What Makes a Good Logo? - Part 3: Colours & Fonts
Choose an appropriate colour carefully and discover the connotations of using a colour
Colour theory is something I get asked about quite a bit and is a whole other subject. However, what I always tell people is do a little research and use your common sense. Take red for example, colour theory tells me that among many connotations it increases appetite and would work well on a restaurant or cafe (It's no surprise that so many fast food companies make use of red prominently within their logo). Common sense tells me that it would be wholly inappropriate for a funeral director or a dentist.
Each colour has a positive and negative connotation, but people will subconsciously read the positive connotation and remain unaware of the negative when used in an appropriate context and vice versa.
Choose an appropriate font or type carefully
Like colour, every font will convey a certain feeling, of strength, traditionalism, fun, modernity, quality etc. However, as with colour, it's important to distance yourself from your favourite font and consider what's best for the logo.
Although the lines are becoming more and more blurred as designers become more playful, choosing a serif font, that's a font with the little flicks and curvy edges such as Times or Garamond, is typically associated with a traditional, classic feel, whereas a sans serif font, without the flicks such as Helvetica or Arial, is usually associated with a more clinical, modern feel.
How is the font used?
Also, can the text be modified? Usually you'll need more specialist software than Microsoft Word, but changing the way the font is used, by using all uppercase or lower case, or by spacing the letters apart or bringing them in tight can make a huge difference to how a logo is perceived.
Let's take 'Your Business' as an example. Here we have a logo written plainly in Futura.
Notice how different the logo feels when you drop the logo, using the same font, entirely to lower case, making it feel more informal, and the combination of bold type and italic splits the words up more visually, while bringing the characters closer together gives the logo a weightier, punchier feel.
Similarly see how different the logo feels, while still using the same font, when the characters are all in capitals, giving a more formal feel, and spread apart, making it seem classier.
Alternatively you could try mixing fonts or encapsulating portions of it to achieve different effects.
Part 2: Clarity & Functionality
Part 4: Versatiity & Usage