7 shared characteristics of successful brand logos

When it comes to designing a successful logo there’s a lot to think about. You’ve got to decide what message you want to convey, as well as how to reflect your brand in a single image, on top of finding a decent designer to put the whole thing together.

So what characteristics do these successful logos have in common? What can you take away from their design and apply to your own when you’re designing business cards or purchasing colour letterhead printing from Helloprint?

They’re simple

Above all, the most successful logos are the most simplistic ones. The best logos don’t actually need any words but can stand alone as an image and still be recognised.

But they have something distinctive about them

The Disney logo has its infamous D (which many of us mistook for a whole other letter as a child), McDonalds features its golden arch and Google and eBay both use numerous colours in their design – something that is not seen nor actually recommended when it comes to logo design, but works for them. Distinctiveness breeds good memory recall.

They convey an area of expertise or ethos

A good logo portrays, on its own, either the company’s industry or their ethos. The Nike tick conveys speed and therefore sport, Heinz’s traditional label style offers trustworthiness and reputability and Cartier’s simplistic but italicised, regal font assures luxury and prestige.

They be stripped down and are still recognisable

Pepsi might use its name as part of its logo but take the circle featuring red, white and blue and place it on its own and you still recognise it. Chanel works in the same way, just the logo alone (featuring two overlapping letter Cs) without the word Chanel underneath creates the same effect.

They understand the use of colours

Colours are important when it comes to logos and the most successful brands got theirs right. According to Creative Bloq, there is a psychology behind colours, which brands utilise to encourage us to buy their products. A brand that uses the colour red (Coca Cola, Campbell’s, McDonalds, Kellogg’s) knows that it is a colour that stimulates appetite, as well as evoking passion and warmth.

Blue is most commonly seen on brands attempting to convey prestige and professionalism (Barclays, Samsung, Visa, The Guardian). A brand that uses blue wants to be seen as reputable, trusted and an expert in its field.

 

They can be used in a multitude of sizes and situations

A good logo is one that can be blown up, shrunk, switched around and slapped on everything from mugs to billboards and still hold its original meaning while continuing to portray the brand. It also stands the test of time and while it might experience a few slight tweaks to its design over the years its colour scheme and layout usually remains pretty much the same.

When considering your brand logo take a look around you and draw inspiration from the big players out there who have maintained their hold on their industries with popular products and strong logos.

Marketme

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