A simple design is exactly what many companies want nowadays and for good reason. Simple designs not only convey messages in a profound way but they seem to have a more lasting impact with audiences in design. More and more designers are asked for these kinds of designs almost every day and whether you are building promotional content or you need a new logo it’s always important to follow the KISS method in design. Here are some the top principles of how you can produce simple designs that can leave a very powerful impact.

Build less but make the message better:

Although it may seem like an impossible concept to produce less work with a stronger message, this is exactly what designers are asked to do almost every day with simple design. A good way to start is to begin with many different elements and then start to think of some the nonessentials of your design so that you can eventually end up with a purely simple product. Many designers are required to produce designs in their most simple form and this means stripping things away until you end up with a purely practical design with a strong message. Don’t be afraid if your final design ends up with lots of white space it’s possible to maximize your design format to figure out how to make the space work for you. When you consider minimalist designs, there is a lot of white space in these ads and logos but it’s all purposeful.

Portray honesty:

With a simple design message you can communicate the intent of a company or of advertising very honestly and with a clear message. Redirecting the eyes of the target market all over the place can often lead to a convoluted marketing message. Instead of including all of the tricks and flashy gimmicks that are sometimes used to draw someone to a brand or product, pick a clear message. Make this message honest and get rid of some of the extra statements/images that may destruct the main marketing effort. Pure honesty is the biggest attraction of a simple design.

Create a classic look for history:

Some of the greatest logo designs of our time are relatively simple in their construction. Keep this in mind throughout the design process and if the images that you are working on don’t seem to be something that could be labeled as iconic or classic, it could be time to adjust them. Of course no designer knows that they are working on a timeless logo or advertisement as they are working on them but unless you as a designer able to walk away from your creation proud of it, don’t give in. There are certain fundamentals that could turn your design into something classic or even historical. Don’t think of a simple design is being boring especially when it showcases something new in a simple format.

Focus less on overdone:

When many people think of designers they often think of over produced overdone logo designs. A modern designer creating simple logo designs can produce extremely beautiful content by simply assembling design elements in the best way forward. Rather than thinking of design as a process for creating a detailed piece of art or advertising, focus on what needs to be included in a design and work at placing the elements into the right positions as well as orienting them. Think of any simple design process is more of an assembly process than a creation process. Just like you build a good pizza, you know the ingredients that you have to put on it; but it is the placement that ensures a quality product.

Spend time being thorough:

Even if a simple design may look like something that could be created in just a few minutes there is nothing wrong with being thorough and taking some time to experiment. Taking the time to get a simple design correct is absolutely important. Many designers have it in their minds that a simple design should take less time and require less pot but this is quite the opposite. Keeping things simple usually leads to some more finicky work as well as a little more experimentation with the fundamental elements of any design. Make sure that you give yourself enough time to make these adjustments as you never know when an inspirational moment may strike with the orientation of simple design elements.

Make sure it is understood:

One of the main objectives of any simple design is to be instantly understood. The best logo designs and the best advertising designs don’t need any type of explanation. If you have spent hours or even days designing something you need to get some feedback and make sure that it resonates well with an audience. Just because a concept may seem approachable or easy to understand by your standards doesn’t necessarily make it an easy concept for somebody else.

Learn more about the basics of branding for designers here!

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With the plethora of design tools and graphic design materials available, a lot of designers have found themselves lost deep in the mayhem of clutter. It happens when you attempt to create overly complicated designs that end up losing their purposes as branding tools.

Whereas it is important and encouraging to display your design prowess, you lose the initiative when your design fails to achieve its objective. But how can you, as the designer, cut the clutter and bring logo design back to the basics? Here is how:

Be thorough in your research

Before you sit down at your desk to implement a logo design, it is imperative that you do a thorough research to enable you gain useful insights regarding the logo you are just about to design. A lot of designers end up with complex and sophisticated logos simply because they bypassed the research stage hence they did not comprehend what was needed for that particular logo design.

Basic logo design requires that you gather as much information as possible about the industry you are designing a logo for, with great emphasis on the target audience and the competition likely to be faced. Your aim, therefore, as the logo designer is to come up with a simplistic yet effective design that will dwarf the competition and speak to the target audience in a language they understand. If you have a logo design principle in mind, then you will always avoid the clutter and have a ride downhill each time you are designing a logo.

Always be Original

Many designers in the present times have a higher propensity to lax in their creativity by imitating designs that are already in existence. This is driven by the need to make a quick back with total disregard for the industry’s ethical standards and the importance of giving unique designs to clients. It is guaranteed that you will always come up with a clutter design if you are unable to put your creative mind to use and come up with unique designs. Originality is a requirement for basic logo design, and you will never achieve it if you prefer to be a copy cat.

Careful Choice of Typefaces

Most logos that would have been great and appeared professional have been ruined by the wrong choice of fonts. Basic logo design requires that you be very vigilant with the fonts you choose to use in the design. Remember, the font chosen should act as a tone for the brand and reflect on the company’s vision.

With so many fonts to choose from, there may be a temptation to go for the most modern fonts or the breathtaking ones thinking that they will give the best results. However, whichever choice of fonts you go for, you must have two things in mind: the fonts must be simple and most of all, they must be legible. This is imperative in basic logo design because you desire people to see your logo, read it so as to understand the particular message you are trying to pass across.

Test the logo for effectiveness

For you to be successful in basic logo design, you have to test the logo for effectiveness before you can finally wrap up the process. Essentially, this implies that you should check if the logo will give satisfactory results when placed or viewed in different places. For instance, it should render well in printed materials such as the company’s letterheads the way it rendered in your computer screen.

Additionally, a good logo must be easy to print, scalable, distinct and memorable. Due to these attributes, therefore, the use of icons and symbols are highly encouraged for basic logo design as opposed to as opposed to using photographs that might lack in originality besides being blurred or pixilated.

Fads Will Come and Go, Avoid Trendy Looks

Basic logo design is based on solid principles and not graphic design trends that are here today and will be gone tomorrow. It simply implies that you should ground your logo design on the core principles and avoid the temptation to conform to the current trends. This is because trends come and go but principles will always remain.

As much as you want the logo to be fresh and appealing, remember that you wish to create a logo that will be effective and exude timeless elegance several years from today. Rather than trying to play the trend, therefore, stick to basic logo design that will remain appealing when the trends will be long gone.

Always work in Black and White Fast

Starting your design in black and white is another basic logo design concept that many people tend to miss. By starting your design in this manner, all you attention will be on the idea and not the aesthetics. You will have the clarity to bring all the important aspects of the design before you start splashing around colors.

Once you are content with the black and white design, you can then go ahead and add color to finalize the design. Mastering this basic logo design principle will save you from deviating and cluttering your design with things that will only end up hurting the effectiveness of your logo.

Check out where to use your logo after it is completed. 

The post Cut the Clutter: How to Bring a Logo Design Back to Basics appeared first on LogoMaven | Easy Logo Design Software & Logo Maker.

The less is more design principle is becoming a strong trend lately in the spheres of logo design. It has come to the realization that simplicity leads to the creation of effective logo designs that will add immensely to the branding endeavors of the business and make it memorable to the clients for a long period.

The less is more principle would have been dismissed as another passing cloud, but if you see big companies and large corporations rebranding their logos to simpler ones, then you know that there are some serious undercurrents taking place. These companies spend fortunes in their branding and for them to revert to less is more logos, they must have done adequate research and are convinced that it is the best design approach to consider.

Netflix, PayPal, and Avery are some of the corporate giants who have demonstrated the effectiveness of applying the less is more design principle in logo design.

Why less is More Logo Design is Successful

It not in question that less is more in logo design has a lot of benefits as compared to cramming lots of graphics and wording in the same logo. Other than the aesthetic appeal created by such designs, here are some of the reasons why this concept is such a powerful one when it comes to the logos and overall branding for the company-:

Creates balance and harmony in the design

In the absence of balance and harmony,  a logo design might lose coherence and fail to capture the attention of the viewers effectively. The less is more design principle is useful in creating a harmonious layout in the design and removes any unsteadiness, either in the text or the graphics to make the logo more visible and easily recognizable.

Improves readability

One of the benefits of applying the less is more design principle is that it greatly enhances the readability of the logo. Simplistic logos does not feature a lot of texts and images hence viewers can easily and quickly comprehend what the logo is all about.

Leads to creation of simple yet sophisticated and elegant designs

If you are observant, you will realize that the corporation that have rebranded using the less is more design principle are some of the giants in their respective industries. Cheap and local companies will in most cases have overly complicated logos. It is also evident that simplistic logos are simple, yet display a great deal of professionalism and elegance in the design.

Gives focus and emphasis on the subject

When less is more is applied in logo design, there are few elements of design used making the subject of the design get a lot of focus. This clarity is immensely useful in branding for any business. Again, the less is more principle in logo design helps in directing the viewer’s eye to the particular components of the design that requires the most attention. There are no distractions around to make the viewer deviate from seeing and understanding the message of the logo.

Useful for mobile application

Since the world is drifting towards e-commerce and the use of the internet to access various goods and services, companies and organizations need to have their content readily available to a number of mobile devices used to access the internet. The less is more design concept is responsive hence, it renders perfectly well in the mobile devices. It is important to have in mind that over half of the world population with access to the internet use mobile devices for browsing. Hence, less is more is ensuring that every person who visits the various sites get a good experience, irrespective of their devices.

Flatness for more quality

The less is more trend leans heavily towards “flatness” in the logos as well as other graphic designs. It eliminates shadows and blurs that are the normal culprits in making logos or other graphics unreadable.

Works well with photos

Photos are a huge consideration when it comes to logo design. Not every photo will render properly in mobile devices, and since companies want their contents accessible to such devices, simplicity in logo design has provided the much-needed solution. Whether or not a photo is used in the logo design, it is guaranteed that it will display perfectly well on all the devices.

Less is more is here to stay

Despite the fact that certain corporate organizations have tried to rebrand using the less is more design principle but failed, we can only expect that the trend will get more steam and might be the main thing in logo design. While doing it, however, it is important to remember not to be over simplistic to a point where the logo loses meaning and relevance.

Use these top tips on creating a flat design that is simple

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