Check your Logo Design
by Rene Pe Benito, Extreme Graphics

It is often the first contact with a client that makes a lasting impression. A business or organization's identity system such as the Logo provides the first opportunity to stand out.

So much has already been written about the importance of the Logo in business and design circles and yet so many do not regard the Logo with as much importance as the business they run. In case you are one of the latter or just planning to make one, let us take much more than cursory look at the basic anatomy of a Logo.

If you are to develop a business Logo, spend some quality time reviewing your vision and mission as an encompassing exercise. Then and only then should you decide to sit down with a graphic designer to develop your Logo Check for all or most of these characteristics;

Distinctive

Your Logo must stand out from the rest. It has to be uniquely different in color, form and texture, at least from among all the others in your industry.

Good-looking

What is aesthetically pleasing to you, your staff and your employees or friends would most likely be pleasing to your customers to look at. It is basic human nature to be attracted to what pleases the eye.

Simple

It's already a complicated world. Why make it more complicated in your Logo? Use a more familiar symbol to represent your vision and mission. Don't be slave of tradition however. Chances are familiar symbols have already been appropriated by your competitors but your designer can find- new and more memorable ways of presenting them. Simplicity achieves better focus and power than complicated ones.

Understandable

If your Logo confuses rather than clarifies what your company represents, fix it if it has been in use for some time or redesign it completely. It must stimulate some reflection about the meaning of your Logo but it should not denote so wild speculations that it loses its purpose of communicating your company's ideas.

Memorable

What makes your Logo easy to remember is a combination of the above. If people can utter one simple word or phrase to associate your Logo then it becomes memorable. You may hear people say "the red, hot dish Logo", "that red cross with green stripes", the "metallic eye symbol".

Symbolizes your business

The bottom line however is whether your Logo truly represents your company, what it does or what it values. The design must be as close as possible with your company's ideas and directions.

There are many more points that may be important depending on what media you will use your Logo. While color is important, try reproducing your Logo in a photocopy machine or fax, does it retain its form. When used in small sizes, as in business cards or mail envelopes, does it lose its good looks. When you do global marketing, does the symbol connote an unexpected meaning or convey unpleasant or annoying message?

Be careful with how your Logo is designed. It may make or break your business.

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