It only takes a customer ten seconds to form a first impression of your brand’s logo. In that ten seconds, they’re taking in everything. And while there are a number of different elements that go into creating a recognizable logo, like color, for example, all of those elements boil down to one simple rule.

That rule is simplicity.

Whether you’re working with a designer or attempting to create your own logo, you might be tempted to jazz it up with fancy designs or a lot of colors. But, in terms of creating a recognizable, trustworthy logo, that would be a mistake.

Read on to learn more about simple logo design and why it’s important for your business and your brand.

Symbolism and Recognition

Think about the Olympic Rings icon. It’s one of the oldest and best-known examples of a graphic logo. It is instantly recognizable and impossible to be mistaken for something else.

It was created in 1912 and hasn’t changed much in the 100+ years it has been around. But even though it’s simple, it’s incredibly effective. When you look at it, you know what it stands for.

There’s a use for every element in the picture, but you don’t need to know what those uses are in order to understand and relate the picture to the Olympics. It isn’t a sports-related graphic, it’s not trying to tell you what happens during the games, but you know exactly what it means when you look at it.

This is an example of how a simple logo design can take your brand from something your customers might recognize to something that they understand completely the second they look at it.

Logo Design Basics

There are a number of qualities that all good logos have. One of those qualities, and arguably the most effective, is the simplicity and clarity of a logo.

A logo is a brand’s face. As a company builds awareness of their brand, customers begin to make connections between the logo and the brand. If a logo is complicated, it makes it much harder for customers to make that association.

It’s very easy for uniqueness to get mistaken as complicated. In fact, it’s actually pretty hard to make a unique, simple logo. It’s for that reason that a lot of people opt to create complex ones instead because they’re actually much easier to design in a unique way.

But when you consider logo designs of popular companies, like McDonalds, Target, and Apple, you see how highly simplistic logos can be immensely helpful in creating brand recognition.

Make a Lasting Impression

A simple logo is much easier to absorb and understand. They’re easy to recall later on as well. They’re often easy to associate with a positive experience because it triggers memory centers in the brain and doesn’t bog the brain down with sending an unclear message, or too many messages all at once.

Sending a Clear Message

The design of a busy logo will send a convoluted message. Your customers might connect your brand and your logo, sure. But you could be seriously damaging your brand design efforts. You want to keep your logo targeted and simple.

If you do that, the message you’re sending with your logo will be clear, concise, and much more likely to be taken at face value.

Easy Recall

It’s much easier to remember one sentence than it is to remember one paragraph. The less information you’re being asked to memorize, the better your recall will be.

A complicated logo is a lot like that long paragraph. It’s filled with information and makes it harder for the average customer to remember it exactly the way you want them to.

Word of Mouth

If your logo is simple enough to commit to memory, your customer will also be able to describe it to someone else. So when they’re trying to remember the name of your company, or where you’re located, they’ll be able to tell them what the logo looks like instead.

Easily Recognizable

When your logo is simple, you can even recognize it from the corner of your eye. A much more complicated one will take a while and will require a precise line of sight in order to fully understand.

When you’re designing a logo, you know the purpose is to bring your brand to a customer’s mind right away. The quicker and easier this process is, the better it is for your brand.

Quick Emotional Reactions

Think about one of the major brands we mentioned earlier, like McDonald’s. When you imagine that logo, all of the emotions you feel should come up to the surface immediately. This is exactly the reaction you want from your customer as well.

If a logo design is complicated, your customer’s brain will spend more time trying to put together the picture of what they’re seeing rather than what they’re feeling when they see it.

Versatility

A good logo is one that can be used in all environments.

You’ll want to put your logo everywhere. You’ll want it in print, on a t-shirt, on business cards, on the web, on ink stamps, on signs, on promotional gifts, and more. You’ll want to make sure it looks good in color and black and white. It should translate well when it’s large and when it’s small.

Simple designs are best for this purpose as well. When there’s less to see, less gets lost in translation.

Harder to Counterfeit

When your logo is full of colors and complicated design, it’s much easier for other brands to copy it. A simple change is enough to consider it fair game for them to use and steal your status and followers.

If you stick to a few colors and a simple design with minimal details, it’s much harder to fool an unsuspecting customer with a counterfeit.

How to Design a Simple Logo

Trying to create a simple, effective logo can be a lot harder than you’d expect. But when you sit down and try to come up with a strategy, you can actually understand your business better.

Think about the elements that relate to your business and simplify them. Keep it fresh, modern, and unique. You’ll surely have your own process for creating your logo, but when you keep simplicity in mind, you’ll create something effective.

Your unique taste should leave a mark and no matter what it looks like in the end, your goal is to create something that’s focused on your brand.

Keep it Simple

A simple logo design doesn’t mean a simple business. It has no sway in what your business model or message is. In fact, it actually passes along a message of awareness and understanding to your customer. You want that first ten seconds that your logo is making an impression on your customer to deliver the message that you know what they want and how to deliver it to them.

For more information on logo development, visit us today.

Branding is the best way to get your company noticed. It’s what you could call the summation of your marketing campaign, or even the face your company. What image you choose to project can make or break your business.

One of the biggest aspects of branding is your logo. Your chosen graphic becomes the figurehead for your company and makes your first impression.

Flashy logos project a different brand vision than subdued, text-only logos. It’s up to you what type of logo you want to project to consumers; just ensure it’s unique and representative of your vision.

However, despite the enormous variety in logo making, there are some hard and fast rules that good logos should follow. Deviate from the standard too much and you’ll send customers running in the opposite direction.

To help you get started we’re breaking down 7 rules for logo making that every business should follow. Let’s get started.

Logo Making 101

Logos are more important today than ever to represent your company. The explosion of the internet and web-enabled devices mean we’re becoming more and more visually oriented. U.S. adults spend over 10 hours per day looking at screens, and thus inevitably looking at logos.

Think tech companies for a second. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. You’re probably picturing either the website itself or its logo. They’re one excellent example of the capitalizing on screen-time with memorable logos.

So it all begs the question, what goes into a successful logo? What do you need to succeed? How do you create a logo as ubiquitous as Facebook’s or Twitter’s?

Well…

Hire a Professional

First and foremost, it’s best to consult a professional. This doesn’t mean you can’t have control over the creative process. In fact, it’s important that you do remain in control over most aspects of your logo.

However, complete control doesn’t mean shutting down suggestions from the people who design logos day in and day out. Professional logo designers know what works and what doesn’t.

Plus, they have the expertise in actually creating your logo. Chances are your staff doesn’t have an in-house graphics professional. Logo design programs like InDesign and Illustrator take years to learn, and even longer to master.

Unique to Your Brand

Though just because you need to find a professional doesn’t mean you can’t start brainstorming in the interim. As we touched on above, keeping your logo unique is priority number one when it comes to initial design.

Think of it this way. You want your logo to remind people about your company. If it’s too similar to another company’s logo, the entire premise is gone before it started.

If you’re selling cars you want people to think of your dealership when they see tour logo. Not your dealership and the one right down the road. You need to capture as much consumer attention as possible.

Balance

So how do you keep your logo unique? Balance makes a good starting point. By balance, we mean keeping the elements of your logo proportional to one another. You don’t want the text to overpower the graphics, and vice versa.

Likewise, you don’t want color to overtake your entire design. Too much color can actually distract from parts of the logo. If someone only sees florescent yellow they might miss the text-based branding.

Scaling

After balance you’ll want to take into account how your logo scales. By scaling, we’re referring to how it looks in small, medium, and large formats. It’s almost certain that you’ll use your logos across different mediums that require different logo sizes.

The key to creating something that scales well is two-fold. First, you need to ensure the logo elements scale. This means text that doesn’t become unreadable and graphics that still look reasonable, small or large.

Second, ensure the logo gets created in the vector file format. Vector graphics use mathematical designs to create your image, and also so don’t distort when scaled.

Typography Matters

We already mentioned text several times above. While we are talking about text (again) we’re focusing this time specifically on the font. The font you choose can make or break your overall design, including your scaling.

Always strike a balance between eye-catching and readable. You want to draw in consumers but also ensure your writing is legible no matter the logo’s size or the consumer’s distance from the logo.

Match Your Brand

You can have a unique, scaling, balanced, logo with high-quality typography but still find it’s worth nothing if the logo doesn’t match your brand. After all, your chosen design needs to represent your brand in the eyes of the consumer.

The way you choose to make this happen is entirely up to your creative team and the professional you’ve hired. Twitter’s logo reminds people they’re “tweeting” with a small bird.

Facebook’s logo consists of just a blue styled “F”. It’s less direct than Twitter, but still invokes the same universal thought, “Oh, that’s Facebook.” Google, on the other hand, takes the most direct approach. Their logo is simply “Google.”

The variance in some of the most prominent logos shows that despite your choice, it’s all about capturing your brand image. Google doesn’t need much of an image, while Twitter keeps it whimsical with their bird.

Keep it Simple

Finally, just keep it simple. People need to think about your company when they see or remember your logo. You want to stay memorable, but not as the brand that has that one cool logo.

Why? While it does sound great that you’re memorable, chances are nearly 100 percent (ok, they’re 100 percent) that your company doesn’t sell logos.

Choosing a Logo Maker

Choosing a professional logo maker means finding someone known for high-quality work who has the time, experience, and resources to make sure your logo fits your vision. Logo making is time-consuming; let a professional do the work while you focus on other parts of your business.

Would you like to know how to trademark a logo?

A logo that you create is central to your brand’s image. It’s also one of the most valuable assets you have in your business.

Think of it this way, what would Nike be worth if it wasn’t instantly recognizable by the swoosh? Well, that mark is worth about $13 billion.

When you trademark a logo, you’re protecting your most valuable asset and you’re setting your company apart from the competition.

Read on to learn what it takes to trademark a logo.

Why Trademark a Logo?

The main advantage that comes with a trademark is the legal protection.

By having an official, federally registered trademark, your company is the only one that can use it. You’re protected under the law.

PayPal has filed suit against music provider Pandora for trademark infringement because they look too similar, according to PayPal.

TRX, the fitness company known for its suspension trainer, successfully won a multi-million dollar judgment against a company that created a knock-off product. It was an infringement of the brand and the product. It has a great product, a strong brand, and a great fitness logo.

This kind of protection would not have been possible if TRX didn’t have the trademark protections in place.

There are some instances where it doesn’t make sense to have a trademark.

It doesn’t make sense to register your logo if you don’t know how long you’ll be in business. You might also decide to change your logo after a few years.

How to Trademark a Logo

The first thing to know about how to trademark a logo is that it’s a long process. It takes a lot of time and it takes about 10 months to go through the trademark process.

State vs. National Trademarks

Depending on your business, you can register the trademark in your state. If you’re a local business with one location and no intention to expand, this might make sense for you. In this case, you’ll want to register your trademark with your state’s secretary of state’s office.

However, if you’re an online business with a national presence, you’ll want to be sure to register your business nationally. That means you’ll have to file with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Do Your Research

As you start thinking about whether or not to trademark a logo, start by doing research. You have to ensure that your logo isn’t used by anyone else or it’s not similar to a trademark already in use by another company.

Just about every trademark lawsuit is avoidable with good research.

To research logos and designs, you’ll need to start by visiting the USPTO’s search database.

You need to look at your logo and note all of the design elements that are there and match them with the right code in the USPTO Design Search Code Manual.

You’ll also want to note any keywords, phrases, goods, and services, that your business falls under. You’ll also need to check the international class to make sure that there are no additional conflicts.

There are a few criteria to use when doing your research. Your logo must not:

• Be similar to another logo that’s already in use
• Cannot be offensive or misleading
• Cannot cause confusion in the marketplace

If your logo meets these criteria, then you can proceed.

Use the Logo

If did your research and found that no one is using a logo that’s similar to yours, start to use your logo. This will give you some protection under the law, but you won’t be fully protected.

File the Application

One thing to remember is that you may have a tagline or business name as part of the logo. These must be filed separately, so you’ll have one application for the logo, and another for the business name.

Your application must be complete and meet the USPTO’s strict guidelines. A large percentage of applications that were declined was due to incomplete applications.

You would have to resubmit your application and pay another filing fee.

After you’ve filed your application and it’s been approved, you can then keep an eye out to make sure that no one else is using it or anything that resembles it.

There are trademark watch companies such as CompuMark that specializes in trademark protection. They take the time to do the research so you don’t have to.

Should You File the Application Yourself?

One question you’ll have to answer early on in the process is whether or not you do it yourself, use an online service, or hire an attorney.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each. The main concern for most people who want to trademark a logo is the cost.

At an absolute minimum, it’s $225 for the filing fee for a single class. It also depends on how many classes you want to trademark in and how complex your filing is. You will be responsible for doing the research yourself and filling out the application properly.

On average, online services like Legal Zoom charge about $500. They’ll give you basic research and if there are issues with your application, you’re either on your own or you’ll have to pay more money to have it completed.

An attorney will cost between $1500 – $2000.

Yes, that can be cost prohibitive, but you can increase the likelihood of your application being accepted. It’s been found that attorneys that submit the application are 50% more likely to have them approved than if you do it yourself.

That’s because they will do incredibly thorough research, ensure that the application is complete, and ensure the scope of the trademark isn’t too narrow or too broad.

Your Logo is the Key to Your Success

Your logo is a gateway to connect with your customers. It’s real value, however, gets more powerful over time.

That’s because your customers have had more good experiences with your company, and those positive feelings become associated with your logo.

And that’s also why you want to protect it.

When you know how to trademark a logo, you’re sure to protect your company’s most valuable asset.

If you’d like more great logo tips, check out our blog today.

Fostering fun competitions at work enlivens the spirit of the workplace. It creates an environment where employees have fun and where production is boosted.

To add to the merriment, employers can easily create a DIY trophy at home that’s uniquely outfitted for their business and the contest.

And, no, it won’t look shoddy in the least. At least, not with our tips.

Here, we’ll show you six methods to create the most unique and fun trophies for the workplace from the comfort of your home.

Why Bother?

Friendly contests can increase productivity and feelings of worth in businesses. Supervisors should aim for team contests to avoid any negative feelings that may ensue from competition among individuals. Doing so promotes cooperation and a team spirit, two factors that are integral to a business’s success.

However, silly contests created to instill humor not only make employers more approachable, but they also diffuse any built-up stress from the real stuff. It puts workers at ease and lets them know that laughter needn’t be reserved for their time at home.

Finally, the very act of creating a trophy says more than you can imagine. You took the time to make something for an employee. This demonstrates how much you value them.

Even if you choose to have a trophy custom made through another business, such as Trophies Plus Medals or other popular manufacturers, employees will still feel appreciated.

A Quick Word About Logos

Having your logo taken out into the world on a trophy is an excellent form of marketing. It’s a definite topic for conversation as soon as someone from beyond the company sees it sitting on a mantel or desk.

For DIY projects, consider having a company print your logo on bumper-sticker paper or other material. Not only will you have a quality look and easy application, but the price per sheet is extremely reasonable.

You can also have your logo engraved if you choose to go all-out; after all, it’s an excellent way to ensure it will remain on the trophy forever.

Otherwise, consider using your personal printer to print the logo on sticky matte paper. You’ll be needing it to create every trophy.

Six Ways to Create a DIY Trophy

These methods are convenient for a number of reasons, but mostly because your time is valuable as a manager. Therefore, we’ve selected some of the easiest and quickest ways to create a trophy–without sacrificing its appearance.

1. Disposable Cups and Plates

Chances are you have some plastic cups and plates in the kitchen cupboard somewhere. Rustle them up to create an easy and inexpensive company trophy.

What you’ll need:

• Disposable cups and plates
• Hot glue gun
• Metallic spray paint
• Various toys or items

Create a pedestal or the body of your trophy by placing the cups and plates together however you like. Use your hot glue gun to keep them firmly in place.

Next, place the item you want to be on top and glue it down. Visit your local dollar store for this or take a stroll down the dollar aisle. You’ll be surprised at how many toys you can use as toppers.

Once your soon-to-be trophy dries, take it outside for some spray painting. Metallic colors and paint/primer combinations are the best and easiest way to give the product a finished, authentic look.

Slap on your logo and consider it a job well done.

2. Kitchenware

If you’d like to be super authentic, you can always purchase real glassware to use as a trophy, but be sure to notify your winners!

Use the same method as above, but be sure to substitute the glue and spray paint for glass-appropriate adhesive and paint.

3. Cans and Candlesticks

Hit up your local Goodwill or thrift store for some likely-looking candlesticks, and save those tin cans.

What you’ll need:

• Candlestick
• Tin can
• Glue gun
• E-6000 glue
• Primer
• Metallic spray paint

Glue the tin can to the candlestick. If you have any other trinkets you would like to add to the trophy, glue them on.

Apply primer to the trophy, then the spray paint. Add on your label and your trophy is finished. Simple and easy.

4. Wooden Objects

Find any wooden objects that could be used for a trophy’s base. Watch them transform.

What you’ll need:

• Wooden object, preferably rectangular
• Stick-on felt
• Wood glue
• Spray lacquer
• Epoxy
• Masking tape
• Any items for the top
• Stickers or adhesive nameplates

Apply spray lacquer to the wood if you would like to give it a glossy finish. Let it dry.

Using the base of the wooden stand, cut a piece of felt to apply to the bottom of the stand.

Saw the top of the wooden stand to bare wood, then mask off the rest of the wood. Spray the lacquer onto the top.

After it dries, add whatever item you desire to the top and set it with epoxy glue. Add your logo and any other nameplates you would like, and you’ll have a beautiful trophy.

5. Plastic Bottles

Do you like recycling? If so, you may be surprised to learn you can turn those old plastic bottles into a killer trophy.

What you’ll need:

• A plastic bottle
• A nail
• Pipe cleaners
• Low-temperature glue gun
• Spray paint
• Scissors
• Matboard

Cut the bottom of the plastic bottle off. Using a nail, insert two holes near the cut portion of the larger piece. Twist your pipe cleaners to look like the handles of the trophy. Have one portion twisted to insert into the hole, which will keep the handles in place.

Add both handles.

Cut out a circular piece of matboard to fit the original bottom of the plastic bottle. Adhere it to the opening of the piece. After it dries, glue the curved end of the original bottom to the mouth to create a base. Apply spray paint and any labels.

Recycling and rewarding; that’s what business is all about.

6. Plaques

When we think of “trophies,” we forget about the fancy plaques that are handed out for many awards. However, these are a type of trophy, too, and they’re a classy way to get your logo out there.

What you’ll need:

• Flat or beveled finished wood
• Sponge brush
• A photo and your logo
• Mod Podge

Print off the image you would like to be on the plaque. Apply Mod Podge to the back of the print-off and center it on the wood.

After it dries, apply the Mod Podge to the top of the entire thing, including your image. It will secure the photo in place.

Create Your Logo and Images

Not only is a DIY trophy fun to make, but these six methods are easy ways to show your employees you care.

If you’re ready to transform your logo or take things up a notch for your trophies, we’re here to help. Use our online logo maker to add some pizazz to your logo or dream up new ideas.

After all, what’s work without a little fun?