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The Logo Police: Knowing the Laws of the Logo
By Hillary Boulden

Everyone’s got a logo these days. It almost seems like the law. And like most laws, the laws of the logo often get broken. By quickly reviewing some basic laws of design, production and marketing, you can determine whether your company’s logo should be locked up.

Laws of Design (a.k.a. “It’s gotta feel right”)
It is widely thought that “creative types” don’t like to follow rules. That’s not so — it’s just that the rules are unwritten. The rules of what feels right. Sometimes it’s more obvious to a fresh eye, but try to forget your current opinions about your logo and ask yourself these five questions:

Is it appealing?
Is it memorable?
Is it simple?
Is it relevant?
Is it functional?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, chances are you need to alert the authorities.

Laws of Production (a.k.a. “It’s gotta print right”)
The Laws of Production are the most strictly enforced and must be followed without exception. It is nearly impossible to use a logo properly unless procedure is followed from the day the logo is created:

1.) Logos must be scaleable to any size. They must be created in a vector-based program like Illustrator or Freehand so they can be re-sized, while keeping a crisp edge.

2.) Logos must work in grayscale. The last thing you want is for your logo to end up a big, fat blob on a faxed or copied page.

3.) Logos must work in 4-color printing. Basically, the bright colors you see in PowerPoint will be toast when printed. To avoid the nightmares of inconsistency, choose your colors carefully.

Laws of Marketing (a.k.a. “It’s gotta be right”)
Last, but definitely not least, is the marketing strategy behind a logo. Overlooking strategy is the worst of all offenses. Good logos work for good reason. Strategic designers make every decision with the audience in mind — from the font and color choices to the symbolism and design style. Breaking these laws can be very dangerous business. Beware of logos that have a “funny story” behind them or logos done by a relative — they probably aren’t very strategic.

Now that you are familiar with these laws, you can decide whether your logo has any minor or major offenses that need to be dealt with. Yes, it is true that some logos can be rehabilitated, but some are beyond help and need to be removed from society. If you are unsure about the level of offense committed, contact an authority immediately.

E-mail the author: Hillary Boulden

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