Birth, babe & beyond logo. The brief? I like birds and tangerine. www.birthbabeandbeyond.com.au/

I love designing logos. Informed by the brand's ethos and, often,  the personality of the business owner (in the case of small business, anyway), logos sum up the personality of the brand in one (hopefully) beautiful symbol. 

Logo design can often evoke clashing opinions and conflicting emotions. As with all creative work it's subjective and really it all comes down to personal taste.

The number one thing you have to remember (as with all things marketing) is: will it attract your target audience?

This article by Paul Wyatt sums up the highs and lows of logo design and how you can make your logo work for you.

Here's my top picks of Paul's key points:

Logos don't always stand alone.  If you’re presenting a logo that is mostly going to be seen 'locked up' with a strapline or connected to another visual device (i.e. a governing body's logo) then display examples of this relationship in your presentation to the client (and be sure to ask the client at the briefing stage). It's a waste of time designing a logo that looks fantastic alone but clashes with its usual logo stable mate.

Does it scale? Big, bright and bold the logo might look beautiful but how does it look when scaled to its minimum size? This is where fonts often play a huge role in logo design. Light fonts often look beautiful but can scale poorly. Play around and print various examples of both mono and colour versions. Find out the primary vehicle for the logo (print, website, email, blog) and design from there.

Don't imitate. I often see adverts, logos, colours and corporate fonts that are mimicking (intentionally or otherwise) other identities. The use of well-known elements of another corporate identity can be branding suicide. Keep a "scrapbook" (hello, Pinterest) of your favourite design elements to which you can refer and ensure that you haven't replicated another brand identity through subconscious logo osmosis.

Don't ask the client if they like it. Their personal opinion doesn't matter as much as the question: will it attract your target audience? 

What are your key considerations in logo design?