A logo is a symbol that pictorially represents a particular company or a brand. Logos are a very important element in branding, since they help in not only attracting customers but also in keeping the products features fresh whenever the customer sees the logo.

Logo designing is a very complex art today. With thousands of companies vying for the customers attention these days, it is very important to be unique if you want to convey a message with just your logo. There are several logos that are doing this, for example: Nike, Reebok, McDonalds, the Red Cross, etc. Logos are of many kinds, the main ones being: combination (icon and text); logotype/wordmark/lettermark (text or abbreviated text) and icon (symbol/brandmark). Good logos should attract the senses, stir emotions, and become imprinted in the viewers memory.

There are many aspects to be considered while designing logos. The logo should be unique, functional, effective regardless of the size and attractive regardless of the color. It should also represent the brand/company image well. Logo artists should abide by the basic design principles of color, space, form, clarity and consistency while designing logos. It is advisable to use as few colors as possible, or use spot colors. The use of gradients for distinguishing is also not desirable. Vector graphics is one technology that can be effectively used for logo designing. Designers should be aware of copyrights and trademarks, and should be very careful not to copy any other logo. Using a persons face, clip-art, third-party fonts, imagery or photographs, and culturally suggestive imagery should be avoided as much as possible. The use of too many effects like shadows, glares, embossing and photo imagery is also not recommended. The logo should also be flexible enough to retain its shape when printed on certain materials that tend to crease or fold.

Color is a very important aspect in logo design. Colors represent emotions and certain meanings. For instance, green represents health, while red represents passion or danger and white represents peace. Warm colors like yellow and orange give a heavy feel, while cool colors like purple and brown suggest lightness or weightlessness. Subdued colors give a feeling of relaxation and dependability. Coming to patterns, logos can contain one or any of these common patterns: droplets, spirals, pop, canted, animorphic, shadows, alpha face, transparency, labels, punctuation, photo icons, flowers, or wire.

There are many professional logo designers today. A logo can be designed within a given time period, as per specifications and with the flexibility to alter it. Prices vary extensively, and there are designers who charge as much as $500 for a logo. There are special software programs that allow you to design logos. There are available from $30.