paper bag with handle:How to Make Sure Your Logo is Memorable

The Bag Ladies know a thing or two about great logos. We’ve been printing four-color logos on all kinds of custom bags for over 20 years and we’ve seen our fair share of great designs…and awful ones. If your company plans to use a logo on promotional products or on any other branding piece you need to make sure your design says good things about the brand.

Logos

The ideal logo should be relatively simple, convey something about the company’s values, and look great in any size or color. Of course, some of the most famous logos of the past century haven’t fit this mold but these products are outliers. In the digital age, a streamlined logo is a must. Here are a few tips to ensure your company’s logo will look great printed on the side of a paper shopping bag, at the top of a webpage, or even on the back of a T-shirt…

Make Sure the Brand Name is Legible

coca_cola_logo

What looks quirky and cool to your team of creatives can actually be difficult to read by the masses. The number one rule of logo creation is to preserve the integrity of the brand name. Never obscure letters, turn letters into unrecognizable shapes, or use color to confuse the eye. If your brand name isn’t legible your logo is useless.

Never Rely on Color

Speaking of color, never rely solely on a variety of colors to ensure your logo is interesting. While The Bag Ladies offer four-color printing for any colored logo on their custom bags, some companies (think: the newspaper!) can only print your logo in shades of black and white. If your logo relies on color it will be lost when drained.

McDonaldsDon’t Be Too Trendy

If you’re not immersed in the design world you may not realize some design elements are trends…they come and go out of fashion like shoes and haircuts. When designing your logo think simple – try to come up with something that will look just as good in 10 years as it does now. Recent trends in design have included all-lowercase lettering, ombre color shading, and handwriting fonts.

Think Outside the Box

It’s easy to fall into the logo trap: creating a logo based off a design that inspired you, only to have your logo look just like someone else’s. A good way to avoid unintentional copycatting is to push your creative limits. Draw the same logo design 25 or even 50 different ways. Once you get halfway there you’ll think you’re out of ideas but the best, most creative examples can come from pushing yourself.

Stick to Simple

swoosh

When in doubt, take something out. Simple is always, always better and it will translate best to printed design such as on custom bags or promotional clothing. Choosing a simple design over a more-complicated one will save you time in the future (i.e. changing the logo when it gets stale), costs now (i.e. if you can create it yourself rather than hiring a designer), and marketing effort (i.e. simple logos can eventually represent the whole brand.)

The Bag Ladies have lots of experience printing logos and other information on everything from cooler bags to canvas totes. If you have questions about whether or not your logo will work on your desired promotional items, contact us today!