Five Elements of Designing a Logo that Resonates

Your logo is a key element of your overarching visual identity. Whether you’re starting a new company or redesigning or refreshing an old logo, there are five keys to designing a logo that resonates with your audience.

Stop following trends in typography and design and start asking questions about what makes a good logo last. If you’re struggling with how to position your visual identity, always talk with a professional design studio for, at minimum, the Discovery so you can have a clear direction on where to go.

Originality

Trends change constantly. Any designer or someone with access to Canva can design a logo that is trendy and simple, but chances are you’ll want and need to change it in just a few years’ time.

To create an original logo, you need designers who know how to avoid trends. If you’re a fan of current trends, great! Take your favorite aspects of it and do something new with it, or take it in an evolved and specific direction.

Applicability

Have you ever seen a beautiful logo but couldn’t even begin to guess what kind of business it was for? Many good logos don’t quite fit the genre of the business they represent, and that creates a disconnect in your audience's mind — do everything you can to avoid this!

You want your logo to speak to your intended audience. Toys R Us looks like it’s meant for kids. World Wildlife Fund’s panda is iconic, too. Pandas (besides being loved by everybody) are widely known to be endangered. It appeals to many by being a popular animal and appeals specifically to those with environmental concerns who may be willing to support the nonprofit.

Versatility

Your logo will be used in many places — business cards, your website, print and digital products, profile pictures, etc. You want a logo that can be easily scaled, as well as used on all of your products in some shape or form.

As a studio, we only design our clients' logos using black and white from the start. We scale it up, scale it down, look at it on our phone screens both indoors and outdoors, print it out, fold it, and more! It's important to understand that your logo is the first face of your whole brand, so it needs to be recognizable and clear—no matter the medium.

Memorability

What’s the most well-known logo symbol in the world? The Nike swoosh. The swoosh was designed decades ago by a design student, and now most Nike ads don’t even say “Nike" because they don't need to. The swoosh is recognizable, and it’s been around long enough that the symbol now replaces the wordmark.

You want a logo that is recognizable from a distance, even if it’s a different color or on a different product. Your new logo, whether it be the symbol or the wordmark, needs to be as memorable as your client experience and the service/product you're providing. It should stand out, evoke a feeling, and be clear enough that a customer could draw it in less than 30 seconds.

Timelessness

The Disney logo has hardly changed since it was designed. It’s iconic and effective and will likely never change. It’s hardly even been tweaked, unlike the Starbucks logo. It’s timeless as is.

The best logos are unique and, rather than following the trends, they represent a specific brand and style.

Don’t misunderstand—minimalism, for example, is very “in” right now. But you can have a minimalist logo without being trendy! Most of these logos, in fact, are very minimal, particularly Apple and Nike. Even so, they’re unique and timeless in design and deployment.

Timelessness also means it's something that you're proud to share years down the road, and you won’t look back on the early years of your brand and cringe!

If you combine all of these aspects, you’ll end up with a timeless logo that really represents your brand, one people will remember for years to come.

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