Did you know that approximately 93 percent of the most popular logos in the world have a simplified and stylised appearance? This is yet another confirmation that some of the best ideas are minimalist, clean and brilliant.

Logo design is as important today, as it used to be two decades ago. Regardless of modern branding techniques, the logo is still one of the most recognised and important elements for the popularity of your company. Contemporary logo design has its rules and if you want to make the most of this visual corporate representation, you’ll have to learn what the best modern logos look like.

1. To be Trendy, Ignore Trends!

This may sound like an oxymoron but to create a trendy and long-lived logo, you’ll have to ignore trends and fads.

Modern design is clean and minimalist. That’s everything you need to know. Adhering to certain colour schemes or choosing visual elements that are particularly hot right now will deprive the logo of meaning after the trend expires.

A meaningful logo speaks about your brand and creates a particular association. You’d like your audience to think certain things when examining the logo and you’d also like it to be linked to a positive emotional response. The only way to accomplish those goals involves identifying your target, determining what you’d like the logo to say and making it the perfect representation of your core corporate values and beliefs.

2. Keep It Simple!

With the emergence of new digital trends, simplicity is more important than ever. Just think about the Nike logo and its amazing appeal.

A good logo is never overdrawn. In fact, the more stylised the visuals is, the better. At the same time, it’s very important to keep simplicity from becoming your primary goal. Minimalism and abstract design for the sake of abstract design will never make the audience connect with the visual representation.

Your emblem is not going to be instantly recognisable as the Nike logo. It takes time for a visual to gain a meaning and a life of its own. This is why you don’t want to over-simplify things. You’ll be missing on a huge opportunity to make a statement if you adopt this approach.

3. Choose the Right Font

Remember that your logo is going to be viewed both on printed materials (business cards, letterheads, etc.) and on your corporate website. The font that you pick should be equally readable online and on paper.

The font can be linked to certain values and corporate representations, as well. A sans-serif font looks clean and serious. Refrain from using hand-written or gothic fonts, unless these are the ideal representation of your brand. They are very difficult to read and such texts could potentially contribute to confusion.

There’s one more thing to keep in mind and here’s an interesting study about it. If you want to motivate your audience to do a particular thing, you may want to opt for a simple font. The researchers in the study used Arial and a very heavy brush font to write instructions. People that got the instructions written in Arial were much more motivated to accomplish the task than the ones that had to go through the obscure font.

4. Be Original!

With so many great examples to get inspired by, it may be very difficult to strive for originality. Chances are that you’re sub-consciously affected by the designs you like.

Leave popular logos alone! A replica of something particularly famous has never gotten the same status. It’s much better to execute a simpler, yet original idea. Don’t take a popular logo, manipulate it to achieve some originality and expect for that visual to receive the same positive response as the original.

5. Personality Counts More than Ever!

In a digital world, your audience can choose among dozens of brands and sources of information. In fact, Traditional Marketing is not extinct yet but its prominence is decreasing every single day. Some marketing experts have asserted that Inbound Marketing campaigns have now become the law!

To impress your audience, you have to provoke an emotional response. People want to have relationships with brands. Thus, the personality of your logo is currently one of the most important factors for its effectiveness.

Think about positive characteristics that you’d like to give the company. A compelling logo should be playful, emanating creativity and attention to detail. A fun and light-hearted approach, especially if the product or service allows it, can be the winning formula.

Some of the classic logo design rules still hold importance today. When it comes to contemporary branding, however, you’ll also need to keep a few other considerations in mind. The prominence of inbound marketing and the manner in which people perceive corporate information are probably some of the most important factors. By knowing your audience and having a pretty good idea about where your brand stands, you’ll be capable of accomplishing all of your design and visual identity goals.

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