What makes a logo?

Posted on: 7th December 2011 in Design Sarah Logo Identity

A logo is the visual identity of a company or business. It communicates the owner’s intended message in a distinct and unique form that sets the company apart from its competitors within the same market. It doesn’t need to show what the company does, makes or sells but it does need to be appropriate, simple and versatile. Think of some of the most iconic logos that you see regularly – Nike, McDonalds, Apple, Coca-Cola. They can be used on a variety of applications and even be reproduced without their corporate colours and yet they are still instantly recognisable. They are simple, timeless and memorable. They are also fun to design. I love designing logos. So do the others. We have sometimes been known to break into a fistfight to decide who gets to work on a logo (I exaggerate slightly – we normally settle it with a game of rock, paper, scissors). This isn’t because designing logos is easy – far from it – but because getting it right is highly satisfying. I still get a little thrill whenever I unexpectedly come across a logo I’ve designed being used out there in the real world. Most of the things we design are transient, ephemeral – leaflets that are gone within the week, billboards and posters that are replaced after a month, websites that change and evolve over time, brochures and prospectuses that might last a year. A logo, if it’s a good concept and well executed, can last forever. I’m not saying any of the ones I’ve designed will still be around in 3011 (when we’re all either living like the rag-tag, post-apocalyptic rabble in Mad Max and fighting over the last dregs of petrol or have decamped to a dinosaur-inhabited alternate Earth) but many are in use after several years and are going strong. I’d like to think they’ll still be around for a while yet and, in the meantime, I’ve got a game of rock, paper, scissors to win.