Quite simply, the best logos are simple logos. It’s as simple as that. Think of Apple, Nike and Mercedes-Benz for instance. All of these logo designs are clear, effective and most importantly, memorable, and simplicity is the key to this. Simple logos make for lasting impressions.
A simple logo doesn’t mean the design process was simple
A simple logo doesn’t mean the process to get to that solution was a simple process. In fact, the opposite is usually true. A simple logo can require more work than a complicated one.
So what exactly does simplicity involve then?
Before a business or brand even starts thinking about a logo design, the business’ message, story, mission, vision and values must be defined. The target audience needs to be understood and a business must know what they want to communicate to them. Maybe it’s service, quality, exclusivity, trust and/or loyalty for instance.
A logo should also communicate what makes your business different or better than your competitors, so a competitor analysis must also be undertaken to work out why someone should choose your business or brand over another.
Taking all this information onboard, a logo designer’s job is to then express all of these things through a logo, through the use of colour, lines, shapes and fonts.
Simplicity equals clarity
A great logo manages to convey a lot about a business or brand—communicating what it does, why it is special, and something about its character. It sounds counterintuitive, but often it is the simplest designs that are the clearest.
A great, simple logo design should allow potential customers to get an initial understanding of your business at a first glance only.
Remember, simplicity is memorable
It is easier to recognise a simple logo than it is to recognise a complex one. Simple, distinct shapes are much more memorable and therefore make an impression much more easily.
Simplicity is timeless
Clean, simple logos are considered timeless. This is mainly because it is the unnecessary "decorations” in a logo that become outdated.
It is also easier to make minor tweaks to a simple logo while still maintaining a recognisable brand, such as Starbucks have done over the years.
Simplicity is versatile
Logos are placed on a variety of different products, mediums, textures, and colours, and get used at many different sizes. A simple logo will be effective in many different settings, and be more likely to be legible at small sizes as well as being able to be printed successfully in greyscale or as a one-colour design.
Additionally, simple, clean logos work really effectively online, and especially in this current social media age where small profile images have become a design consideration.
So really, there is often a lot more behind a simple logo than what you might assume at first glance.
The moral of the story? Simple is simply better!
Get in touch if this resonates with you and I'd love to discuss how we could work together to simplify things for you!