This article or section should be merged with logo, discuss it at Talk:Logo design
Logo design is one of the most difficult areas in graphic design. It's not just a cute image, it is the face of the company. A company's logo is the visual representation of a brand. For brand continuity, and because of the expense involved in changing it, a good logo should not be too trendy, but ideally last many years before needing a redesign.
A good logo:
is simple
looks good in black and white
looks good in small size
looks good appearing in a variety of situations (i.e. on products, in advertising, etc.)
usually includes the name of the company
communicates the image the company wants to project, as part of a marketing and brand management strategy
It is useful to use pantone colors - universal colors which used by professional print shops. Ready logo design is usually provided in vector graphics format. You can see logos on all types of business stationery, advertising, products, etc.
In general there are 5 types of logos:
Text plus Image (Iconic Logo / Combination logo)
Only Text (Wordmark Logo)
Abbreviation plus Image (Iconic Logo / Combination logo)
Only Abbreviation (Lettermark Logo)
Only Image (Graphic Logo / Symbol Logo / Brandmark Symbol)
External links
Logo Design Services Directory (http://www.logoterra.com) - List of logo design companies.
Logo Design and Brand Identity Specialists (http://www.logolive.com)
Logo Design Services (http://www.theperfectlogo.com) - by ThePerfectLogo.com.
Brandmarker (http://www.monochrom.at/markenzeichnen/index-eng.htm) - The art group monochrom attempted to evaluate the actual power of commercial brands by making people draw famous logos from memory.
You may retain someone to merely assist you with visual branding (i.e., logo, typestyle and colors) or you may want a branding professional to help you with everything related to branding, which includes not only visual elements, but things like how the phone is answered at your business and how your product is packaged.
Logos that rely on lots of color are also expensive to print.
An over-drawn logo is hard for people to recognize and connect with your company.