough with the rules! Now that you know what it takes to make a memorable logo – go ahead and get creative! So you or your branding agency can get creative with fonts, colours and shapes to make that unforgettable logo.
