DESIGNING A LOGO

A logo is a design, made up of letters and/or graphics, that identifies a company or a product. Designed correctly, logos can be an extremely powerful tool - 95% of the people in Canada and the U.S. would be able to immediately recognize the McDonald's logo. In fact, more people probably know the McDonald's logo than the name of the Prime Minister or President.

Logos can be classified into 4 general groups: symbol, alpha-symbol and alphanumeric, or combination.

Symbol

A symbol, or icon is a picture representation of your company, such as logos for Shell, Apple, and American Greetings (the rose). Symbols are usually used for long-established companies that everyone knows, eg. the MacDonald's golden arches.

A symbol, by itself is the least used type of logo, but, if done correctly, can provide the most impact and establish a sophisticated, intellectual corporate identity. On the other hand, if not done well, it can look amateurish, may even take away from the company's credibility.

Alpha-Symbol

An alpha-symbol uses a letter or letters from the name of a company in a graphical way to convey what the company does. Sometimes a letter designed in a particular style may be sufficient. Typical letter uses on logos include distorting company initials, modifying letter shapes, or creating original letter shapes to develop an exciting logo.

Many auto makers use these types of logos, such as Honda, Accura, Mazda, and Hyundai. One of the most popular and recognized logos in the history of the 20th century is this type of logo: IBM. Other examples of this type include GM, Adobe Systems, Moen, and America On-Line.

This type of logo is the second least-used logo, and, as with a symbol, if done correctly, can greatly raise the image of your company. However, it also shares a symbol's downfall: if done haphazardly, alpha-symbols can appear unprofessional and might provoke laughter rather than sales.

Alphanumeric

This type is the most widely-used logo. It is the name of your company or brand spelled out, literally, but the treatment of the typography (letters) is usually unique unto the name itself.  Examples include Kellogg's, FedEx, Microsoft, Sony, Ford, and the list goes on and on.

This is the "safe" logo and the easiest to create (by an amateur's standards). A designer, though, will spend as much time tweaking an alphanumeric logo as he or she will with a symbol or alpha-symbol. Letter-spacing, color, font choice, word relationships and other factors play into the creation of an alphanumeric logo.

Combination

This type of logo combines symbol and text.

Logos are all about image.  The main purpose of a logo is to identify the organization, product or service that it represents. The goal is to portray the image that the business wants, to combine into one design, as many desirable qualities and characteristics of the company as possible. Quite often a logo can mean the difference between success and failure.

The business must first be clear on who their customer is and the image they want to portray.  The logo designer's job is to take that information and prepare several designs that will get that message across.  An important consideration for the design of any good logo is its ability to be reduced or enlarged and still be recognized. A designer must pay particular attention to the logo's design to be sure it does not lose its message or become confusing when its size is changed.

Because of the power that is associated with logos, it has become necessary to regulate them. In order to protect a logo from being stolen it may be registered with the Canadian Patent Office. This protects the design from being stolen or closely copied by another company for a period of twenty years.  A logo that is legally protected is called a trademark.