DOs & DON’Ts of Designing a Mobile App Logo

Designing a logo for your mobile app can be tricky. Your logo has to fall within a narrow middle-ground between forgettable and over-complicated, while also complementing the brand you want to convey to users. Most entrepreneurs don’t dabble as graphic designers and end up outsourcing the job of creating a logo to an agency or freelancer. They then pick from a handful of options put in front of them. Your logo can make a powerful first impression, so selecting one should take more thought than, “Oh, I like that one!.” With this in mind, here are some DOs and DON’Ts of selecting a logo…

(1) DON’T pick one with too many colors

Logos are used in a number of different contexts. They can be used digitally, on print, in black & white, etc. If your logo is identified via its various colors instead of its overall form, it will not be easily recognized in different contexts.

(2) DO keep it simple

Along the same lines as the above point, be sure your logo is recognizable from a distance. I’ve always been told if you can squint your eyes looking at a logo and still tell what it is, then it’s a good logo.

(3) DON’T be too literal

Something I see all the time with logos is taking the theme too literally. An example would be a computer store using a computer monitor in the logo. The goal is to make your logo timeless, since consistency is so important for any brand. If your application develops and expands in unexpected ways, you will have to change your logo if it pigeonholed you from the start.

(4) DO incorporate the name in text

You might be tempted to emulate the Apple or Nike logo, which are iconic as standalone symbols. However, those are household names that spent decades building their brands. When starting with a brand not many people are familiar with, it’s very important to include the name alongside an image, or just go with the name alone as a wordmark. Once the brand gains a lot of traction, you can consider simplifying it to just a symbol.

(5) DO make sure it fits nicely in a square

Your logo will eventually have to be represented by an app icon. If an icon is part of the logo, make sure it’s proportional and fits nicely in a square. If the logo is all text, be sure there is a letter that can represent the whole name and is interesting visually.

Despite the above notes, don’t stress out too much about picking your logo. While it’s important, people and companies change their logos all the time and it’s not the end of the world. If you like a logo and it fits in with these DOs and DON’Ts, just go with it!

Originally published on April 4, 2016.

Originally published at blog.snapmobile.io on April 4, 2016.