Style Requirements for Logos

The following table defines a general checklist to consider before designing any logo.

Table 2-1: Requirements for logos checklist

Req. No.	Requirement	Definition
1	Who is your audience?	Determine which people will view this logo and their interests. What’s the product of the company?
2	What do competitors’ logos look like?	Take a look at some competitors of the company for which you’re designing the logo. How can you make a logo that stands out in a positive way?
3	Decide the format for the logo.	Since we’re designing logos for the World Wide Web, you’ll need to create either JPEG or GIF images that are 72 dpi, and use RGB color mode. If these logos were for print work, you’d want to use no less than 300 dpi, and use CMYK color mode.

For the example in this chapter, we’ll design a logo for an attorney- at-law named Jonathan Bing. Keeping this in mind, let’s go through our requirements:

1. Who is your audience? Who goes to see lawyers? Clients seeking legal help or advice visit lawyers. These individuals are probably facing some legal problem, and thus feeling some apprehension, confusion, and stress. A conservative logo with images that invoke justice and confidence will work best. People seeking lawyers probably won’t respond well to cutesy or cartoony text and symbols.

2. What do competitors’ logos look like? A quick search on Google for Attorneys at Law brings up a large list of lawyers. Check out a few of their websites. The logos are simple and bold…often using only two colors and simple lines.

3. Decide the format for the logo. Since this logo is for Jonathan Bing’s website, we’ll create a JPEG image at 72 dpi.

With that said, let’s jump into Photoshop and get to work!