Your logo appears everywhere: on your website, your van, your invoices, your social profiles and your shop sign. A good one makes your business look established and easy to remember. A weak one makes you look like everyone else. These are the six principles we use when designing logos for businesses in Cheltenham and across Gloucestershire.
1. Simple
The most recognisable logos are usually the simplest. A simple mark is easier to remember, quicker to recognise and works at any size, from a tiny social media icon to a large shop sign. If you can't sketch it from memory, it's probably too complicated.
2. Distinctive
Your logo should be easy to tell apart from your competitors. Before designing, we look at what other businesses in your sector and area are using. If every local builder uses a house outline in blue, there's an opportunity to stand out by doing something different.
3. Appropriate
A logo should suit the people you want to attract. A children's nursery and a law firm need very different personalities. That doesn't mean being literal: a logo doesn't need to show what you do, but it should feel right for who you are.
4. Versatile
A good logo works in full colour, in one colour, reversed out of a dark background and in black and white for print. It should also work in different shapes, which is why most brands need a main logo, a stacked version and a small icon.
5. Timeless
Trends come and go quickly. Logos built around this year's fashionable fonts or effects can look dated within a few years. Aim for something you'll be happy with in ten years, and keep the trendier elements for your marketing.
6. Legible
If your logo includes your business name, people need to be able to read it quickly, including on a phone screen or a passing van. Very thin, ornate or tightly spaced lettering often fails this test.
How to brief a logo designer
You'll get a better result if you can tell your designer:
- What your business does and who your ideal customers are
- Three words that describe how you want people to feel about you
- Competitors you admire, and ones you want to look different from
- Where the logo will be used most: online, on signage, on packaging
- Any colours or styles you definitely don't want
What you should receive
At the end of a logo project you should receive your logo in all the formats you'll need: PNG and SVG for digital, PDF and EPS for print, plus colour codes and simple guidance on how to use it.
Ready for a logo that works harder?
We design logos and brand identities for Gloucestershire businesses of every size. Book a free call to talk through your brief.
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