Aaren Hofferth
Designer
ROCKET MEDIA
Creating Timeless Logos
First off, lets define what I’m talking about when I say “timeless”. For instance, if your logo is being redesigned every couple years, or even every few so that it looks “up to date”, then your logo is probably not designed to withstand time. This will cost you time, money, and above all, brand recognition, which is deathly important to maintaining your company(s) reputability.
Now—I’m not saying a logo has to remain exactly the same over the years, but the general shape should be the same. Look at Apple Computer’s logo for instance. They may have gotten rid of the “rainbow” colors, replaced it with a “bubble” look, then brushed metal, then flat colors, etc., but it still remains the same recognizable shape.
So we can see that It’s actually inevitable that a design will change over time, but there are many ways that designers can create “timeless” design to ensure that the logo doesn’t look out-dated or simply lose its credibility. Here are a few personal principals that I personally try to abide to.
1.) Keep the emblem (logo) a basic shape
Your first thought is probably “BORING”—but hear me out. This is the key to making your design truly timeless. Take a look at the Apple logo for instance:
As you can see—all the variations of the Apple logo retain the same basic shape. This allows Apple to reshape their logo for any marketing campaign, any fad or time period, and still retain all credibility brand recognition. This saves time, money, and headache in having to re-establish your brand down the road.
2.) Keep the typography (font) legible and not some wacky font
Using a font that is outrageous, a fad, or something of the like, will probably look outdated very quickly. I would suggest using or creating a font that employs basic shape and line technique. Lets take a look at some of these fonts to show you what I mean about BAD fonts.
Please—for the love of god, don’t use this font. I KNOW, I know. It’s so cool and rugged and it reminds you of the Sahara desert and it’d just be great—NOPE. Don’t even think about it. This font is way over-used, definitely not scalable (readable at all sizes), and just illegible to begin with. (Here is a list of the 10 most overused fonts).
Instead, you might want to pick or have someone create a font for you that is something a little meatier, bolder, and more simple. Now… we don’t need to go into a font discussion; that would take years, but here is an example of a font that I’m fond of.
3.) DO NOT add your services and tax filing status
Please. I KNOW how much you want to add “Bathroom Furnishings” below your logo, and I KNOW how much you want to add Inc.—but leave them off. Just because they are not part of your logo doesn’t mean you can’t still use them or place them on your marketing materials! Leaving them off of your logo allows you to be free of any constrains they may put on your company. What if you want to change “Bathroom Furnishings” to “Bathroom Remodeling”? or, what happens if you want to change INC. to CO.? Items like these are detractors from your actual logo and company name, leave them out!
Phew—okay, so those are some of the main points I wanted to touch on in terms of making your logo truly timeless.
Here are some other things in general you should always follow for logo design.
Good positive/negative space
This is actually for a VERY good reason. Not only is it more aesthetically pleasing, it also helps the scalability of your logo, that is, how legible the logo is at different sizes. If you have a logo that is very detailed, it probably won’t scale well. If you MUST have a detailed logo, make sure the lines are bold enough that it is recognizable even when it’s small. Here is a GREAT example of perfect positive/negative space (Come on, we had to).
Color Choice
Look up good color combinations, don’t guess. Think about your demographic. Would navy blue and grey really be appropriate for a fabric store? Did you know color actually invokes different feelings in people? It sounds really simple, but color really does affect people. Red could be a caution color, or it could mean passion. Blue may mean freedom, safety, stability or hope. Yellow gives people a feeling of hunger. ... and you thought McDonalds used yellow because it was their favorite color.
Not only does color affect how a logo looks, it also affects it’s mechanics. Is your logo going to be printed? You may want to think about how many colors you are using. Are you using a digital press, or traditional screen printing press? A digital press can print any color, while a screen printing press will charge you per color.
If you want to learn more about color psychology, check out this About.com article. You can find more about specific colors at the bottom of this page.
Bounding Box Size Effect
In the industry, a bounding box, is the invisible box around your object, in this case your logo. Is your logo more horizontal, or more vertical? The main orientation of your logo actually really affects how it is placed on all your marketing material. For instance, you may not want to use a logo that is more vertical (taller than it is wide) for a business card, because it is not making the most efficient use of space. A logo with a mildly horizontal logo is generally good, but the ideal logo is one that has a square bounding box, as shown below. You may want to think about where your logo will show up. Some companies even use multiple variations of their logo to overcome this challenge.
