A logo is what sets you apart from everyone else before they know what you do. It’s the face of a company, organization, or person.

Here’s my definition of a good logo:

Simple – I can’t tell you how much I love simplicity. A logo shouldn’t be a cluttered collage of literal objects you like. It needs to be so simple that it would be able to scale down to tiny sizes and still be recognizable. So simple that it can be printed in a single color and still be recognizable. So simple that a little kid would be able to describe it to his mom (e.g. “A big yellow M”). It definitely needs simple enough that you can remember it. Now that’s a logo.

Space-efficient – A square is space efficient, like the Adobe logo. Two unbalanced squares with a sea of negative space between them is not. A good logo should fit in an area like a favicon, with shapes that are balanced and look settled in.

Recognizable – I want to be able to look at an icon and know who’s behind it instantly. The Nike logo is easily recognized by everybody, regardless if they’re athletes or not. The key to doing this is creating a unique design.

Represents well – A big, tough gym shouldn’t have a little, swirly, pink text logo. What would represent it well is a bolder, darker typography. Shape, color, and every other element of design plays a big part in how the viewer interprets it.

Symbolic – You’ve probably heard of the famous FedEx negative space (the space between the E and x forms an arrow). This is appropriate, considering they’re a delivery company. I love a good symbolic logo, especially when it’s not obvious.

That is what I like to see in a logo design. What about you?