What makes a good logo?

piotrusgliwice

14 years ago

Photoshop...

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mr2monster 14 years ago

Originally Posted by piotrusgliwice

Photoshop...

Actually Illustrator is the industry standard for logo and vector work.
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- SurviveUnemployment 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by mr2monster
  
  Actually Illustrator is the industry standard for logo and vector work.
  
  Inkscape is just as good and free as in beer and as in speech. Works on Mac, not sure if they have a 'd'ohs version.
  
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- Aljiro 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by mr2monster
  
  Actually Illustrator is the industry standard for logo and vector work.
  
  I second this, but Photoshop can still handle the job if you know what you are doing
  
  As for what makes a good logo I believe this is one very important ingredient.
  
  "Identity"
  
  It should give you/your business and Identity.
  
  Plus it should look good in both b/w and colored.
  
  The other vital ingredients have also been mentioned by the others.
  
  Have Fun!
  
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  JAIDEEP2959 14 years ago
  
  It must be unique and attractive.
  
  Size of the logo must be large, small logos are ineffective.
  
  Logo must be colorful, refreshing and relevant to your niche product or business.
  
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Scott Ames

14 years ago

Simple, clean, attractive, related to your business, and most of all memorable.

I've seen some logos that could not be read by man nor beast.

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mmurtha 14 years ago

I think Scott is spot on with his statement here:

Originally Posted by Scott Ames

Simple, clean, attractive, related to your business, and most of all memorable.

I've seen some logos that could not be read by man nor beast.
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- Sosu 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by mmurtha
  
  I think Scott is spot on with his statement here:
  
  And I have seen some logos that are just like a plain star. They should mean something.
  
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  mmurtha 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Sosu
  
  And I have seen some logos that are just like a plain star. They should mean something.
  
  "Plain" and "simple and clean" do not necessarily mean the same. This is why Scott mentions that it should be attractive and relate to your business too.
  
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William Graham

14 years ago

A good logo is one that truly represents the nature of your business. For example a landscape gardener could have a logo incorporating a tree or bush somewhere. Its one of the first things potential customers see when evaluating your business so it needs to be crisp, clean and professional. Something that looks like you've spent a small fortune on.

piotrusgliwice is correct that Photoshop is a good program to design a logo in, but it is not the most user friendly to start from scratch on. You need to know exactly what you want your logo to look like in your head before you start using photoshop, otherwise you could spend 4 or 5 hours in there and come out with nothing.

Another good alternative is Adobe Illustrator, it's very good for vector graphics, something that is used a lot in company logos. Check out some of the vids on youtube for Logo creation with Illustrator....they're pretty impressive!!

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marksinclair 14 years ago

Honestly, I think any vector based logo that clearly says the name or has a quality icon is the best. Also, no more than 3-5 colors.
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- Paul Davidson 14 years ago
  
  I have just had Logonerds create a Header for me, and will be heading back soon to get a logo designed.
  
  They were quick, cost effective and great to deal with.
  
  So i am hoping for similar success with them when ordering a logo.
  
  Cheers
  
  Paul
  
  Thanks
  
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Sosu

14 years ago

I hate that logo. I do like Firefox, but is Firefox too busy? Is simple better?

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thenewevilisgood

14 years ago

I was looking for a good logo for a new venture and was actually going to have a designer design one and then decided to pass on it.

I went to pixellogo.com and if you click on the "3D Logos" on the front page, you can see some pretty awesome logos.

I think having some visual in the logo that connects with your niche is essential as the symbol has to make the visitor/viewer have a visual of what your company may be able to do for them.

Type in "technology" at the site above and look at the one for InfinitiWorks, like it!

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loginname

14 years ago

Logo is good, but isn't it better to use plain text, like h1?

crawler cannot crawl images, but they can crawl text...

Thanks
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Dan C. Rinnert 14 years ago

Originally Posted by loginname

Logo is good, but isn't it better to use plain text, like h1?

crawler cannot crawl images, but they can crawl text...

The ALT tag is your friend.
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- Dan C. Rinnert 14 years ago
  
  I think you also need to consider that a logo needs to look good in black & white too, or at least have a black & white version that matches and evokes the same style and feel as the color version.
  
  This is especially true offline. Not everything will be in color. You may eventually find a need to have your logo engraved or embossed. You might run an ad in a publication that doesn't offer color printing. You might want to do a simple watermark of your logo on some things. There will be times, too, when it's simple not cost-effective to have something produced in full color, but you'll still want your logo on it.
  
  Look at top brands like Coca-Cola, IBM, Apple, McDonald's, Citi, HP, Sony, Honda, Pepsi, Oracle, Ford, Nike, UPS, Canon, Pfizer, Kellogg's and MTV. Many of them have color logos, but they all have a black & white version of their logo that is as distinctive and recognizable as the color version.
  
  Many people think of color first and having lots of colors and such to stand out. But, it is not the colors alone that make a logo distinctive. Relying on color alone will many times result in a logo that is an unrecognizable mess when reproduced as a black & white logo. And, sometimes, people don't realize until they've already invested a lot of time and money in branding their logo that it just doesn't work in a single color version, and they've essentially backed themselves into a corner: either they'll need to pay the additional expense of color for everything they do or certain branding options will be unavailable to them, or they'll need to start with a new logo design and go through the process of getting it recognized again.
  
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Killer Joe 14 years ago

Well a good logo is not a clip art image with a text line added.

If you're in PV as in LA send me a PM, I lived there for years and always enjoy helping a neighbor out.

I do logos, and if you know what you're looking for we can throw some ideas around.

KJ
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Lance Johnson

14 years ago

For logo inspiration try hitting up Logo Pond. They've got some great stuff.

Photoshop isn't generally used for logos. You're going to want to slap your logo on pretty much whatever, so it's got to be in vector format. NEVER let a designer talk you into a raster (pixel) format logo.

Illustrator is generally a logo designer's weapon of choice because it's a completely vector tool (think paths in Photoshop).

Help that helps,

-Lance

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Sosu

14 years ago

Yes, logopond looks great. Thanks

And yes KJ, I'm in PV aka the hill. I can see Los Angeles from my back yard.

I'm not sure what kind of design I want yet. I have tossed around the idea of a crest to a splash.

Thanks,
Scott

Thanks

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whaldorf

14 years ago

I don't have a high enough post count to drop a link but this page is a great resource featuring quick access tools as well as links to comprehensive tutorials.

www dot designvitality dot com/blog/2007/09/logo-design-tutorials/

The key factor is usually simplicity. A clean design defines all the most memorable logos, think Mc Donalds, Volkswagon, Mercedes Benz.

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actionplanbiz

14 years ago

I think people like what they are use to or can relate too.

like the theory of the "catholic churches Founder, Constantine dreamed of uniting all the Roman religions into one (hence "UNIVERSAL") with a simple symbol, the Cross. mainly because all the religions of room had a cross symbol in their favorite religion.

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Sosu

14 years ago

I like this logo, but I think it needs some work. I like the dragon idea for Sosu.

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Kevin Riley

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Sosu

Sosu is sauce in Japan

Great! Now you've got me doing flashbacks to an ad we had on TV many years ago. A popular sumo wrestler at the time would look at a bottle of sauce (we call sauce the stuff in a bottle that we pour over okonomiyaki or yakisoba) and he'd just say "Sosu, desu ne"

Thanks. Now I'll have this playing ni my head all day.

BTW, good logo should represent an idea. Look to your USP and consider what kind of image you want to portray to your prospects and customers. Then, a simple design that gets the idea across. Any logo idea should be tested out on a large number of your target market. See if they "get it".

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Kevin Riley, long-time Warrior living in Osaka, Japan

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Sosu

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Kevin Riley

Great! Now you've got me doing flashbacks to an ad we had on TV many years ago. A popular sumo wrestler at the time would look at a bottle of sauce (we call sauce the stuff in a bottle that we pour over okonomiyaki or yakisoba) and he'd just say "Sosu, desu ne"

Thanks. Now I'll have this playing ni my head all day.

BTW, good logo should represent an idea. Look to your USP and consider what kind of image you want to portray to your prospects and customers. Then, a simple design that gets the idea across. Any logo idea should be tested out on a large number of your target market. See if they "get it".

I thought of a sumo wrestler as well for a logo. But I think the dragon would look better on a t-shirt.

Thanks

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reactorr

14 years ago

There's a book by Alina Wheeler that might interest you on brand identity.

Thanks

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DogScout

14 years ago

A business makes the logo, a logo will never make a business. That aside as previously mentioned

-simple
-easily remembered/associated
-effective in different colors (or no color at all - black & white)
-looks good large or small
-3D are usually not effective in smaller sizes.
-A SUPER logo would be recognizable at Icon/Favicon size

for example Nike logo is 'silver' but is easily recognizable in any size or color. It has nothing to do with shoes or anything else Nike sells - Nike made that logo famous, that logo did not make Nike famous and no logo will, not even if it is a picture of a shoe. Lol

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Phil Ayres

14 years ago

I think it depends on the niche...
When I am building new sites and looking at logos, I get inspiration from this site:
Web 2.0 Tools and Applications - Go2web20

It has the best logos around.

Personally, I don't know your preference, but I like a clean, web 2.0 look.

Thanks

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DogScout

14 years ago

A point of trivia:
The designer of the original smiley face logo,
(It was designed as an insurance company's in house sale contest logo),
was paid zero.
(Two brothers added the sides on each end of the smile and made millions selling buttons of it in the '70s. The original smiley face was never patented or trademarked. It's first draft had no eyes and just the smile, but the company's owner figuring wise guys would wear it upside down made the designer add the eyes.)

the designer of Lexus' logo turned down the original contract and opted for $1 a car sold with a 5,000,000 car cap (added on by Lexus) grossing him $5,000,000.

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AndyK

14 years ago

A good logo MUST me easy to remember.

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Sosu

14 years ago

I put one on my Facebook group.
Sosu_com | Facebook

I want to make the claws more around digging into the world and lower it a little so I can put Sosu.com across the center.

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Marian Berghes

14 years ago

A good logo is: simple, timeless, memorable, versatile, appropriate

If you want to see some really good logos go to logopond.com and look at the featured section...that is how a logo should look like.

And also, why do most people think that paying over $100 for a logo is a rip-off?

I see so many ppl saying that a logo is this and that, and that is important...and yet if I refer them to an expert logo designer that starts his prices at a minimum of $500, 80% of them go "wth...you expect me to pay that much for a damn logo? I can go to X on Elance and have it done for $15"...

(I've taken my sig out of this post so nobody can say that I'm promoting myself)

Thanks

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Pixellogo

9 years ago

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salegurus 9 years ago

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Onlinebizlab

9 years ago

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What makes a good logo?

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