With the abundance of visual information thrown at people on a day-to-day basis, whether it be printed materials or digital, attention spans have been growing increasingly short.  You only have a couple of seconds to engage someone in your brand before they move on to something else. Your logo is the opportunity to embed your brand into someone’s memory, and make it quickly recognizable in the future.

So what makes it successful?

Simplicity.

By all means, keep it simple whenever possible.  This will help the audience quickly register the logo.  This will also help when it’s placed among other content, such as brochures and websites. If it is too busy it will end up being a distraction rather than a compliment to the other media you’re presenting.

Memorable.

Part of the magic of a good logo is not just keeping it simple, but to have a memorable and engaging element. This can be done with accent colors, illustrative elements, or optical illusions. A popular way to engage people in logos is the use gestalt principles. Gestalt uses the brain’s tendency to fill in gaps on its own when only part of the visual information is presented.  An example would be a logo that uses negative space to make a letter appear.

Scalable.

This is especially important now that graphic design is being presented on mobile devices. Logos should still be recognizable at the smallest of scales. This also helps it to be recognizable at a distance.

Use of Color.

Color is important in catching attention, but it must also work well even in black and white. Depending on the medium, you may be limited to black and white or a single color.

Flexibility.

This is where the benefits of simplicity come into play. If you want the logo to work well, it must be recognizable no matter the medium. Flexibility also means more opportunities to put your brand in places.

Lasts the Test of Time.

A truly successful logo will only need minor rebranding over the years. If it has become iconic, people will recognize it even after updates to it have been made.

A strong logo will not only give your brand a professional and memorable face, it will help tie all of your other materials together, from web content to storefronts.

It is the head of a strong brand that will promote the generation of new business.