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Why Logos Should Be Designed as Vector Files
What makes a great logo design? It is a combination of technical, strategic, and aesthetic factors that combine in just the right way. Often, if the typography were just slightly larger, or the color were just a shade brighter, it wouldn't work.
It's not easy to design a smart, successful logo that resonates with an audience—it is elusive and complicated, and you can't always identify why it works. On the other hand, it is much easier to spot a poorly designed logo and know why it's unsuccessful. Below are three suggestions to correct the missteps most often seen.
1. Create your initial logo as a vector file
Vector-based logos allow for the maximum range of usage because you can scale the size of vector files without loss of quality or sharpness. This means that the same logo file that looks great on a business card will also look great on a billboard. Also, vector graphics are small in file size. This makes them much easier to manage and share. The bottom line;mdash;for print design, a vector logo will always look and work best. Your design agency will typically start with a vector logo, but can easily export Web-friendly files from this format.
2. Design your logo in black and white—at first
It is best to avoid color in the first round of logo design. If you design a logo that works without color first, you avoid the possibility of the logo relying on color for its visual impact. Moreover, most logos end up being displayed in black and white at some point, e.g. in a newspaper or on a fax or photocopy. Once you do add color, it is best to limit it to two if you can. Too many colors can confuse the eye rather than helping to focus it. Limiting your colors will also save you money during the printing process. Since there is no limitation to color usage on screen, many companies have been tempted to overuse color in their Web design. Bad design, however, is bad design in any context.
3. Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.
Overly complicated logos are usually difficult to grasp and understand. This is true even at a large scale, but especially so when reduced in size. And since these complex logos are difficult to really see, they are almost impossible to remember or recognize. Companies often mistakenly perceive their logo as their entire brand platform. Thus, they try to communicate everything about their company in the mark, instead of the essential, overarching qualities. You do need to put a lot of complex thought into your logo behind the scenes, but you do not want the viewer to see that translated into excessive detail work, color, or font usage. It is best to communicate your company's brand attributes with a clean, simple logo design.
4. Always consider your logo's size and aspect ratio
As a rule, logos should be recognizable and readable at a quarter inch. At some point, most logos will need to be reproduced at a very small size, e.g. on a plastic pen, key chain, or USB drive. It is also best if your logo is not overly horizontal or vertical. Most logos will not be a perfect square, but a near 1:1 width to height ratio is ideal. A balanced mark is adaptable, making it easier to successfully place in a variety of layouts. Note that where the logo is based on a name that is horizontal, much work can be done with line breaking as well with the layout of taglines; this will also help improve the aspect ratio.
