Designing a Killer Logo for Print

Killer logo

What do Nike, Apple and Coca-Cola have in common? Solid brand identity starts with a killer logo that is easy to identify and looks sharp to boot!

Your company’s logo will often be the first thing customers see from you, so it’s important to make a strong first impression. A well-designed logo can make customers interested in learning about your company’s offerings which is why creating a visual and memorable impression that stands out from the competition is key.

Think about how many people buy designer clothes just for the logo. While apparel may not be the direction your brand wants to take, a crisp, clean logo can increase the desirability of any product.

To read some of our key tips for creating that killer logo you wish, keep reading!

A Killer Logo Reflects the Nature of Your Business

Your logo is a representation of your company. When coming up with a design, you can approach it literally, by featuring your company name and tagline, and figuratively, by coming up with a symbol to represent the product or service you provide.

Explore conceptual icons

Think about your product in conceptual ideas, what are you selling? Is it an experience, an emotion, or a belief? What symbols can you use to represent that? A good example of using a concept instead of a literal symbol is the Nike “swoosh” logo. This minimalistic icon conveys speed – a fitting message for a sportswear company.

Pick fonts carefully

In addition to making sure your font is legible, you also want it to fit the vibe of your brand. For example, a refined script conveys elegance while a bold sans serif font represents a more modern feel. For a truly customized look, consider creating your own unique font that represents your brand.

Balance your tagline

A nice way to bridge the gap between a symbolic design and the message you want to get across in your killer logo is by adding a tagline that stands for your company mission. Make sure there is visual balance between your logo and tagline by adjusting the spacing and size appropriately. When there is a sense of harmony between these two elements your branding will look balanced and appealing.

Give your logo’s background contrast

Ever experienced the headache of trying to read green text on a yellow background? This is what we call a low-contrast combination, and it makes it hard to distinguish one element from another in print. Avoid this at all costs when coming up with your design to make sure your advertising materials are easy to read and identify from a distance. You never want the observer to have to decipher what you meant. Avoid the scratch-your-head, tilt-your-neck, squint-your-eyes struggle at all costs.

Create a scalable design

You need to make sure your logo design blows up well onto signage, posters and all other print materials. Keep in mind that this applies vice versa when you are printing your logo on things as small as business cards. You need a design that is clear and simple enough to look good scaled up and down without losing information in tiny print or leaving excess dead space.

When you send your logo to a print company like Minuteman Press Calgary Shepard, its best to have your logo vectorized, which saves it as a file that can be stretched large without pixelating and ruining the professional look of your originally crisp logo.

Let your logo breathe

The best way to ensure your logo is indeed a killer logo is to let it breathe. Design it with spacing to frame it to the dimensions of the usage.  Whether you choose to overlay it on a solid-coloured background or simply leave it floating on white, make sure to visualize an invisible border around it so that it doesn’t get crowded and has room to shine.

Post-Press

Once you have designed a versatile and eye-catching killer logo, get ready to use it everywhere! Over time this will build your recognizability and brand reputation which is where the power of your logo lies. To get started creating your print materials, contact us at Minuteman Press Calgary Shepard today for quality service and products.