3 easy rules for logo design

Always Vector, never raster
If only i had a dime for every time some one said to me, “Just use the logo from my website.”  Let’s talk about why this is always a bad idea.
The image you see on the left is a raster image. On the right is a vector image. See the difference?

Raster artwork is created by using a raster-based software, such as Photoshop, which is composed of thousands of little pixels.  When we try to scale the logo to a larger size, those little pixels become big pixels, therefore resulting in a blurry image like the image on the left. Examples of raster image file types are: BMP, TIFF, GIF, and JPEG files.

Vector-based logos allow for the maximum range of usage because you can scale the size of vector files without loss of quality or sharpness. This means that the same logo file that looks great on a business card will also look great on a billboard. The bottom line is a vector logo will always look and work best and save you money in the long run.

 

Simple is always better
Overly complicated logos are usually difficult to grasp and understand and when shrunk down for use on a business card, it is practically illegible.

You do need to put a lot of complex thought into your logo behind the scenes, but you do not want the viewer to see that translated into excessive detail work, color, or font usage. It is best to communicate your company’s brand attributes with a clean, simple logo design.

 

Always consider your logo’s size and aspect ratio
As a rule, logos should be recognizable and readable at a quarter inch. At some point, most logos will need to be reproduced at a very small size, e.g. on a pen or key chain.  It is also best if your logo is not overly horizontal or vertical. Most logos will not be a perfect square, but a near 1:1 width to height ratio is ideal. A balanced mark is adaptable, making it easier to successfully place in a variety of layouts.