7 brand necessities: Logo Must-haves

Your logo is your most important brand asset. It is everywhere, on the top of your website, your socials, and maybe your business cards? (Do people still use those? I haven’t seen one in forever).

The logo also tends to be the asset from which the rest of your visual branding will flow. Colors, themes, icons, or characters from the logo can be taken to create easily recognizable secondary assets to spruce up all your branded materials.

This means that your logo needs to be much more than just a pretty image. What else does your logo need? Here are 7 principles with which I design all my logos. Does your logo check all the boxes?

1. Relevance

The logo should be an accurate representation of the company, product, or brand it represents. That means that the design fits the target market and the sector in which the business operates. For instance, while a serious, sleek logo could work perfectly for a law firm, a whimsical, colorful logo might be great for a candy store.

Likewise, there should be little confusion about what you do when people look at your logo. Many people make the mistake of wanting the next Nike “swoosh”, but unless you have a billion-dollar marketing budget you’d be better off keeping it simple. So my advice… if you sell doghouses, make your logo a doghouse. (And name your business “The Doghouse Designer”).

2. Uniqueness

A logo should be easily distinguishable from those of your competitors and stand out from the crowd. A distinctive logo helps your brand to leave a striking impression and be remembered by the customer.

It’s a delicate balance “looking like” others in your industry to comply with the “relevance” principle but still finding a way to stand out. Still, sometimes just using a little more color or adding one subversive element in your logomark can do just the trick.

3. Scalability

Scalability means two things. First, and most importantly, you need all versions of your logo in a vector format. That way you can scale it to whatever size you need it displayed. Check your logo files and see if you have an .svg, .eps, or maybe an .ai file. If not, you might want to call a designer to get one.

Scalability also means that your logo adapts to where it’s displayed. If you put your full business name in your 1:1 Instagram profile picture people probably won’t be able to read it. Instead show just the first letter or a logomark separate from the type. Strong logo designs consider context and address these issues before they arise.

4. Versatility

Versatility is related to the previous point. Just like size, other aspects of the logo should also be adaptable to any context. Aspects like color for example. Color isn’t always available so strong logos also look good in black and white. As such, the shape should be able to speak for itself. Sometimes this means you you have to keep it really simple. Less can definitely be more.

5. Timelessness

A strong logo must be timeless and not become dated too quickly. Avoid going for trends that are currently all the rage but may go out of style soon. With only little changes, a timeless logo can be used for years or even decades. Hence, when you’re developing your logo, you must consider the long term to make sure it will be useable in the future.

Side note: In my opinion the biggest offender of breaking this rule is those small businesses with wispy thin floral designs as their logos. That, combined with light pastel colors felt dated as soon as I first saw them. Sorry if this is you… but I’m here if you need help.

6. Color

The perception and meaning of a logo can be strongly inﬂuenced by the choice of colors. Colors have the power to trigger emotions and establish links with specific businesses or products. I make a conscious effort to choose colors that support the brand's identity to always appropriately represent the brand or product.

7. You need to love it

This one is especially important for the solopreneurs out there. You’re going to see this image every day. You will put it on every proposal, product, and milestone of your business venture so you better like the way it looks and makes you feel.

This is not just advice about your logo of course. I believe it is important to really love a bunch of aspects of your business to motivate you to really go for it. Especially the superficial ones.

The superficial aspects can be really important because they are often aspirational, especially in the beginning. Afterall, your branding is what makes you look like the real deal even at the very start.

Through all the growing pains and stress of starting a business, seeing what you can become can give you just the push you need to keep going.

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