After working on literally every logo imaginable from companies to government bodies we have learnt quite a bit on logos and design. I would like to share with you some of the things we have learnt. This is Part 1 of a series of posts which I will use to provide handy hints and tips on logo design and what works best not just for promotional items but for branding in general.
- Design flexible logos for various mediums.
- Optimise scalability and maintain legibility.
- Test placements and adaptability to backgrounds.
Usability and Flexibility
Usability and flexibility of your logo means how many different ways can you use your logo but still keep the overall aesthetic and design integrity. You see your corporate logo will be displayed and viewed by your customers through many different mediums such as:
- Internet Website
- Newspapers
- Television
- Promotional Products (anything from promotional backpacks to custom pens)
- Business Cards
- Glossy Magazine Print
- Sponsorship banners
- Sponsorship flags
- Clothing apparel
Take note that each of these mediums have:
- Different brand areas
- Different brand orientation (portrait/landscape/diagonal etc)
- Different ability to accommodate colours!
This means that your logo must be flexible to suit all these needs yet still maintain its core design to be recognisable. We have been lucky enough to work with multinational companies and it amazes me the amount of resources they devote to enable their logo to be represented in different formats. (In fact we recently did work for one of the world’s largest banks and their brand guideline was a staggering 40 pages…took me ages to read through it).
How to Create a Flexible Logo
Here are four main tips to create a flexible logo design:
- Have your logo available in a black & white format.
- Have your logo available in a single spot colour. (no shading and no half tones).
- Design your logo so it can have a portrait as well as a landscape format.
- Have an alternative design where it can be visible when shrunk to a very small size.
Adaptability: Scaling and Placement
Besides flexibility, an effective logo should be adaptable to different sizes and placements without sacrificing its visual impact. Here are four tips to ensure your logo remains recognizable and legible across various mediums:
- Optimise for scalability: Design your logo using vector graphics to ensure scalability without loss of quality. This allows your logo to be easily resized for larger formats such as billboards or reduced for smaller applications like promotional products.
- Maintain legibility in smaller sizes: Consider the readability of your logo when it is scaled down. Simplify intricate details and ensure text remains clear, even when the logo is reduced to a very small size. This is crucial for maintaining brand recognition on items like pens or keychains.
- Test placement options: Experiment with different placements of your logo within your design. Consider how it adapts to various brand areas, such as horizontal headers, vertical columns, or circular stamps. Find a balance between prominence and integration with the overall design.
- Ensure adaptability across backgrounds: Make sure your logo works well against different background colours and textures. Test its visibility on light and dark backgrounds, as well as on different materials like fabric or metal. This ensures that your logo remains versatile and maintains its impact in various environments.
Takeaway
To wrap it up, creating a flexible logo design is crucial for maintaining its visual impact and recognizability across various mediums. By following the tips provided in this article, such as having black and white versions, a single spot colour option, and designing for both portrait and landscape formats, your logo will have the versatility to be used in different ways while still maintaining its core design. Additionally, optimising for scalability, ensuring legibility in small sizes, testing different logo placements, and considering adaptability across backgrounds will further enhance the logo’s versatility and impact. So, whether it’s for your website, newspaper ads, business cards, or promotional products, these tips will help ensure that your logo remains flexible and effective in representing your brand.
