Only Logo Design

A good logo design characteristics

Logos are graphical shorthand that can represent a company or product, and communicate certain characteristics.

In order for a logo to be visually effective, it must exhibit certain related fundamental design characteristics:

• Shape
• Presence
• Weight
• Contrast

This article describes how to employ these simple characteristics to create a strong logo, using real-world examples.

Characteristic 1: Shape

A distinctive logo (or icon) has a recognisable shape, so that it is still recognisable from its outline. Your brain loves to use shape to identify things, because it can do it very quickly. (Note: this is also the main reason why white space is important). What gives a logo distinctiveness? The outline should be simple, but not too simple, and clear. Also, meaningful elements should be clearly differentiated, with the use of white space where required.

Characteristic 2: Presence

Your logo has good presence if it fills much of the available space with shapes that carry meaning (e.g. words, recognisable symbols). This makes it bolder and clearer, and hence more recognisable. The more space you fill with elements that don't either help recognition or add meaning, the less presence your logo will have.

Characteristic 3: Weight

Good weight means that a logo (or icon or logotype) does not rely on fine (slim or light) features in order to be recognisable. If a logo is bold, it can be effective in more environments. The best logos have a weight of presence are recognisable when viewed alongside other strong images.

The use of colour is vital to getting a clear, bold logo or icon. Too many colours, gradients, 3-d effects and complex patterns can be detrimental to your logo's weight.

Tip: Try to use as few different colours as possible.
Remember, the more colours a logo has, the harder it is to reproduce in different formats.

Tip: Avoid gratuitous 3-D effects - your logo must work without them.

Characteristic 4: Contrast