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home > Graphic Design Articles > Design Logos > 9 Keys to an Effective Logo
by Erin Ferree
The right logo, with the right characteristics, will boost your visibility, credibility and memorablity – which means more business for you!
These characteristics include:
Consistency in use of your logo, tagline, materials. Repetition of similar elements, used in the same or similar ways, helps people to remember who you are and what you do.
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Memorability, so that your logo stays at the forefront of your potential clients' minds. That way, they'll think of you next time they have a need.
Meaningfulness, so that your logo can spread the message about the distinguishing characteristics of your business.
Uniqueness, which helps you stand out from the crowd. For example, if everyone in your industry uses a particular symbol (i.e., travel agencies often use globes in their logos), try to use something else – that way, your logo doesn't just look like everyone else's.
Professionalism, in the quality of the graphics, the printing and the paper on which your materials are printed.
Timelessness in your logo will ensure that you don't have to redesign your logo in just a few years and that your investment and equity in your design will be lasting.
Differentiation between the colors in your logo – and not just in terms of hue, but in terms of value as well, so that it translates well either to black and white or greyscale and colorblind people are able to see it.
Unity among the different elements in the logo. The logo must fit together as a single unit, and not just appear as a jumble of elements pasted together.
Scalability, so that your logo looks equally good on both a business card and on a sign for your business (or a billboard!), and at every size in between. Your business's name should be legible at different logo sizes – be sure that your designer chooses a font that is easily readable.
Having a professionally designed logo can really give your business a jumpstart and helps your business get the attention – and clients – you need to succeed.
Erin Ferree, Founder and Lead Designer of elf design, is a brand identity and graphic design expert. She has been helping small businesses grow with bold, clean and effective logo, marketing material and website designs for over a decade. Erin works closely in partnership with her clients to create designs that are visible, credible and memorable – and that tell their unique business stories in a clear and consistent way. For more information about elf design, and to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, "Growth: Expand your business by building your brand", please visit: Logo design at http://www.elf-design.com
You Might Also Be Interested in these Logo Design Articles
A Roundup of the Best Photoshop Logo Design Tutorials Online - I have collected the top Photoshop Logo Design tutorials online and listed them for you below. There are also plenty of Web 2.0 Logo Design tutorials as well.
Logo Design Creation Process from Start to Finish by Expert Graphic Designer : Mark Misenheimer - This article was written by the very talented, Mark Misenheimer of Misenheimer Creative, Inc. Mark is an expert freelance graphic designer who has been in the design business for years. He has documented the design of a logo from start to finish in order to help other graphic designers. I know that you will learn something from this tremendous logo design article.
Logo Design Creation Process from Start to Finish by Expert Graphic Designer : Angela Ferraro-Fanning - We are very excited to have Angela Ferraro-Fanning guest write for us this week. Many of you will find that she is a graphic designer that is very talented and experienced. She wrote this article to guide you through her own creative logo design process, from start to finish.
Logo Design Creation Process from Start to Finish by Expert Graphic Designer : Jose Soto - Within this article, I am going to detail the “six steps” that I took to design the logo for the “Seventh Congress of Zoos and Aquariums”.
How to Design a Logo for Your Customer - A Logo Design Tutorial for Freelance Designers - A step by step logo design tutorial.
Logo Design Inspiration - Cool Logos Part I - I saw some really beautiful logos today so I thought that I would share some with you and then make a series out the idea. This is part I of a multiple part series of the coolest logo designs.
Logo Design Inspiration - Cool Logos Part II - This is part II of a multiple part series of the coolest logo designs. You can use this list as a source of logo inspiration or just look at it because it is fun to do.
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