Logo Design

Even though they're often just small images, logos carry a whole lot of meaning -- and designing one comes with a whole lot of responsibility, too. Logos are usually the most recognizable representation of a company or organization. And with more information available to the average consumer today, logos also have to quickly and effectively communicate on behalf of their brand.

To tackle such a complex challenge, many brands choose to hire outside help. But for those of us who are brand new to the logo design process, working with freelancers to design a logo can be a challenge in itself.

We thought it'd be interesting to talk to a few of these designers who know what it's like to create logos from scratch. From the concept stage to the final product, what goes into designing a logo? How are designers able to capture an organization's mission and personality into a single, simple image, especially when they aren't a part of the organization themselves? Read on to find out.

What's in a Logo?

When a designer first takes on a new logo project, he spends a lot of time trying to understand both the organization and its audience. We'll get to the process of learning what a logo needs to "say" later, but first, let's talk about what makes a great logo in the first place.

Most logo designers follow some iteration of these principles of great logo design:

• Simplicity: Is the design simple and clean enough to be flexible and easily recognizable? Is it not too busy, distracting, or confusing?
• Memorability: Is it quickly recognizable? Will people only have to spend a second or two thinking about it to get it?
• Timelessness: Will it still be a great logo in 10, 20, or even 50 years? 
• Versatility: Does it scale to different sizes without losing quality? Will it work across various media and within different contexts?
• Appropriateness: Does it resonate with the desired audience?

 These five principles are great for keeping designers from going too crazy when designing a new logo.

"Designers have a tendency to get excited about the prospect of designing stuff that looks cool and uses cool, new styles," Tyler told me. "But when you're designing a logo, you're ultimately solving for a problem. You're trying to convey something simply that gets across the core tenets of an organization and what that organization does. Keeping these five things in mind prevents you from getting carried away with the flash of what you're doing. It keeps you honest."