Like a body, logo design requires more than just the “bones” to work as effectively as possible. I’ve learned first-hand the importance of making sure that each logo is as well-designed as possible for the longevity and profitability of the firm that it symbolizes via my years-long career as a serial entrepreneur.

A logo or other piece of artwork

You might have chosen to use a straightforward wordmark or lettermark logo. Go for it if it best represents your brand, but the majority of companies—more than 60%, according to some statistics—use a combination logo that combines a wordmark with a visual or icon.

Here are the key considerations when selecting a graphic to make sure your decision will be ideal for the success of the logo and the brand it represents.

• Avoid graphics that are too generic and don’t stand out from the crowd. Standard stock imagery or iconography may be a good starting point to give you an idea of what you want but play around with it to ensure it’s the most accurate style for your company.
• Make sure that your graphic style isn’t tone-deaf. Tone and messaging are both imperative for good graphic design. If you’re launching a high-tech startup with the goal of a reputation as cutting-edge, a quirky, cartoony graphic wouldn’t fit the bill, for example.
• Check for scalability. How well does your graphic show up in different sizes? Make sure it’s a vector image to avoid issues with pixelation and potential loss of detail.
• Don’t be a copycat. This calls for extensive market research and analysis of potential competition. Does your competitor use a red star in its logo? Keep it out of your own. Copycat or dupe designs almost inevitably lead to unfavorable comparisons.

Prioritizing clarity in your font

Choosing your font is the next big part of putting together a great logo design. Font choice is integral not only to the user-friendliness of the logo but to the overall uniqueness, too. Here are some keys to look for:

• Legibility and readability. You may use these interchangeably, but they’re terms that are distinct but related. Legibility refers to the individual letters and words and how easy they are to comprehend. Readability refers to whether the text as a whole can be read and how easy it is to do so. These are key to font choice because there’s a limited amount of alphabet letters in your logo. Check each one for legibility, and ensure they work together accurately for overall readability. Color choice also plays a part in this, both in the color of the font and the background, but we’ll talk more about that later.
• Psychology of font choice. Generally speaking, we tend to associate certain traits and characteristics with certain types of fonts, such as serifs being viewed as reliable and traditional, sans serifs as youthful, and script as creative and unique. This can be leveraged to fit the messaging of your brand and influence the first impression your logo makes.
• Branding potential. How will your chosen font work on other pieces of branding? Branding works best as a cohesive whole, where individual elements are reused for familiarity and reliability. Count on using your logo font in other areas of the brand identity, and double-check the legibility and readability against other potential uses.

Making it memorable with color choice

The colors you choose can build your brand’s recognizability and make it memorable. Here are the keys to good color choice.

• Psychology of color. Just like with fonts, we infer certain traits from colors, and they elicit certain feelings and reactions. Different demographics also have preferred colors. Leveraging color psychology in branding can elevate logo design.
• Avoid using too many colors. Most design experts suggest no more than two or three.
• Careful color choice influences brand memorability. Using a signature color in your logo and across your branding can increase brand recognition by 80%.

Bringing everything together

The particulars of a logo’s design rely on the business that created it, the designer, and the design itself. Inspiration can happen at any time. Others struggle for a long time to come up with the ideal logo design. No more than there is a means to guarantee the success of a new business venture, there is no certain approach to ensure logo design will succeed each and every time.

However, a deeper grasp of effective logo design can allow us to balance the odds in our favor, just as expertise in the realm of entrepreneurship will assist us with our next business.