One of the things that can heavily impact the direction that web design will take, is your company’s logo and branding. This week I’m going to concentrate on the former.

Many of our clients come to us and end up finding that they have problems with their logo design once they try to implement it onto a new platform. Sometimes it is because they didn’t plan for the future when their original logo was created, and the resolution of the images is not on par with today’s standards. Sometimes there isn’t a clear reason or thought process as to why their logo is a certain way. Or maybe there isn’t a clear reason behind their color choices. There are a lot of things to consider when building or updating your company’s logo.

Using Vector Graphics – The creation of Vector Graphics, which can be resized in any which way without becoming grainy or loosing resolution, has become a giant leap forward for internet graphics. With huge variations in screen size between phones, tablets, computers, and even television screens, now having the capability to view websites, having graphics with the ability to adapt are of paramount importance to your website looking good at all times. Adobe Illustrator has this ability. There is no reason not to use it as time goes on. It will future-proof your logo design.

Color Choices – This is a big one. Different colors say different things about a business. Red is usually a power color, while blue often represents stability and reliability. Choosing the right color for your logo is crucial to portraying the energy of your business. It is important to not choose too many colors, maybe two at the most. And make sure that your logo will look good in black and white, and against dark and light backgrounds. There are many ways you could potentially use your logo aside from on the web, so your logo should be able to adapt well to any of them.

Fonts – It is important to think about the future of your company when choosing a font to be a part of your logo. If you want something that can stand the test of time, you should aim for simplicity and something that is easily readable. It certainly depends on your industry, what kinds of fonts might suit your business, but keep in mind that simplicity is better. You should also try to stick to two or less fonts. Jumping from font to font to font will end up seeming like too much, and become a jumbled mess.

Design – The actual design of the logo should aim for simplicity. If there are extraneous parts to your logo, you should take a look at it and see if anything can be trimmed away. Some of the simplest logos, such as the McDonalds golden arches, or Apple’s apple, are some of the most recognizable logos in the world. You don’t necessarily need to have your logo reflect too closely the industry that your business is currently in. Your company’s industry could change in the future, so choosing something to become your company’s identity might be better in the long run than trying to conform to an identity. Apple doesn’t have to use anything to do with technology in their logo, but everyone knows what an Apple product is.

So there you have four important considerations when creating your company’s logo, and starting to build your brand. Next week we will cover several other elements that go into building your brand. Don’t miss it!