You’ve probably heard the stories: The famous Nike swoosh logo design was created for $35 by a college student (though she was later gifted $600,000+ in stock), and Google’s original logo cost nothing, since it was designed by company co-founder Sergey Brin.

Most of us, of course, can’t expect to create a globally recognized image on the back of a napkin — nor do we have deep enough pockets to spend the untold millions that can come with a branding campaign developed by one of the big name agencies.

As a result, the logo design process comes down to creating the best possible concept within the budget you’ve got. The Adobe blog suggests 5 principles of effective logo design:

• Personality
• Memorable
• Relevant
• Versatile
• Timeless

Why Your Logo Needs to Be Unforgettable, Not Just Beautiful

It’s an excellent list, but I’d like to dig deeper into #2, Memorable, and briefly discuss a logo marque design project we created for global golf management company, Troon Golf. Their goal was to have a logo designed that would remind golfers of the importance of fast play. (Anyone who’s survived a 6-hour round can attest to how aggravating it is to wait on every single shot.)

Clearly, that mission really couldn’t be accomplished that with just a photo, and it would be weak if it only used a phrase: It needed to deliver a visual message. The final logo incorporated the name of the program, “Troon Values Your Time,” with a stylized clock that conveyed the core message. They wanted golfers to be aware of the optimum time to complete a round of golf and strive for a round that lasts just over 4 hours.

In essence, the resulting image acts both as a brand booster (“Who values your time? Troon does!”) as well as a specific call to action for golfers. The two components work hand-in-hand. It’s a unique logo design and approach to solving a universal challenge within the golf industry.

Does your logo have the memorability factor: that magic makes some logo designs impossible to forget?

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