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What Makes A Good Logo Design: Tools, Tips & Case Studies (Updated 2024)

Ready to design a standout logo? Dive into our tips, tools, and case studies to understand what makes a great logo and how to apply these principles to your own design projects.

Mohana Sundari

Content Writer at Qikink

Mohana Sundari

Content Writer at Qikink

What Makes A Good Logo Design Tools, Tips & Case Studies (Updated 2024)

Which logo comes to your mind when you read this “Brand logo”?

For me, Apple, Coca-Cola, Nike, Google, Starbucks, Amazon, Mercedes, Audi, WhatsApp logo, Instagram logo and more. 

How are these logos registered in our minds?  

A good logo design is the first brand identifier. 

Here it is: The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than words. 

According to statistics,

  • 75% of people recognize a brand by its great logo designs. 
  • 60% of people acknowledge its visual style, 
  • 40% are recognized by unique colors.

A perfect logo design involves creating unique visualized symbols that represent a brand identity and brand values. 

In this blog guide, we share what makes a good logo design, its characteristics, principles, tips, and tricks to create wow logo designs for your businesses.

Importance of logo design

Importance of logo creation
  • A great logo creates the first impression with your customers.
  • A well-designed logo increases your brand recognition and drives potential customers to your businesses.
  • A unique and thoughtfully designed logo separates you from the competition.
  • It grabs people’s attention and helps you build trust and credibility among your target audience. 
  • Some good brand logo designs create emotional connections with your customers. This enhances customer loyalty, and they choose your brand over others.

5 principles of Good Logo Design

principles of Good Logo Design

Here are the 5 logo design principles that will help you build a professional logo design for your business with popular logos and brand examples.

1. Simplicity

A simple logo is easier to remember and recognize. It effectively communicates your core values to customers. For example, Apple, Nike

how-to-start-a-clothing-brand-nike-qikink-logo-guidelines

2. Memorable

 A memorable logo sticks with your customers. It’s easy to remember, and it helps to build brand loyalty.  For example, Coca-Cola, NASA, Starbucks, and Apple logos are some memorable logos.

cocacola logo

3. Versatility

A versatile logo works well in any media and context. This can be used on various platforms, from business cards to billboards.

It has to adapt to different sizes and formats without losing its originality. For example, Zomato, Raymond, Nestle, McDonald’s

mcdonald's

4. Balance

 A well-balanced logo can give an aesthetic look. It’s important to make visual engagement. It helps maintain clarity. For example, Pepsi, FedEx, Adidas

FedEX logo

5. Staying Relevant

A logo should reflect your brand identity. A logo that is relevant to your business creates a strong connection with your targeted audience. For example, Microsoft, Netflix

Microsoft logo

What Makes a Good Logo Design -
5 Characteristics of a Good Logo

what makes a good logo

Creating a memorable logo involves important elements such as simplicity, clarity, and relevance to brand concepts. Here are the top 10 key characteristics that help you make a good logo for your business.

1. Simple

Creating a simple logo is easy to remember. It communicates clearly about your brand values. One simple, strong feature helps you convey your brand message to a targeted audience. For example, canvas, Nike, Apple, Google, and IBM.

Google logo

2. Timeless

It should be created for a long-term perspective. Logos should have simple elements and colors that never go out of trend. Classic fonts are adaptable for all platforms. For example, Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz, Pepsi, and Audi.

Pepsi logo

3. Unique

A unique logo is simple and more memorable than other logos. A logo designed based on new concepts will stand out from the competition. For example, Google, Amazon, Spotify, and Snapchat.

snapchat logo

4. Color

A great color choice gives deep connections to your business values. It offers versatility to your designs. For example, Fanta, Mozilla Firefox, and Amazon use an orange color that expresses affordability, friendliness, and enthusiasm.

mozilla logo

5. The right typography

Typography is an essential element in logo making. It strongly communicates your brand name. It adds an attractive look to your design. For example, coca-cola, The New York Times, Cadbury, and Tesla.

The new york time logo

What makes a good logo? 7 design tips to follow

What makes good logo design tips

Suppose brand recognition and customer acquisition are at the top of your business’s priority list in 2024. In that case, your company’s logo design must be authentic, expressive of the brand image, and memorable enough for people to recognize it everywhere they go – much like the iconic Apple logo.

Here are a few Logo design tips for beginners:

1. Simple

Keep your logo simple. A clear and uncluttered design is more versatile than others. Avoid intricate logo elements in your designs.

2. Use meaningful symbols

Use icons, symbols, and images that relate to your businesses. It can help you convey your brand message. 

3. Choose a strong color palette

Don’t use too many colors in your design; limit your color choices. For example, Fanta, Amazon.

4. Typography

Experiment with different typography. It gives other ideas for your logo design. Also, Ensure it is easy to read.

5. Test

Test your logo in greyscale to ensure its clarity. A good logo works well in black and white color.

6. Logo Maker

Suppose you are not confident in your design skills. You can use online logo makers to create excellent designs. For example, canvas, Looka, Designhill, and more.

7. Get Feedback

Show your logo to others by posting on the Reddit platform and getting opinions about your logo; this can help you rework your designs. 

Also, you can easily find whether your designs resonate with the targeted audience or not.

Logo design mistakes to avoid

Here are some of the most common mistakes you have to avoid when creating your own logo design.

  • Copying or imitating other brand designs
  • Creating complicated designs and forgetting simplicity.
  • Not considering readability
  • Ignoring white spaces in design
  • Not thinking about black-and-white versions to test clarity
  • Use lots of colors
  • Using unrelated elements like symbols and icons in the logo
  • Do not think about versatility like sizes.
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Types of Logo Design

It’s a good idea to grasp the different sorts of logos whether you’re developing a new brand from scratch or utilising a logo template.

1. Abstract logos

Abstract logos

These types of logos use geometric shapes, symbols, and abstract elements in designs that represent the brand. It conveys uniqueness and creativity.

If you don’t have any design knowledge, it might not be easy to make abstract markings.

It is advisable to find a competent logo design expert to create abstract logs for your company. For example, Microsft, Pepsi, and Audi.

2. Emblem

Emblem logo

This emblem logotype consists of fonts, symbols, and images inside geometric shapes or badges. These logotypes give your brand a rich heritage.

They have a classic style. Some popular brands modernize with current logos that have a traditional look. For example, Starbucks, Harly-Davidson.

3. Wordmark

wordmark logo

Wordmark types are font-based, and they focus on company names. They use unique fonts, letter spacings, and styles to create a logo design. For example, Google, VISA, Disney, coca-cola

4. Mascot

Mascot logo

A mascot logo is an artistic figure that represents your company. This logotype uses illustrated characters in logo designs. They are frequently bright, cartoonish, and entertaining. For example, KFC, Reddit

5. Letter mark

lettermark logo

Letter mark or monogram logos are made with text only; They use initials and acronyms to represent brands. These letter marks are simple and help you recall your brand name. For example, NASA, HBO, IBM, HP, and LG.

6. Pictorial mark

Pictorial mark

Pictorial marks use images. These are icon or graphic-based designs. For example, Apple, Instagram, X/Twitter, Snapchat

7. Combination mark

combination mark

A combination mark is made up of a wordmark or letter mark with a graphical design, abstract logo, or mascot. 

The text and icon can be placed side by side or merged to form the logo. For example, Lacoste, Burger King, Adidas, Amazon, Dunkin Donuts

How to make a good logo design

Designing a successful business logo is a creative process. Here are the simple steps for the logo design process.

Step 1: Define your brand identity.

Defining a brand identity is an important process in design making. You have to understand your brand identity and values clearly.

Understand your targeted audience and how your brand logo conveys your business messages.

This understanding helps you create great logos.

Step 2: Seek inspiration

Look at other logo designs that are related to your business and get design inspiration from them.

Get an idea about how they work well and what does not work.

This can help you identify the trends, unique concepts, and ideas that resonate with your audience.

Step 3: Sketch your ideas

Skitch your logo ideas

Start sketching your ideas to visualize your concepts. Experiment with different fonts, sizes, and shapes to get other ideas.

Step 4: Consider color

Consider choosing colors that resonate with your brand identity. It communicates specific messages about your businesses. Check how your logo looks well in color and Black and White.

Step 5: Focus on Typography

Typography plays a significant role in logo design. Choose fonts that are easy to read, even if it is small size. Experiment with different font styles to get new ideas.

Step 6: Digital design

graphic designing

Transfer your sketches to digital format using graphic designing tools like Canva, Adobe Illustrator, and more.

Step 7: Get feedback

Get feedback from your friends, colleagues, or your target audience to gain different insights about your logo. This will help you refine your designs.

Step 8: Legal consideration

After creating your logo, check with trademarks if it exists. Consider registering your logo for intellectual property protection.

Best tools for logo design

Several tools are available to help you develop a stunning logo for your Online store website. Adobe Illustrator (AI) is an excellent example.  here are some of the top easy-to-use logo makers you can try for your businesses.

1. Hatchful

Hatchful logo

Hatchful is a free Shopify logo creator that allows you to design stunning logos for your business with only a few clicks of a button. 

Shopify’s free logo builder comes with hundreds of logo template designs and requires no creative skills to use.

It provides simple logos and is available even if you do not use Shopify as an e-commerce platform.

2. Canva logo maker

canva logo

Canva is a simple graphic design app that gives you additional options for creating and customizing your logo. 

If you have any design knowledge, its templates make it a decent alternative.

It saves you the hassle of developing a logo from the beginning by allowing you to choose a template and customize it any way you like.

3. Free Ucraft logo creator

ucraft logo

You may utilize Ucraft’s pre-designed shapes and icons for your logo design project. Ucraft does not provide a library of logo templates.

This makes it great for developing simple beginning logos. 

4. LogoMaker

logo maker

LogoMaker is another free logo creation tool that employs logo templates to assist you in creating a unique logo design. 

LogoMaker is not a free platform; you must spend $40 to obtain your final results, which include numerous file formats that allow you to simply use your logo on a variety of products, such as marketing brochures or t-shirts, or online.

5. Squarespace

Squarespace

Squarespace provides a free logo creator that leverages a large collection of symbols to assist you in creating personalized logos for your business. 

Also, the logos are simple to connect with Squarespace sites, and modification is highly limited, making it tough to develop distinctive and eye-catching logos.

6. Wix logo creator

wix logo

The Wix Logo Creator asks you a series of questions before using AI (artificial intelligence) to develop comprehensive logo ideas based on your responses.

It then allows you to personalize the alternatives it provides by utilizing its icon database.

It’s a wonderful alternative if you already have a concept of what you want in a logo and are willing to personalize it.

Case Studies: Successful Logos Design with Example

Apple

Generation of apple logo in online shop
  • The original Apple logo from 1976 was detailed and showed Isaac Newton under an apple tree. This was replaced in 1977 with the current, much simpler bitten apple design by Rob Janoff. This new logo has barely changed since then, with only minor updates.
  • The simple design of the bitten apple helps to show that Apple values clean and modern design. The logo has come to symbolize high-tech and sleek products.
  • The Apple logo has become a symbol of top-quality, user-friendly technology. Its success shows how a straightforward and memorable design can help make a brand iconic.

Nike

Source: carpe

  •  Created by Carolyn Davidson in 1971, the Swoosh represents the wing of the Greek goddess Nike. It was designed to suggest movement and speed.
  • The Swoosh is recognized all over the world and perfectly reflects Nike’s focus on sports and athletic performance. Its simple design makes it versatile and effective in various products and advertising.
  •  The Nike Swoosh has played a huge role in making Nike one of the most well-known sports brands globally. It is a key part of Nike’s branding and helps define the company’s image.

Note:

            “The logos used in this article are for illustrative purposes only to discuss the principles of good logo design. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.”

Final Thoughts: What makes a logo memorable

Every major brand began small. You don’t have to compromise great design simply because your company is in its early stages.

Remember, Simple, Meaningful logos create a great impact. Experiment with typography; choosing the right color palette makes a good logo.

These key factors will contribute to creating an effective and impactful logo that resonates with target audiences and effectively communicates the brand’s identity and values.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Designing a logo online involves several steps. Here are some simple steps to make a great logo online.

Step 1: Define your brand purpose

Step 2: Get Inspiration from other designs

Step 3: Sketch your design Ideas

Step 4: Use graphic design tools such as Canva, Logo Maker, and Ucraft, and customize their templates to fit your design ideas.

Step 5: Get Feedback from your friends and targeted audience online using Reddit and Quora platforms.

To create a clothing logo, you can use online tools like Hatchful. You can customize hundreds of templates to get your brand logo.

To create a good logo design, you have to understand some steps.

  • Understand your purpose
  • Get inspiration for your designs
  • Use graphic design tools to customize your designs
  • Experiment with different typography and fonts.
  • Give attention to colors
  • Finalize your designs

Here are some top software good for logo designs

  • Canva
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Affinity Designer
  • Hatchful
  • CorelDRAW
  • Inkscape
  • Wix Logo Maker
  • Look
  • Ucraft
  • Adobe Photoshop
Mohana Sundari

Content Writer, Blog Editor at Qikink

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About the author

Mohana Sundari

Content Writer, Blog Editor at Qikink

Mohana Sundari

Content Writer, Blog Editor at Qikink
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