There are a few things to think about when designing a logo. In fact, a lot of the same things that you consider when designing a web site come into play when designing a logo.

1. What is your market?

Businesses such as finance, law and such would want to portray a more professional image that would be strictly necessary in other businesses. Someone who is in the creative fields could be a bit more adventurous in the look of their logo.

2. What are you selling?

A logo should reflect, in some way, what your business does or sells. A logo that is too different from the product/service is going to cause what I call ‘purchase dissonance’…a fancy way of saying that it just doesn’t feel right to the customer. For example, someone in the dog care business should consider what type of dog to use as a logo image. Some dogs, unfortunately, bring about certain responses visually, such as a pit bull. If you were to use a pit bull, you’d need to take a fun spin on it, to make it more appealing.

3. Color matters!

As in all design, color does matter. Take a look at this detailed article on color in designing.

4. Look to the future.

When you’re just starting out, it’s hard to look to the future, but it’s something you should do. The business logo is the foundation piece in an overall branding strategy. Yes, small businesses should consider branding, too. You don’t have to have a huge budget to make a strong, cohesive impression in the mind of your customers.

Moving on from those considerations, there are basically 3 types of logos:

1. Text only.

At it’s simplest, text IS design. You can say alot using only text for your logo. In fact, if text is used properly and combined with excellent color, fonts that ’say’ what your business does and a nice layout, text is really all you need.

2. Picture only.

This can work but it’s difficult and it typically works only with huge businesses with a ton of marketing money behind them. An example is the Nike swoosh. That picture is Nike - nothing more is needed. However, it took a lot of branding to make that a reality.

3. Picture and text combination.

This is my preferred, as I feel that it is the most flexible and the most easily understood visually. The picture doesn’t necessarily have to represent the business in terms of the service or product offered, but it should be noted that random swooshes, lines and other shapes are overused (in this designer’s opinion) and should be avoided. If you use random shapes, they should be worked into the overall text of the logo, or be used as a highlight or a way to bring more focus to the logo design.

One thing to note, if you take a look at the logos of some of the big social networking sites (twitter, facebook, myspace) you’ll see that text can really say it all - it’s all in how you present it.

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