If you are starting a new business, or revitalizing an old one the visual brand is an important part of the process.  While style rules come and go, these ten tips remain true over time.   If you want to build a great visual brand keep the following in mind!

Opt for simple

1. Use Two Colors- The more colors you use, the more difficult it will be to maintain brand consistency as you move across media.   Also, while you want the logo to be distinctive, too many colors will create visual conflict every time it is place on a page with other images.

2.  Use No More Than Two Fonts – Like color, font can make a statement or be a distraction.

3. Avoid intricate details. – While attractive when the logo is blown up, these details will disappear when it is shrunk to fit on a pen or business card.   The details will be difficult to replicate if you want to embroider or emboss the logo onto a hat, shirt or coffee mug.

Consistent across platforms

4. The logo should look good in black and white – There will be times when the logo will be reproduced in black and white, if you rely on color to create the impact, there will be none in black and white.

5. Make sure that the logo is recognizable when inverted. – When I worked for Conseco, an important part of the logo was the staircase, conveying the idea that you were “stepping up” to Conseco.  When the logo was reversed, (white on green or black) it looked like the staircase was going down.  We had to create a second sligtly different version of the logo to use when we were reversing it on a colored background.

6. Make sure that the logo is recognizable when resized. – See notes on details above.  Often when designers work on a logo, it looks great on their screen, but they forget that it is enlarged 300- 500% beyond how it will normally appear.  Be sure to check in all sizes before finalizing your logo decision.

7. Do not use special effects (including, but not limited to: gradients, drop shadows, reflections, and light bursts). – Mostly I would avoid these treatments because they make the logo look cheesy and amatureish.  ( The kind of thing you can do with WordArt.)  I do however like the subtle Web 2.0 wet look that is often added to a logo on website.   But the technique was overused and no longer looks distinctive.

Get relevant feedback

8.Ignore what your parents and/or spouse think about the design. – Unless they are firmly in the demographic of your target customer

9. Test the appeal of the logo with more than just three (3) individuals. – Ask questions about what the logo conveys, not whether they like it!

Commit to the Design

10. Once you choose a logo, use it everywhere, on letterhead, websites, invoices, business cards, quotes, t-shirts, hats and coffee mugs.

At Roundpeg, we love to develop logos~  Here are a few examples of our recent designs!

For Blog Post1