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1. A Unique Concept.

The first thing I do when I start a logo design is brainstorm. I want to know what makes the business unique and how they would like to be represented. Sketching multiple concepts and weeding out the bad ones is the best method I have found to come up with unique and fresh logo designs. Also, it is good practice to show a logo concept to several people to guarantee it communicates effectively.

2. Keep it simple.

One of the worst things you can do to a logo is make it too complicated. If you look at some of the most successful brands, a large portion of them are not even identifiable by their name. The Nike swoosh or Apple logo are good examples of this. They both utilize a graphic element to represent their brand and carry it over into all of their marketing. In the world of logo design, less is certainly more. Also, if you force too much into a logo, it makes it difficult to read. This leads me to my next point.

3. Make it adaptable.

Since you are going to be using your new logo for many different applications, you want to make sure it is readable for both small and large applications. A logo should be able to work in black and white as well as in color.

Also, to make sure your logo is scalable, it is very important that it is created in a vector format. Vector format simply means that it can be scaled without losing quality. For most designers this is achieved by using Adobe Illustrator. You can then save it as an EPS or PDF which are scalable if the logo was created solely in Illustrator without importing images. Your logo can also be saved as an image file: JPEG, GIF or PNG. It is important to note however, that JPEG, GIF and PNG image files cannot be scaled up without losing quality. These file types are more useful when designing for the web or when you know exactly what size to save your logo.

4. Make it memorable.

You want people to know who you are. You want to be remembered. I have found, especially in such an image heavy world, people are very visually based. Your message should be simple and clear. Clean lines and imagery that can be easily associated with your business will help people to identify your logo in the future.

5. Be appropriate.

Choosing the proper color scheme and typeface are critical when designing a logo. For example, if you are creating a logo for a day care, you may want to pick a font that would be more childlike and possibly use brighter colors. This same logo treatment would not be appropriate for a law firm for example. Picking the appropriate colors, font, and imagery that relate to your business are all important factors when designing a logo. Keeping in mind what type of business and what type of mood you are looking to portray is also helpful when deciding which direction to take.