45 Rules of Logo Design

Comments

1. Jannie says

   October 12, 2008 at 9:38 PM

   For variety, I’ve been changing up the tagline on my header banner on a regular basis, currently reads “Having entirely too much fun.”

   Otherwise, I’m going to just keep chipping away at my new site, jumping right into the HTLM code.

   Oh, since our eye looks either left or right of center on a straight line, that’s where the focus should be, like Martha’s photo on her blog header…

   http://www.themarthablog.com/

   Our eyes find that balance pleasing.

   Reply

2. ME Liz Strauss says

   October 12, 2008 at 10:04 PM

   Hi Jannie!
   Thanks for the comment. Love the look of Martha’s blog. Obviously she has a great designer. 🙂

   Reply

3. Rick Wolff says

   October 15, 2008 at 8:32 AM

   My personal favorites:
   3. Type must be easy enough for your grandma to read. (How many times have you seen letterforms so wackadoodle that the users have to type out underneath the logo the word or name the letterforms are supposed to say? Personally painful example: LoHud.com)
   10. The logo should look good in black and white. (Good legibility relies on good contrast, anyway, so you may as well execute the shapes in black first. Providing, of course, the shape or letterform is the main design element in the logo. It doesn’t always have to be.)
   14. Avoid recent logo design trends. Instead, make the logo look timeless. (Especially to be avoided is what I call the “tragically Web 2.0” look: the intense blue and green you can only get in RGB color space, the round-edged humanist font, the bulbous outline, the bottom reflection, the plastic gleam. Think FriendFeed.)
   18. Consider the different places and ways that the logo will be presented. (If you want to really bowl over the client, put the logo on a drawing of a truck, or Photoshop it into the photo of existing signage or a building façade, or mock up a business card with his name on it. This is a good way to sell the variation you think is the winner.)
   22. The logo must have some connection to what it is representing. (A pretty picture is an adequate logo. When some design element actually symbolizes something about the product or company, that’s a good logo. When EACH design element symbolizes something, that’s a GREAT logo. Read the history of the Michelin logo, especially the name of the tire-man mascot, Bibendum.)
   30. If the brand name is memorable, the brand name should be the logo. (IBM called itself IBM because “International Business Machines” was gross. If your family name is in the name of your business, I’m NOT doing an acronym. Period.)
   32. Even large companies need small logos. (Or, as I say, the smaller the logo, the bigger the company—apparently. Big logos communicate desperation, which is a bad message, even if true.)
   34. Create variations. The more variations, the more likely you are to get it right. (This is a no-brainer. Do at least three completely different variations, or you’re not doing your money’s worth for your client. Yes, sometimes you can game the system so he picks your favorite, or you can just tell him one’s your favorite.)
   37. Do not use taglines in the logo. (So often in my cubicle job, a tagline would be incorporated underneath a logo, then be referred to, incorrectly, as “the logo”. When you have many products, all of which have logos that need to be arranged attractively yet were designed at different times by different departments with different rationales, inclusion of a tagline is a freaking nightmare.)
   38. Sketch out ideas using paper and pencil before working on a computer. (This keeps your visual options open; when I “sketch” on a computer, I too often start by typing the company name in the default font, which is already limiting. The exception here is if you can sketch in a pixel drawing app using a tablet.)

   Rules easily broken to good effect, or which seem capricious to me:
   25. Do not use more than two fonts. (What if I’m trying to symbolize wildly divergent variety? Couldn’t I make a word with no two letters the same typeface? Why not?)
   1. Do not use more than three colors. (If there are few other design features besides the variation in color [Altria], or if the variation in color helps define the product [NBC], then why not?)
   9. Do not use clipart under any circumstances. (If by “use” you mean just plunking it down and calling it a day, yeah. But there’s some great art out there, which can be edited to your purposes.)
   40. Do not use any “swoosh” or “globe”symbols. (ANY swooshes? ANY globes? Jeeez.)
   17. Avoid intricate details. (Unless the intricate details communicate something about the product. Make provision for a variation that simplifies the details, for media that can’t handle them.)
   44. Avoid bright, neon colors and dark, dull colors. (Again, unless the dullness or brightness of the colors symbolize something about the thing the logo represents.)

   Redundancies (like, did we really need 45 rules?):
   2. Get rid of everything that is not absolutely necessary. [and] 17. Avoid intricate details. [and] 39. Keep the design simple.
   11. Make sure that the logo is recognizable when inverted. [and] 31. The logo should be recognizable when mirrored.
   7. Confirm that the logo looks appealing to more than just three (3) individuals. [and] 33. Everyone should like the logo design, not just the business that will use it.
   13. If the logo contains an icon or symbol, as well as text, place each so that they complement one another. [and] 43. The logo should be balanced visually.

   Contradictions (which is it?):
   5. Create a unique shape or layout for the logo. [or] 16. Fit the logo into a square layout if possible, avoid obscure layouts.
   24. You must surprise customers with presentation. [or] 41. The logo should not be distracting.
   19. Invoke feelings of being bold and confident, never dull and weak. [or] 21. Use sharp lines for sharp businesses, smooth lines for smooth businesses.

   Most likely to make me say a bad word:
   45. The logo must not break any of the above rules. (I say, if your logo isn’t breaking at least ONE rule — even a rule I might make — you’re doing it wrong!)

   Reply

4. ME Liz Strauss says

   October 15, 2008 at 8:48 AM

   Rick! Big Smile!
   As I read this, I kept thinking that you should pick this up editing it just a little for context and then you should post it on your blog. It’s fabulous advice. 🙂

   Thank you for taking the time to share it. 🙂

   Reply

5. Rick Wolff says

   October 15, 2008 at 9:04 AM

   You’re absolutely right! Now that I’m no longer bound by expectations of loyalty to the old job, yet tempered with hesitation to burn bridges, I could revisit the mistakes I think my old employer forced us designers to make, and offer constructive alternatives. This is particularly useful since, from my new portfolio site at rickwolff.com, I have a link to my blog — something I’d never have the balls to do a few short months ago (subject potential clients to the inner workings of my mind).

   Reply

6. Tanner Christensen says

   November 21, 2008 at 5:06 PM

   Glad you liked the list Liz! Thanks for posting it on Successful-Blog, I really appreciate it.

   Reply