This article is geared towards business owners that have written a business plan or in the process of writing a business plan for their upcoming venture. Maybe they have a logo, or maybe they don't. Either way, they should know what makes an efficient logo, so here I list a couple of the things that will help you find out if your logo is indeed, an efficient one.
Research and planning or "development stages"
Some may think that businesses can run without plans and you know what, so can logos. But the number one reason why they both fail is lack of planning. Hence, if you have a logo that was not born out of research and refining, you cannot have an efficient logo. The process of developing truly efficient logos needs the information gathered during marketing research, like the audience you wish to communicate to, or the message you wish to communicate. To your audience, your logo will be relevant, or so you hope J and you need to really know who they are and what they relate to, before you can truly communicate with an audience via a logo. So then, truly efficient logos are fed by information and planning, not just instinct and graphic execution.
Additionally, with the age of desktop publishing and proliferation of media authoring and editing software, anybody that can slap some image with a business name and call that a logo. But if this is all the research and planning that went into your marketing goals and more specifically, your logo, you probably have an inefficient. Even more tragic is you could be giving the wrong message with your logo! The solution to this is:
1) If you already have a business plan, pay close attention to the marketing section and build your logo and brand identity materials taking all marketing research, strategies and goals into account,
or
2) Learn more about logo research and development, as logos require a more visual type of research than what is called for on the marketing section of a business plan.
Ease of use in all media, and versatility
There are indeed technical requirements logos must meet in order to properly function in all media (anything from a favicon to an embroidered polo.) Additionally, they require a kind of simplicity that would allow your logo to look good very small or very big. As per the technical requirements, Word documents and even "pixel" images will not meet all (if any) of the technical requirements needed to display your logo in different formats. Although some providers may accept very high-resolution pixel image files such as .tiff, and .jpg, the vector version of your logo is always preferred. The true litmus test here is this: if you own a vectorized version of your logo (an Illustrator or Freehand .eps file, for instance) and it can be displayed in something as big as the side of a two story building, then you most likely have a winner!
As per the aesthetic aspect of this, your logo needs to look good on the side of that building, not all jagged and "pixelated." So, if your logo did come out from doing lots of research and refining, but you only have a .jpg because: a) you designed it yourself in Word, PowerPoint or even Photoshop, or b) your designer only gave you a .jpg. See if you can get a vector .eps from your designer. If he/she cannot give you a vector .eps then this is not a true designer. Perhaps you can get the designer to vectorize your logo for free if you want to keep the relationship. Either way, your logo should truly be a reflection of your business' marketing goals, and be vectorized to qualify as an efficient logo.
And if you wonder about the credibility of all the products and services being sold over the internet as custom logo design, ask your prospect logo designer if they will give you more than one type of file. If they don't list .eps as one of them, be weary! A designer that does not deliver proper files may end up costing you money down the line. If providers have to recreate or modify your logo file to make it work in their media authoring devices, your logo could very well be a money pit. After your logo has been created, it should make you money, not cost you money.
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