CREATING A COMPANY LOGO
Since Biblical times, man has used graphic symbols to identify his products. Pottery uncovered near the ancient village of Corinth bore certain marks to identify the artisan. In the medieval period, families had a “coat of arms,” a graphic symbol that identified their ancestral heritage.

A good logo design should not only convey the unique image of the company, it needs to do so in a manner that makes the graphic easy and economical to produce. Intricate designs with detailed fine lines may not reproduce legibly at smaller sizes and designs using multiple colors may be very expensive to print when it comes to business cards and short-run jobs.

Distinctiveness is one of the key marks of a good logo. It must be able to set itself apart in the competitive marketplace of graphic ideas. In short, it must be both memorable and creative.

It must have focus. It should relate in some logical way to the company, possibly saying something about the company, its products or the way it conducts its business.

It must be simple. Clear, not confusing. A mark that is too complex is difficult to comprehend and therefore not memorable.

A logo should be modern. That doesn’t mean it must incorporate the lastest typeface. It just means that it shouldn’t look like it’s already old! You want your logo to project a modern, forward looking vision of the company. Remember, it has to last for ten to twenty years. If it looks old now, imagine how it will look ten years from now.

It must be easy to produce and inexpensive to apply. It should be reproducible on all kinds of materials and on different media—trucks, letterheads, business cards, forms, company signs, packaging material, labels . . . in black & white and in color. Make sure that you see several versions of your logo in very small and in very large sizes. If your logo does include color, have your designer create a version that can be reproduced in one color or black only to ensure that on certain printed pieces you won't break the bank or have a logo that looks like a blob when reduced to a single hue.