We all know those great logos. Good ones we remember because they made an impression. We have all also seen the bad ones as well. It is not so simple to know exactly what makes an effective and good logo. A really good logo is one that has an excellent concept behind it and an outstanding execution.
The two most important aspects to an effective and good logo are concept and execution. The design of the artwork or the logo should be able to stand alone. Meaning, without the text, the design itself should be eye catching and memorable. The concept of the logo is important. The logo should take all of the outstanding aspects of a company and wrap it into one simple icon so that, that icon is instantly recognizable as being associated with the company. What the company is about. The icon should complement the typography and not distract from it. The icon should also be able to stand alone without the wording.
You may wonder if this really does work. The answer is yes. Just take a minute to think of your favorite brands and you will no doubt discover that they are all unique in either their concept or their execution of their logos. A bad logo is one that appears as though no thought has gone into the selection of the logo. Perhaps an icon was chosen at random and actually has nothing at all to do with the brand. This type of logo is not memorable and could actually even distract away from the typography. Bad logos clutter the INTERNET. Just take a few minutes now and surf through some random pages and you will clearly understand that this is more than true.
If you want to create an effective and great logo try to be timeless. This means that fads come and go and it is true with logos. The 'swoosh' design of a few years ago was used by thousands of people and became boring. Stay away from gimmicks and keep the design as simple as possible.
The lesson here is that just because you have some of the leading logo software on the market, does not mean that you are going to be able to make professional, effective and great logos that get the point across and that are memorable.
