What is a logo?

A Logo is a design symbolising ones organisation. It is a design that is used by an organisation for its letterhead, advertising material, and signs as an emblem by which the organisation can easily be recognised, also called logotype. Logotype is a graphic representation or symbol of a company name, trademark, abbreviation, etc., often uniquely designed for ready recognition.

You may also think of a Logo as a simple visual mark to identify your company product or service. There are different types of signs and emblems easily recognised and associated with purposes. For example, crests are used to identify a country or family. There was a time when only big enough organisations could afford to make their own crest. They were in some cases very detailed drawing with many objects to enrich the crest. Cost was not an issue and more was considered better. Then flags were used due to their larger format. They were visible from the craft fields from long distances. Road signs were designed for informational purposes. They use such techniques as contrasting colors, simplified and yet stylish formats to identify and attract more attention and convey information.

Now days, the most popular and successful companies continue to say that"simpler is better", especially today when everything is moving so fast you have less and less time to impress your customers. So it has to be done in a very stylish manner yet remaining conservative so that it`s easier for the eye to catch and the brain to memorize your logo design.

These days you also have to consider the reproduction cost. More detailed and colourful logo designs are harder to reproduce and they of course cost more. You also have to consider the size that your logo is going to be used at. The perfect logo design will look great on a sign board as well as on a business card or on a pen for example.

We have talked about the general use of a logo. Now we are going to get into a more detaile look at the logo. There are some general types of logos:
Iconic Logo - Some kind of graphical element related to the business field or just an abstract image, for example: Nike, AOL, Micheline.
LogoType - Logo based only on the company name. A unique font, or unique layout style can make a great logo, for example: Sony, Coca-Cola, IBM.

Let's talk about each kind separately:
Iconic Logos can be very different. The classic variation is to make the symbol fit any of the basicgeometrical shapes. For example;
The best shapes to use are symmetrical geometrical shapes. They can be placed almost anywhere and still maintain the balance; they are very easy to handle:

It is still good to make the logo fit any kind of geometrical shape, it looks more fit and balanced.

And at last there is no obligation in what kind of shape to use, you can use any free form shape you want, but you have to be very careful with the placement, so the logo doesn't look like it is falling apart or going to fall. By selecting the shape, you should consider how conservative and stable your company wants to appear.