An introduction to rock-solid logo design principles and what to watch out for if you are having a logo designed for your business or its products.

1. 1
— presents —
— or —
ROCK-SOLID
LOGO DESIGN
PRINCIPLES
WHAT KINDS OF THINGS
SHOULD I ASK FOR WHEN
GETTING A LOGO MADE?

2. Introduction
2
Have you been tasked with creating a logo
or overseeing the creation of a logo?
If you answered, “Yes,” then this
presentation is for YOU!
The Intended Audience

3. Introduction
3
A logo is a symbol representing a brand,
business, product or service.
A logo is a reflection of who you are ...
What Is a Logo?

4. Introduction
4
... or at least it should be!
Who you are is:
• What you do
• How you do it
• Why you do it
• And other stuff too
What Is a Logo?

5. Introduction
5
Lego is fun, playful, creative and loose.
KFC is The Colonel, both his
imprimatur of quality and his recipe
Examples of Logos which
Reflect Their Brand Well

6. Introduction
6
The most well known Delphic maxim holds true
in logo design. Your logo represents you, so get to
know your company/product first. Dig deep. Don’t
end your research with your mission statement.
Many times your logo is the first impression that
you’ll make with the world. Make it a good one!
Know Thyself (Plato)

7. Introduction
7
The best logos are ___________!
Remember the End Game

8. Introduction
8
The best logos are memorable!
The goal of a logo is to reflect who you
are in a catchy, unforgettable way.
Remember the End Game

9. The Brand Investment
9
How much should you pay for a logo?
Good Question!
Let’s Talk about the Bottom Line

10. The Brand Investment
10
$0
$221 million
$100 million
$1 million
$35
$625,000

11. The Brand Investment
11
The answer isn’t between $0 and $221,000,000, right?
Right!
As it happens, the cost of a logo is whatever you’re
willing to pay—just know that more often than not...
...you get what you pay for.
What’s the Realistic Cost?

12. The Brand Investment
12
A good rule of thumb is to divide your
yearly unique brand audience by two.
50,000 people / 2 = $25,000
Pepsi may have paid a million bucks for their logo,
but they paid Beyoncé $50 million to endorse their
product. And BP paid $221 million for the design and
installation of their logo at gas stations across the globe.
C’mon, Give Me a Ballpark Figure!

13. The Brand Investment
13
What do you pay then?
Well, there are many paths to success...
• You can develop your logo in-house. Many
start-ups have the design collateral to do so.
• Pay a consultant to manage logo creation
• Pay a freelancer to make it
• Use a creative agency for professional work
What if the Brand is Brand New?

14. Getting a Logo Made
14
Pros
• Cost effective. Just
the labor cost of
the staff involved
• Likely to be a
better reflection
of your brand
Cons
• Staff could have been
working on revenue-
generating work
• A logo designer is
probably better suited
to the task at hand
Developing a Logo In-house

15. Getting a Logo Made
15
Pros
• They already know
everything in this
presentation
• Know more about
current design trends
• Have relationships
with the agencies
who do the work
Cons
• Come with their
own added cost*
*Costs can be offset
by savings they bring
from their relationships
and knowlege of an
agency’s current affairs
Paying a Consultant

16. Getting a Logo Made
16
Pros
• Usually inexpensive
• Will burn the midnight
oil to get the job done
on a tight deadline
• Are far less
institutionalized
creative thinkers
Cons
• Here today, gone
tomorrow. Hard to
track down when you
need to ask questions.
• Two heads are
better than one.
No team effort.
Paying a Freelancer

17. Getting a Logo Made
17
Pros
• Professionally
developed logo
• Team of artists working
together on your brand
• Focus group testing,
research and brand
identity style guides
Cons
• Higher cost
• Have the tendency
to tell you what your
brand should be*
*Beware: You may
have a blindspot about
who you really are.
Using an Agency

18. Getting a Logo Made
18
Contest-based Logo Design is a new phenomenon.
It is a poor route to choose though, because:
• Voting on the prettiest/coolest picture
does not a good brand make
• Design by committee is a step towards trite work
• Artists recycle unused logos until someone buys them
A Note on 99 Designs
(And Its Clones)

19. Getting a Logo Made
19
...but not everyone is an artist! Decision makers on
the logo should be on board for the entirety of its
creation. Don’t bring your boss in at the last second!
• Work with an agency or person you can trust
• Listen to their professional opinion
• Remove ego from the equation
• If you can’t defer to their judgment,
you shouldn’t be working with them
Everyone’s a Critic...

20. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
20
A cursory overview of the types of logos and their
anatomy will aid you in logo design discussions.
• Figurative Logo - A logo referencing a real
world figure, such as an apple, animal or human
• Abstract Logo - A logo which uses abstract
shapes instead of easily recognizable figures
• Typographic Logo - A logo made up of mostly text
• Combination Logo - A combining of the first 3 types
Logo Lingo

21. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
21
Figurative Logo
Abstract Logo Combination Logo
Typographic Logo

22. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
22
That depends on what your brand is trying to be. But,
not all logo types are created equal. Marinate on this:
• Human beings gravitate towards order. We
naturally try to categorize things. The easier
something is to categorize, the faster we process it.
• Abstract marks can’t easily fit into a category.
They get their own box to go in our memory.
• Only 15 of the top 100 brands use figurative marks.
Which Logo Type Is Best?

23. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
23
The Parts of a Logo
Chase Bank was the first major American
corporation to use an abstract logo mark.
It set them apart and was a huge success.

24. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
24
With all the options available to you, it’s easy to forget
to limit yourself. Subtlety and cleverness is key!
• Use 2 or fewer fonts or font styles in your logo
• Use 2 or fewer colors, excluding the background
• Don’t use gradients or color ramps (color transitions)
• Find a mark that can stand on its own without
the name of your company, or a logotype with
enough character to stand on its own as well
Limit Yourself...Seriously

25. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
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“We need a bottle which a person
can recognize as a Coca-Cola bottle
when he feels it in the dark.”
— Ben Thomas
Squint at your logo
Could you recognize it by its silhouette?
Would you know it if it were
off in the distance?
Be Instantly Recognizable

26. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
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You may not know about the Golden Ratio or the
Fibonacci Sequence, but you’ve undoubtedly seen them!
...seriously, do some research on the topic
Stay Gold, Ponyboy

27. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
27
Some of the most beautiful
and well-known logos employ
the use of grids (combined
with the Golden Ratio) to
strengthen their brand.
• Apple
• iCloud
• Twitter
Design with Grids

28. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
28
Will your logo be used in print? On the Internet? In
high-def video? Embroidered on a t-shirt? As a favicon?
• Can you use the logo as a
recognizable profile picture
on social media websites?
• If you launched an iPhone
app, would the logo work as
the app’s icon?
Think about the Medium

29. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
29
A logo that has meaning cleverly affixed to it will
make the viewer go, “Aha.” We like to be in-the-
know, and we love to brag when we know something
first. Get people talking about your logo!
FedEx hid an arrow
moving forward
The Big Ten hid an eleven
after adding a new team
Create an “Aha” Moment

30. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
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Both FedEx and The Big Ten use negative
space to achieve their clever goals.
Negative space is implied
shape and form derived
from connections your
brain makes. Do some
research on Gestalt
Principles of Perception.
Try Using Negative Space

31. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
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Logos today can come alive. They aren’t static;
they change color, shape and animate to life.
• FedEx has both purple & orange
and purple & green versions.
• Ourlogochangescolorsrandomly
when you visit the Huebris website.
• Nickelodeon and Noggin change the shape
of their logo to reflect creative expression.
Logos in the Interactive Age

32. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
32
We could do a separate presentation entirely
on fonts. Fonts have many forms such as:
Choose a font for your logo that pairs well with fonts
that are Internet-friendly. Check out Google fonts.
Font-tastic Font Choices
Tt Aa AaGaramond
a serif font
Futura
a sans serif
Adelle
a slab font
Lobster
a script font

33. Vetting Submitted Logo Designs
33
Color has meaning and affects mood! There are
hundreds of infographics on color theory online.
• Complementary Colors are opposites on
a color wheel. They complete each other.
• Analogous Colors are near each other
on a color wheel. (Ex: blue and green)
• Steer clear of pure white and pure black colors (this
slide does!), and don’t use too many colors at once.
Colorful Thinking

34. Final Thoughts
34
Everything mentioned in this presentation is a
good idea, but it is not logo design doctrine!
• Learn the rules before you break them
• Only break the rules when you know
why you are breaking them.
• “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”
Just because you shouldn’t, doesn’t mean you can’t.
Rules are Meant to Be Broken

35. Final Thoughts
35
You are not unoriginal for keeping with the times.
Your logo will not be labeled as “hipster” for
paying attention to trends in the design world.
• Flat designs are in vogue, no skeuomorphisms
• Jump ship when trends become old hat/passé
• Your logo will change over time. Start with
a versatile design. Be forward thinking.
• Very few logos stand the test of time
#beTrendy

36. Final Thoughts
36
We work with clients constantly who do not have a master
copy of their logo in a vector (lossless, scalable) format. Why?
• Style Guides show the proper use of your logo
• They explain what arrangements, layouts,
fonts, process colors or Pantones are used.
• Visit logodesignlove.com/brand-identity-style-
guides to see 100 page examples from top brands
For the Love, Get Brand Identity
Style Guides and Media Kits

37. Final Thoughts
37
Your style guides will help accomplish this task.
• Some corporations put their media kits and usage
instructions online in their own branding microsite
• Take infringement seriously. When others use your
logo how they see fit, it reduces your brand’s power.
• Modern style guides even outline detailed
examples of how your logo should be animated
• Email signature to store-front signage, take this seriously
Use Your Logo Consistently

38. If you found this presentation at
all helpful, please let me know!
Good luck,
Joshua Gilmer
Founder of Huebris
twitter.com/joshuagilmer
fb.com/joshuagilmer
joshua@huebris.com
Thanks for Reading