So are you thinking about having a logo designed for your business? Or are you wondering if the logo you already have is awesome? But you’re not a designer and don’t know what to do.

The logo for your business is a major branding element. This decision is up there with choosing a business name. Your customers will see your logo over and over again and if it’s awesome, they will identify with it. A bad logo can break your business’ brand. Here’s some helpful information to educate yourself before talking to a designer.

Logos are made up of shapes, colours and type treatments. There are 5 major types of logos:

• Symbols or Icons are logos made up of imagery.
• Wordmarks are usually the business’ name designed with an appropriate type treatment.
• Letter Marks are a logo that’s made up of letters. Signing your initials on a document is a cruder version of this.
• Combination Marks are logos made up of any combination of these different types. Usually a symbol with the business name next to it.
• Emblems are logos that have emphasis on the brand name within the design. A lot of sports teams use this kind of logo.

Now that you understand the types of logos. Let’s see what qualities make up an awesome business logo:

• Not trendy. You want a logo that stands the test of time. If it’s too trendy it will quickly become tired. Ever look at the logos from TV shows in the 90’s. They look silly now but back then they were “cool” right?
• Original. A logo needs to stand out among your peers and competition. You want your target market to be able to recognize you. It’s a good idea to look at your competition’s logos. You don’t want your logo to look like these.
• No clichés. Authentic and original is the way to go. You don’t want to be gimmicky.
• Simplistic. I have found that less is more with logos. If someone only sees your logo for a second, will they see your brand or only a bit of the logo? The logo will also look good big or small, which is really important.
• No clipart. Just no clipart.

You might be thinking that designing a logo sounds easy but hiring a graphic designer is so important. I have a post detailing why your business needs a graphic designer.

Before you talk to your designer, here are some important things to consider. They will save you money in the long run.

• Where will you be using your logo? Do you need it on your cheques, website, email newsletter, store sign, billboards, newspaper ads, t-shirts, embroidered or etched items? This is very important information for your designer.
• Will you be sending out your logo to other designers? You should consider your designer writing up even a simple brand guideline for your logo. This gives instructions on how to use the logo within the brand. This is important for keeping consistency within your business’ brand. Here’s an example of a brand guideline for Skype.

There are always exceptions to the rule but generally, these rules are important. If you interested in hiring a freelance graphic designer, please contact me and I can help make your business’ logo awesome.