Anatomy of a Great Logo

A lot of people get confused when we speak of logos. What exactly is a logo? And what makes a great logo? Just a couple things to think about before having your logo designed.

1. What is a Logo exactly? 

• A logo is a design, either Type or Graphic. 
• It is or should be a design that generates immediate recognition of brand, inspires trust, admiration and loyalty in the brand.
• A great logo should set you apart from your competition. 
• A logo is created to identify your company
• A little piece of design that really sticks in the memory of customers and potential customers and associates what your company stands for. 
• A logo should always be simple enough in design that it can easily be applied to any type of print media (business cards, stationary, decals, stickers, labels, shirts and other apparel etc.)

A few things that a logo should NOT consist of or do!

• A logo will not tell your whole story. - A logo is not your brand, its job is to simply to represent your brand.  Let's take McDonald's for example... there is no burger in the logo, no fries... but everyone knows that the "Arch" means that's what it represents. Attaching these details to your logo is done in the form of "branding" with other aids. So there is no need to have a specific "thing" in your logo design. It is the encompassing of a variety of branding techniques that let customers know what your logo is and stands for.
• A logo is not a photograph. - While a photo can be a part of your branding, it should never be a part of your logo. A photo simply cannot be used because of the printing issues for one, and two... it takes too long for customers to associate with your company's story.

2. Doing the necessary research

A great logo designer should do this for you, this will ensure that your logo does not replicate another already in use. Or one so similar that you will not be distinguished by your logo. This can be especially important if you choose to hire a designer from another country, there are a different laws in every country, so while they may not be infringing on copyrights by their country's law, it may be in your country. So do your research as well! Even if you are not breaking any copyright laws, if your logo is too similar to another company's logo you will get lost in the overloaded memory and may become a dog catcher when you are actually a software developer.

3. Target Audiences

A great logo will appeal to your target audience. That being said, you need to distinguish your target audience, that doesn't just mean gender and age! Creating your idea target market consists of three areas of life.

Consumer Demographics

• Age
• Gender
• Occupation
• Household Income
• Marital Status
• Presence of Children In Household
• Home Value
• Geographical Regions
• Race/Ethnicity

Business Demographics

• Job Title
• Industry Type
• Annual Sales
• Number of Employees
• Geographic Region(s)
• Presence of Children In Household
• Home Value
• Geographical Regions
• Race/Ethnicity

Psychographics
 Psychographics is the study of personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles^. Because this area of research focuses on interests, activities, and opinions, psychographic factors are also called IAO variables. And they can be extremely important to your logo design as well as branding.

• Need for status
• Role of money (is it for practical things, emotional things, material gain, self esteem?)
• Ethics/”moral compass”
• Risk-Taker Vs. Conservative
• Spendthrift vs. Hoarder
• Embrace Change vs. Demand Consistency
• Grasp Technology
• How old they ‘feel’ 

In closing... your logo should be a design that you love, it should encompass your meaning, and be a timeless design that will last through the latest trends and inspire your target marketing to do business with you or at the very least know who you are and what you do! 


Happy Friday! ~A