What makes a logo great?

Rick van Houten
4 min readJun 3, 2021

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The 7 Principles of Logo Design

If you want a professional logo, you need to understand how logos work. From how they communicate to what makes them appealing. Logo design is a process that can work better when you approach it with knowledge, experience and a solid plan. If you want to create something professional it’s important to know the basics of graphic design first. Excellent logo design works amazingly well when there’s a blend of design skills.

The 7 Principles of Logo Design

Using a logo is one of the oldest forms of communication. And today, logos are one of the most important aspects of a brand. Logos have become the way for brands to differentiate themselves from the competition and countless images you see every day.

The Logo design principles help us get ideas, make concepts, and visual elements to create effective logos transform into a professional logo design. The 7 most important principles of logo design I explain with well known examples:

Examples of famous logos that are simple. From Spotify to Instagram.

1 . Simple

A logo must be simple in order to communicate effectively, and communication is the main objective of a logo.

Simplicity allows a logo to focus and be flexible.

The Beats logo (headset), Swiss logo (flag and airplane tail), Toys ‘R’ US (Playful and colourful typography) and the BP logo (Flower (Eco friendly) fuel).

2 . Relevant

Relevance is achieved by looking in depth at your brand, which is possible by doing extensive research into your brand. Connecting with a brand’s purpose and essence is what a relevant logo does.

Over a 100 years the BMW logo has changed just a little every time.

3. Timeless

A logo must be able to withstand the passing of time. Simplicity is a great ally of longevity. The reason is that the simpler a logo is, the best it can accommodate to the passing of time. The approach usually should be modern as should elements be like colours and typography.

Adidas (mountain: Overcoming challenges) FedEx (Arrow between the E and X), Amazon (From A to Z), Pinterest (P + Pin)

4. Memorable

Logos that are easier to remember make use of visual analogies to stay in our memory. These can be visual elements that tell a story behind the logo design. A logo that is memorable is effective in promoting and identifying a brand.

The Big Plus of Chevrolet between all the ‘circle shaped’ car logos

5. Distinction

A logo must be able to effectively distinguish itself from the competition. Differentiation can be achieved in different ways depending on various factors such as the brand itself, the competition, or the market.

The ‘grid system’ show balance in the Twitter and Adidas logos.

6. Balance

Most professional logos are designed according to the principles of proportion or symmetry. The following illustrates how both the Twitter logo and the Adidas logo use shapes like circles and triangles of proportional values to create a balanced aesthetic quality.

The Slack logo on different backgrounds and without typography and colours.

7. Versatile

The logo will be used in a number of ways and in multiple contexts. From digital products like websites and apps to printing like clothing and office products. Is the logo still recognisable when it is small and without colours?

So a quick summary of the Logo Design principles:

  1. Simple
  2. Relevant
  3. Timeless
  4. Memorable
  5. Distinction
  6. Balance
  7. Versatile

Now you know the 7 most important principle for logo design. These you can incorporate into design process to create a design that is strategic, compelling and effective. The principles are a solid foundation for logos.

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