The creation of this visual representation of a brand goes beyond just possessing graphic design skills. Presented below are certain essential rules which should be applied in the design of logo meant for the web or print. If followed correctly, the result will be a stunning logo with the ability to spearhead the success of the company’s branding efforts.

You must do preliminary work

The first step towards designing an effective logo is to do a thorough preliminary work. It is out of the preliminary sketches where you will get the initial design sketches and move forward with the rest of the process. For the preliminary work, you can simply use paper and pen drawings or you can make drafts using a vector program such as Adobe Illustrator.

It is recommended you create between twenty and thirty sketches or ideas to give you variations to use for the final logo. This process may sound a bit difficult, but it is a very fundamental one and skipping it might end up compromising your final results. Remember, that the more time a graphics designer spends on the preliminary sketches, the higher the chances of coming up with a great design.

Always create balance

The next essential rule in designing a logo for both web and print is to ensure balance in the design. The importance of having balance in the design is because the human mind has a way of equation balance to nice visual appeal. It implies that without a good balance in the design, the logo won’t appear as beautiful as it would have appeared with the right balance.

In this regard, therefore, you should keep the weight of the fonts, colors, sizes and graphics equal on each side. In certain occasions, you may be allowed to break the rule on balance, but just have in mind that the logo will be seen by multitudes, and not just those who have a keen eye for design, therefore, you will be safer by creating a balanced logo.

Never ignore the sizes

The next important rule for creating logos for web and print is the rule on size. This matters so much because all the components must look good and readable in all sizes. A logo ceases to be effective if it loses its definition when scaled down to fit into letterheads or small promotional items. It is important for the logo to appear the same whether displayed on a billboard, a television ad, and email signature or on the website. The best way to test if the logo is of the right size it test manually to see its behaviour on different mediums.

Wise use of colors

The color theory may sound complex, but to a designer keen on creating killer logos for web and print, there is no other way but to understand the theory and be proficient in its application. The basic rule when it comes to using color in logo design is as follows-:

• Use colors that are near each other on the color wheel
• Avoid very bright colors which may make the eyes strain while looking at them
• The logo must also look good in black and white or grayscale or in just two colors
• You are free to break the rules, but you must have a good reason for that.

It also pays to understand how different colors evoke various emotions or feelings. For instance, the color red might evoke feelings of love, passion, aggression, and strength while white on the other hand might evoke feelings of cleanliness, purity or simplicity.

Adopt a design style that suits the company

There are various design styles at the disposal of every graphics designer. When working on other graphics, any other style which suits the needs of the designer can be preferred. However, when working on logos, whether for the web or for print, the style adopted must be in tandem with the needs of the company. To get the style right, it is recommended to do a background check about the company so that you have a good understanding their operation and the nature of the businesses they do. You should also do a research about the target audience of the company then identify the best style that will give greater results. Preferably, you should identify the right style when working on the preliminary sketches.

Learn how to create a consultancy logo here!

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PNG: Portable Network Graphics

This is one of the most common graphic design formats you will ever come across. Files in this format will have the extension .png and it is majorly used when dealing with photos. Its use is also rampant when working on projects destined for websites and other online uses because of its low resolution. The files in PNG format are mostly bitmap images which use lossless data compression. It is also important to point out the fact that files in this format can have a transparent background.

TIF: Tagged Image File Format

Tagged Image Format is used for the storage of images, art or photography. Files in this format are predominantly used in commercial printing or professional environments. The TIFF graphics design format also happens to be the most widely supported format across most of the platforms. If you want high quality images, then this is the format you will have to work with. Though it is considered as large in size, it offers superior reliability when dealing with high quality images compared to the other formats you will ever come across.

GIF: Graphics Interchange Format

GIF is another common graphic design format you have probably come across multiple times. GIF formats are known to have low resolutions and are majorly used for website and email purposes. Almost all browsers support this format, and it employs the use of compression scheme to keep all the files small. Just like the PNG files, GIF files can also be created with transparent backgrounds.

JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group

You have probably heard of the JPEG graphics design format and maybe used it for a couple of times. JPEG refers to a compressed image file which offers no support for transparent backgrounds. The levels of compression in such files, however, vary with regards to resolution, and also depending on the quality of the printing. Repeated compression will compromise the final quality of JPEG files.

PSD: Photoshop Document

PSD graphics design format is probably known to every graphic designer, especially those who use Photoshop in their designs. This format is usually a raster format, and it is found in graphics and photos created using the Adobe Photoshop image editing software. It is commonly used by designers and printers and files in this format can only be opened using the software program. It is also worth noting that files in PSD file format can be created in separate and distinct layers thus making it one of the most robust graphic design formats available for the designers.

AI: Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a common graphics design tool used by millions of designers across the globe. The AI graphics design format comprises of vector files that designers and commercial printers can use to produce files in other different file formats as well as sizes. Just like the PSD files, AI files can only be opened using Adobe Illustrator, and they also allow for the creation of files in layers. It is the AI graphics file format that is most preferred by promotional product companies, printers, sign and banner companies as well as other third-party creatives.

PDF: Portable Document Format

PDF is considered a universal graphics design format that embeds and preserver the fonts, layout, graphics and images for all source documents irrespective of the application that was used in creating them. It is thus possible to share and view these files as well as print them with any free Adobe Reader software program. Some of the files in this format are also suitable for use in digital, commercial or desktop printing.

EPS: Encapsulated Post Script

The EPS graphics design format is mostly used in the transfer of artwork or images by designers, from vector files into other applications. EPS files can be scaled to any size and can also be opened with various applications such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop or Freehand. EPS graphic design format is another preferred format by printers, sign and banner companies, silk screeners and other third-party creatives due to its versatility when it comes to printing.

These are some of the common graphics design formats which will give you the flexibility when working with various files meant for various applications.

Learn about the basics of branding for designers here!

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There are a number of big reasons why you should avoid overcomplicating a traditional logo design. Logos are designed to be simple and to follow basic rules. Adding too many touches or making a logo difficult to understand can only lead to issues when comes to representing your brand and for resonating with your target audience. An overcomplicated design can be bad for many different reasons and is something that every designer needs to avoid. Here are some of the top reasons why you should avoid overcomplicated any design:

Legibility:

With too many different typefaces for example or too much going on a logo this leads to a design that simply can’t be read or interpreted by anyone. Making sure that your design remains legible is extremely important. Without a logo that can be read quickly you could be missing out on a large number of followers and customers. Logos need to be designed in order to be seen a million times as well as read in just a few seconds. Over complicating designs with large text, too many typefaces or many different words that are uniquely shaped can be absolutely overwhelming. Rather than using this tactic spree for simplicity and simple readability. This is the best way to make sure that your message is received well.

Keep the length of lines short:

If you are writing any type of promotional content or forming a web design you need to make sure to keep all of your lines short and readable. Especially for landing pages and promotional content you need to make sure that the block text for any line only reaches around six words per line. This is comfortable for most people to read in a simple pass. Any of your print materials or print design should foll if ow this rule as blocks of a larger format will simply be ignored. If you really want to convey a message with your design you need to avoid all of the lines in your content and keep your design structured well and kept uniform.

Plan the order of messages:

When producing print material, a web design or even a logo design it’s very important to have a purposeful list of where to draw the customers eye. Making sure that the emphasis words are placed on top and actually planning at the order that you use for your text blocks and titles is extremely important to designing something that is simple. Really think about the way that you want to draw your readers eye and the type of information that you would like to present. If your design doesn’t follow any uniform pattern people are all going to read it and interpreted very differently. Rather than going with a design that is extremely complicated, always have a hierarchy and a planned order for your messages.

Work on your spacing:

Spacing in a logo design and spacing in all of the content on your webpages also extremely important. Dealing with spacing in text is an inevitability of design and without the appropriate word spacing between text and objects a page will just appear unprofessional. The easiest way to check your word spacing is to see if a lowercase “i” could fit between each of the word spaces in your logo or print text design. Also make sure that the alignment is correct for drawing the eye across text boxes. With many different text elements and graphic elements in a design you still need to focus on spacing. By introducing more and more of these objects into your design however it can make spacing an absolute nightmare.

Check a grid:

If you are designing anything in adobe indesign for example you can quickly check on a grid to see if all of the elements on your page are well aligned. Using this grid is one of the best ways that you can check the spacing between various text and image objects across the page. This invisible grid can be displayed in many different ways and help you to adjust everything from logos, to web design to print promotions. A grid is a great way to see if you have an overcomplicated design because it can help you to see if you have too many elements on page.

Stick to a palette:

Having a color palette and sticking to it is one of the biggest elements of preventing an overcomplicated design. With the help of a proper color palette you can stick to some color swatches through your entire logo designer webpage that will match up and be easy on the eyes. The big problem with using a number of different colors is that the content doesn’t appear uniform or easy to read.

Embrace space:

Many designers feel like they have to fill up white space in order to have a successful design. If almost every inch of white space gets filled up in the design process you can often end up with an overcomplicated design. Embrace blank space in your designs and use simplicity to share your message.

Learn how to find your target market here!

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