If you have to explain your logo, what the designs mean, and what the colors emphasize… it’s probably not a good logo.

The single purpose of a logo is to be quickly and clearly recognizable and understood, entirely on its own.

By default, a logo should express to people what your organization does and how you do it. The fonts and colors used give your logo a tone and create an emotion. Certain design elements may remind people of your background and history. All that said, simpler is better. A version of it should also work in pure black and white.

A good logo just works… all by itself.

And if you have to explain it… you might want to go back to the drawing board.

“In today’s digital interface adaptive world, a logo will be formatted and re-formatted from large monitors to small handheld devices. With the constant size change and re-formatting, logo designers are shifting to a more bold and simple approach, with heavy lines and shapes, and solid colors.” — Wikipedia

(Oh, don’t get us started about long, drawn-out mission statements either. Some are so packed with fancy words that no staff member can recite them! When you get a chance, randomly ask staff members to recite your MS. If they can’t do it, simplify. A good MS should easily roll off the tongue in just a couple of seconds. To see what makes a bad Mission Statement, see the fun video below.)