Planning is the first step to success in any endeavor. Initiating a logo design process without proper planning is ineffective and damages the business image. It is well said that “He who fails to plan, plans to fail”. Before starting any task it is cruical to know answers to all the questions you have in mind. This is one of the main reasons why small businesses fail. They are unable to envision their business objectives and this si why they end up into a failure.

Most clients simply ask for company logos without any clear concept in mind. They are unaware of the nitty-gritty of a brand identity and provide scarce information to the designer. But being a logo designer, we must be careful of the planning process beforehand. This is because designing company logos without a purpose is a futile practice. In order to avoid mistakes and blunders, there are a few questions that must be asked by the client before starting with the logo design process.

• How would you define your business in a few words?
• What products and/or services are you offering to your clients?
• Who will be your potential target market?
• What is the one thing that differentiates you from your competitors?
• What will be the market positioning of your business in front of the target audience?
• Which colors and corporate fonts suit your business?
• Which symbol best represents your business nature?
• Would you need a tagline or slogan to go with the logo?
• What message do you want to convey through your business logo?
• What are the future prospects and ambitions of the company?
• What is the estimated budget that will be allocated on your business logo?
• What is the deadline of your logo design project?

Creating corporate logos is one of the first and the foremost concern that companies need to take care of when they are being incorporated. This helps in building visibility of the company among their target market. A professional image of the company can help in establishing the company effectively and making it stand out from the rest of the competition in the industry.

However it is important keep the brass tacks in consideration while designing the best and most distinctive corporate logos. Here are eight unbeatable tips that can help you come up with successful company logos.

1. Simplicity is the key:

2. Attention Getter:

3. Fewer Details are More Effective:

4. Adaptability:

5. Memorable and Recognizable:

6. Long-lasting Durability:

7. Relevant and consistent:

8. Right color selection:

Marketing of products is very critical for the growth of a company. The company logo is successful as it creates an image for the company and enhances its business. Owing to this fact, most of the companies spend huge amount of money and time in creating company logos which are able to stand apart from the competition and is unique. Thus it is not very easy to design company logos. They need to hire professional graphic designers or graphic designing firms to get a professional looking company logo.

It is quite difficult to design a company logo as the designers need to understand the offerings of the company like its product and the kind of image it wants to project to its customers. It is a proven fact that companies with appealing company logos are able to do better business than companies without any logo.

Simple tips to come up with Successful Company Logos:

If you are trying to get a company logo designed for your business, be careful about the listed below aspects. You will surely end up with successful company logos.

• It should have both, type-based and graphical as well.
• It should be simple so that it can make an impression in the minds of the customers.
• It should not be too complicated and should involve vectors.
• It needs to be a part of the marketing strategy of the company and should be able to showcase the objectives of the company.

• Your company logo should be created professionally and be unique from the rest in the market.
• The logo design should be appealing enough to attract customers and retain their attention.

Usually logo designing can involve huge amount of money. However, the companies can avoid shelling out thousands of dollars for their logos, if they:

• Hire affordable designing companies or designer.
• They could go to “Crowd sourcing” sites and launch a contest with reasonable prize money.

Another most critical aspect for designing company logos is that it needs to be simple instead of complex graphics and symbols. The company can share ideas with the designers before finalizing on the logo. Apart from this, there are many interesting logo designs available online which can help in creating a unique logo for the company.

The logo designed should be exclusive for the company so it needs to be protected through the copyright of the logo. The logo designing firm or the logo design contest site chosen by you must be able to get this done. It should also make sure that the logo does not have many common graphics or signs which are found commonly on other company logos as well. This might confuse the consumers. The logo should be registered with the name of the company to ensure that no one is able to copy it. Thus it is important that while getting the company logo designed all these aspects are kept in mind.

Logo design is the primary building block of any business. It epitomizes the essence of your small business in a very effective way. Although everyone wants the best possible start for your small business or start-up business, but sadly do not have the resources to make their dreams come true. This is where the use of online logo design comes into play. With the advent of the internet boom, things have become effortless for all fields of life. So is the case with design industry. Online corporate logos can aid you in saving both time and money, especially when you are starting up a small business. All you need to do is go on the Internet and you will be able to find a wide array of affordable online logos in no time.

I can tell you this because I run my own business and utilized online logo designs for my business logos. Through a click, I was able to get in touch promptly and effortlessly with many sources that were able to help me. While the entities varied greatly in their logo design abilities and fees, I was not eager to pay as much as they were charging. Hence I diverted my search to free online logo designs. I actually came across a great deal of services.

Merits of Online Logo Designs:

• Online logo designs saves valuable amount of time to create.
• Saving money is the best part of using this facility.
• Designing your logo online gives your small business a quick start that it needs.
• They are all modifiable so that you may customize them according to your needs.
• Saves you trouble of using expensive and complex graphics designing software.

Demerits of Online Logo Designs:

• Choices are limited when it comes to selecting online logo designs.
• You cannot create a really detailed, professional looking logo, as the online process is built to be very basic.
• There are more chances of finding counterfeit logos online.
• Relying on online logo design may curtail your creativity.

Of course, one should not compare a basic online logo design with the work of a professional logo designer. Both have their own significance. But then again desperate times call for desperate measures. Many small business owners simply do not have room in their budget to get an expensive professional logo made. When you just cannot afford the price, you can always fancy using online logo designs.

What is your opinion on the use of online logo design? Is it helpful for the small business owners who cannot afford expensive logo design? Or does it unethically hurt professional logo designers?

It is a common reality that we underestimate the requirements of a small business. By underestimating the requirements we actually undermine the flow of our small business. While there are innumerable small businesses established all over the world, only a handful of these small businesses manage to survive in the competitive world. Those who do not live on are the ones without a powerful corporate logo. Small business owners need an identity strong enough to compete with the corporate identities that have been operational in the market for years.

1. Make your mark in the industry:

A corporate logo confirms that you are dedicated equally to your business and your customers. It also gives your small business the appearance of an established entity and has been around for quite a while.

2. Magnetize your customers:

Each time a customer is searching for big business, he/she looks for a well-defined company. Some clients are simply dazzled by professional-looking logo design, so your corporate logo may impress them into preferring you.

3. Credibility booster:

A corporate logo formulates an experienced and professional look of your small business. It directly makes your business appear credible. In order to be recognized as an expert in your industry, you need to build credibility. A corporate logo serves that purpose well.

4. Make a distinction from your competitors:

A logo design can help you stand a class apart from your competitors. A well-designed corporate logo can tell the story of how you do business, including the things that make you stand out from the rest of the pack.

5. Become memorable:

Being remembered is a key to long term success in any business. A majority of people remember what they see, better than what they read or hear. No matter how much you verbally publicize your small business, without a corporate logo you will be forgotten one day. So, having a visual identity in the form of a corporate logo for your business makes you more probable to be remembered.

6. Spell out your company name:

Sometimes your company name contains unfamiliar words and terminologies that are hard for the customer to comprehend. A hard-to-pronounce company name may make it tough for your customers to recall your company. An attractive and compelling corporate logo can assign visual meanings to the company name. As mentioned earlier, people easily recall symbols than they do words. A logo design helps in clarifying your company name.

7. A symbol of stability:

It is not always necessary that you require a decade or century worth of presence to make your mark. If you have an effective corporate logo, it can go a long way toward building the all-important trust.

8. Visual Clip of your business:

If your business is in an unconventional or a complex industry, a logo can help to explain exactly what you do by presenting a visual allusion. Sometimes it is hard to explain in words what industry you belong to. A graphical representation of what your business is all about is an easier way to express than in words.

9. Conformity to industry standards:

Sometimes, you just cannot afford to start a small business without a corporate logo. The rules and regulations of some industry compel you on adopting a logo for your small business. Like in the graphics design industry, owing a logo is considered industry standard.

10. Sense of Pride:

Even if you think that a corporate logo will not help the cause of your business, do it for yourself. Having a corporate logo will increase your confidence, and you will have something to show in front of your friends and family. The success of a corporate logo gives a sense of pride of ownership.

Is it always necessary for corporate logos to be complex, detailed and typically computerized? Think again! We have witnessed the best of corporate brands emerging out of simple handwritten logos. With the likes of famous logos Ford, Disney, Davidoff and Smirnoff it is evident that corporate logos do not always have to be stimulated with graphics design to be successful.

A handwritten logo design can work as a simple, effortless and above all, inexpensive means of rendering your business image. Sometime the power of the pen triumphs over computer graphics. Now don’t get me wrong. I am not against the use of computer stimulated graphics design for corporate logos. What I am trying to convey is that if your hand possesses the ability to craft something novel, let it!!!

Even the majestic Leonardo Da Vinci himself said,

Here are some truly inspirational handwritten logos which will immensely inspire you for your corporate logos.

Leo Burnett

So pick up a pen and start doodling out your artistic faculty into an inspirational corporate logo of your own. Likewise, if you have created your own handwritten logo design, please do not hesitate in sharing it here. And do tell which of these handwritten logos inspired you the most.

Certainly, the topic today is not new, but surely very controversial one. Being in this corporate world I would like to discuss the importance of logo design contests in a corporate world. The logo design awareness is on a rise and business owners are now very convinced about having a strong corporate identity. But this also brings in number of choices to get a logo design, leaving us confused in the end.

Crossing the basic debate about advantages and disadvantages of Spec work, I would like to highlight a new aspect. Recession has given birth to abundant small businesses, making them approach different logo design contest sites to get a new corporate identity within a limited budget.

Here I would like to ask a question to all the great names of logo design community and expect an honest answer… Is it wrong to get a logo from a contest site, in these low economy times?

Unquestionably, the success and failure of a business immensely relies on its corporate logos and a professional company logos should be our top priority. However, looking at the present economy crisis, when so many people are being laid off, not left with much choice except to start a small business to earn their bread and butter.

Big names of design community evidently oppose design crowd sourcing and ridiculously curse the spec work. Brand stack, Crowd Spring, Inc Spring, 99Designs, MycroBurst and many other such resources are crudely being blamed for supporting this trend of design contest sites. They believe that designers are paid too low on such sites and mostly their hard work is wasted.  I think before tagging the logo design contest sites as immoral and useless, they should consider the present economy breakdown. Every business owner cannot pay big prices of top designers and in such circumstances they are not left with much choice then these contest sites.

After sharing my verdict, I would like to know from you all if the present financial break down is a justifying reason to approach logo design contests and are they really beneficial?

When looked around carefully we realize the importance of typography in our lives. No matter which field we belong to, we all want to get our message across in the fastest way. For this, it is very important the message to be clear and readable.

The importance of typography in corporate world can’t be ignored. Be it your business card, brochure or any other stationary item, your chosen font should be easy to read and understand. Your typeface should be legible and clear enough to convey your message to the readers. If you fail to communicate with your clients, then let me assure you of your business failure.

So, in short, always look for such typeface for your corporate designs that visitor easily gets to understand your business and becomes interested in the services you are offering. Therefore, I have compiled best corporate typefaces which could be used for your corporate websites, business cards and corporate brochures . Right fonts help you communicate with your visitors precisely and directly.

I don’t claim all these fonts to be free but I assure you these 25 fonts can be used effectively in almost every Corporate Design.

FF Meta Serif

Museo

Beorcana

Gloriola

Marat

Rondana

FF Utility

Ealing

DST Glosa

Malaga

Ronnia

FP Dancer Pro Package

Dancer

Courier

Times New Roman

Trajan

Vag Rounded

Antiqua Extra

Mrs. Eaves XL

Klavika

Gloriola

Frida

Nexus

Thesis