You might want to read Logo Design – Ten Rules (Part 1) to have the comprehensive idea. These are the last 5 rules that you need to know.
6. Pose a question
When we receive input from our senses, there is a question “What is this taste?” and a response “This is chocolate”. We also do this when we watch television, listen to music, or read a book. This is part of our thinking process. The books and television programs we find the most unsatisfying are often the most predictable. If the viewer is given all the facts there is little reason for him to process the information. Alternatively, if the question is presented, and the viewer must provide an answer in his head, he will be forced to spend more time with the message and therefore become more intimate with it. There is a fine line, however, between posing a question that invites a response and asking an unsolvable one. A visual solution that takes hours to interpret, or needs accompanying text will not succeed and will soon be resigned from usage.
7. Design for longevity
Will the logo still be effective in 10, 20, 50 years? Every hour we encounter endless array of images and ideas. Our visual landscape is composed of billboards and signs, television commercials, …Almost every one of these messages is combined with a logo, but many of these have little impact and are quickly forgotten. The ideas that connect are the ideas that resonate with us emotionally. Style and trends may be enticing, but they rarely have lasting emotional resonance. Marks that date quickly result from a concentration on “formal” rather than “conceptual” ideas. The logo must be able to convey its message over a long period of time. Marks designed with a focus on current style and trends are often outdated in a short amount of time and soon become quaint. There are very few clients who would like to be perceived as either outdated or quaint. How the Coca Cola logo has barely changed since 1885?
8. Make the logo the foundation of a system
Like the foundation of a building, the logo is the base for all other messages. When the designer is in the process of designing a logo, it will be the only item on his computer screen. Often, when presented to a client, it will be the only item on the page. This is a mistake. The logo will be always in context, accompanied by other visuals and ideas. It may be seen on business cards, on vans, on top of buildings… If the logo is the foundation, the visual system is the framing of the structure to keep the construction metaphor alive. It does not copy the mark’s form, but complements it. The visual system will include guidelines for usage of color, typography, imagery, copy style and product usage.
9. Design for a variety of media
Until the 1950s most logos needed to work technically in only one medium: print. The expansion of digital, broadcast, and interactive media over the last years has changed this. The logo should now be legible and clear on a one-color paper ad, a website, three-dimensional signage and on television. The logo now should be still effective when printed on a tiny postage stamp or a large billboard, printed on reserve. The logo should work well both in horizontal and vertical formats. The logo should be versatile.
10. Be Strong
“The business man will never respect the professional who does not believe in what he does” — Paul Rand
There is an often-told story about a well-know designer throwing a chair across the room when a client rejected his design. Being strong is not about throwing chairs. That’s a temper tantrum. Being strong is understanding your role, the client’s role, and maintaining the clear vision.
There is a fine line between intransigence and confidence, between uncertainty and collaboration. A client’s love of red, may be irrelevant to the strategy but rejection of that idea may become a deeply personal issue. On the other hand, the designer may fall in love with the style of logo that is not conceptually relevant. In order to reach a solution that solves the problems with sustainability, the final logo must address the client’s goals and messages. While every situation is different, the best solution is to maintain a clear vision and connection to the primary goal. The designer as an outside consultant will be able to see the larger picture without being distracted by day-to-day operations. Frequently reminding the client of the desired outcome and central message is critical. Making people feel good is not the designer’s job, producing a viable and effective logo is.
Like Picasso said “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Take the rules and play with them.
