How to Make the Perfect Logo: 3 Steps to Being Memorable

Logos are an important part of branding. But, I think that many forget this one important fact:

Your brand is not your logo.

At the very best, your logo should the dot on top of the 'i,' cementing everything your brand stands. It's role is to be a symbol so powerful that, overtime, it encapsulates and reminds the customer about your brand's values and strengths.

A great logo contains three essential ingredients:

• It tells a story
• It's simple
• It stands out from the crowd

Storytelling:

I’ve always been a big believer in intuitive logos – logos which intuitively are able to indirectly tell a story of the brand. The trick is to add an elegant cleverness to your brand, which makes the viewer see the logo in two dimensions: first, what it says and, then, what it does. Identify symbols, using Google or picture services, that best typify your brand's story. Then, create your top 3 list of those symbols you feel represents your brand. 

Here a few examples of logos that tell a story:

Simplicity:

Simplicity is the key to great logos. The golden rule is that a person should be able to see and interpret your logo in one second.

Yes, ONE second.

That’s all the time you have. Thus, you should steer away from overly complex designs that need equally complex explanations to be understood The consumer simply does not have the time for it and will move on to something else.

These logos are simple, yet get the point across.

Stand Out:

Finally, your logo needs to stand out from the crowd. Your strength is that you don’t yet have millions of consumers to please. Use that to your benefit-- be courageous and go against the norm. Some of the most powerful logos in the world often break rules, such as Google changing its design every week.

Creating a clever play on words can create unique logos, as shown by these examples.

As you’ll realize, this is far from easy. There’s no right or wrong answer. At the end of the day, I’ve learned that the ‘grandmother” test, more than anything, always seems to work. What does your grandmother say? Does she get it? If she does – there might be something to it.

About the author:

Martin Lindstrom, a global expert and pioneer in the fields of consumer psychology, marketing, and neuroscientific research, has worked with such brands as McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Nestlé, American Express, Microsoft Corporation, The Walt Disney Company, and GlaxoSmithKline.

 Named one of TIME Magazine’s “World's 100 Most Influential People,” he authored the NY Times and international bestseller "Buyology—Truth and Lies About Why We Buy.” His new book, "Small Data-- The Tiny Clues that Uncover Huge Trends," was released in February 2016. In November 2015, Martin was honored by Thinkers50 as number 18 of the world's top business thinkers. 

Get to know Martin better on Twitter, Facebook or at MartinLindstrom.com