A logo is actually a visual icon that provides a unique identification element to a business or product. So when you first venture into creating a logo, it has to be remembered that the logo is a business tool and not a piece of art. Design your logo with a concept that projects your business as a rofessional and competent business. Remember, that there lies more to designing a logo than just hiring an artist or online designer as it is a major business decision.



While creating logos, it is always better to use vector graphics. The reason for this is that images done using vector graphics can be resized to thus maintain design integrity as there is no loss in clarity,sharpness or definition as the file remains constant. One of the best programs to use to create vector graphics is Adobe Illustrator. However you can use software like Photoshop to create the image and have it redone in a vector graphics format before printing or reproducing the logo.

It is always better to avoid using complicated and intricate designs for the logo as they hinder rapid visual identification. The viewer will take a longer time with such designs to mentally process the image and relate it to a given company. Not only that, complicated designs don't reduce well. Just imagine, a busy intricate logo on the side of a truck may look wonderful, but when the same logo is reduced in size to be used on a business card, it may turn out to be a meaningless blob of ink. The simple logo of Nike, “Swish” has created a great impact, even though it is such a simple logo.

Remember to limit the colors used in a logo to a maximum of three colors. This is because if you use more than two colors in a logo, your expenses increase. The printing costs for printing business cards,letterheads, labels and envelops are increased for every additional color that is used in the logo. This may result in making your cheap logo ending up costing you a bundle of money! Another reason for limiting the number of colors in the logo is that the logo's visual impact and even identification is diminished or completely lost in some mediums. Supposing you have a beautiful multi-colored logo on your letterhead. If you fax a letter using this same letterhead, the recipient gets a letterhead which is not multicolored, but black and white.

Another point to remember when choosing colors for the logo is the cultural and marketplace standards. For example, it may not be that advisable for a medical company using red in it's logo due to the mental correlation of red to blood, while on the other hand, green tends to infer safety or a positive status.

When using fonts for the logo, limit yourself to using only two font styles. This is because if you use more font styles, they seem to become distracting and confusing. It is always better to use standard fonts like Times New Roman and Arial as they make commercial reproduction of the image easier. It is preferable to use font that is sans serif and non-script to enhance clarity in small format reproduction.

While designing a logo, it is always better to make sure that it sticks in the forefront of the potential client's minds so that they will remember you at the next times of need. And timelessness is another quality that logos have to have so that you don't have to redesign the logo in a few years time.

It is always safer and wiser to check on the trademarks and registration rights of any existing logo before actually publishing the new logo. When you have finally decided on the final logo design, it is better to register or trademark your own logo.