When designing a logo for your business, you should take a page from Google’s playbook. Google has the most iconic logos in the world. It consists simply of the search engine giant’s name in blue, red, yellow, and green letters. Even internet users who prefer Bing will immediately recognize Google’s iconic logo. By applying the design principles used in Google’s logo to your own business’s logo, you’ll build a stronger brand that distinguishes your business from its competitors.
1) Change Is Good
You don’t have to use the same logo for your business year after year. On the contrary, updating your business’s logo with a newer and more modern design can yield better results for your branding efforts. Google has changed its logo over a half-dozen times. When Google released its first logo in 1997, the design consisted of heavily distorted letters with rudimentary 3D effects. Google’s most recent logo, however, offers a cleaner, crisper design that’s aligned with modern graphic design trends.
2) Consistency Is Key
While updating your business’s logo can help you achieve a more modern design, you should be consistent with any changes you make. Don’t venture away from your brand’s core identity. Rather, use a consistent color scheme and overall format when changing your business’s logo. Google’s logo has undergone a myriad of changes, but it still consists of the same multi-colored letters as its original logo released over two decades ago. Using a consistent format with only minor changes ensures that your business’s audience will still associate your new logo with your business’s brand.
3) Flat Is Back
Avoid using 3D effects like bubble letters or drop shadows in your business’s logo and, instead, use a flat design. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, 3D effects were popular in logos because they offered increased realism. But in recent years, companies and graphic designers alike have largely transitioned to using a flat design with 2D characteristics. Even Google’s most recent logo features a flat design. Your business’s logo will look cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing with a flat design than 3D skeuomorphic design.
4) Sans-Serif Trumps Serif Typefaces
You’ll find logos designed in both serif and sans-serif typefaces. Although the two typography styles are similar, the former is recommended when designing your business’s logo because it offers cleaner, crisper letters. With serif typefaces, the ends of the letters protrude out. Some serif typefaces have rounded ends, whereas others have bars at the ends. Regardless, they all have added decorations at the end of the letters. In comparison, sans-serif typefaces have clean ends without any decorations. In 2015, Google nixed the serif typeface in its logo in favor of a custom sans-serif typeface. Whether you create your own custom typeface or use an existing one, you should follow in Google footsteps by sticking with sans-serif.
5) Scalability Matters
Your business’s logo should be able to scale depending on the device on which it’s viewed. In the past, scalability wasn’t a concern because most logos were viewed on large computer monitors. While millions of people still use a large computer monitor, many now use smaller devices like smartphones, tablets, or smart wearables. If your business’s logo isn’t scalable, users may struggle to see it clearly on a small screen.
6) Use Bright Colors
Another design principle you can learn from Google’s logo is to use bright colors. Not surprisingly, bright colors are more visible than dark colors. A logo featuring an array of bright colors will stand out and attract users’ attention more than a logo featuring black, brown, charcoal, or other dark colors. Google has taken advantage of the attention-grabbing characteristics of bright colors by using them in its logo. With that said, other companies have also embraced the use of bright colors in their logo. Microsoft, for example, updated its logo in 2012, switching from an all-black design to a more colorful design featuring yellow, light green, light blue, and light red.
7) Launch at the Right Time
After designing your business’s logo, you should wait to launch it at the right time. Google, for instance, launched its most recent logo during a rebranding effort in 2015. Along with the new logo, the search engine company rolled out a blue “G” icon for the Chrome web browser and Android operating system. If you’re planning to change or update your business’s brand, consider launching your new logo at this time.
Whether you design your business’s logo in-house or hire a graphic design agency to create it, you should apply these seven principles. With Google using them in its official logo, you can rest assured knowing they work. And with a well-designed logo, your business will benefit from a better, stronger brand identity than its competitors.