Ecommerce logos - simple, B&W or colorful and eyecatching?

[mrweathervane]

Hoping perhaps someone with multisite web design experience can chime in on this-- simple or eyecatching when it comes to logos? Fewer colors are better for printing (cost savings, at least), but having a striking logo can be important too. What's your verdict? Thanks!

[Kat Gilbert]

Having created many, many logos throughout the years there were always a few rules I worked to apply though many times the customer had other conceptions so worked to meet in the middle with reasons as to the why.

Simple- yes! With many aspects that logos are used for it needs to be one that can be both color and B&W. With today's realm for advertising one must think of all the possible usages.

Color is very subjective and for the most part the client will have very definite ideas on this aspect. Being able to print cmyk and web/internet in rgb since both are visually very different is another key in the thinking... There are certain colors that do not translate very well between the two but if not side by side it can be doable.

There are many, many ideas on the question you pose so hopefully others will chime in there are many aspects in the development so one needs to keep a very open mind when developing a logo!

[OldBob1957]

I will tell you the same thing I have told every design class I ever taught;

At its base, given all the possible uses for a logo (especially these days), if it relies on color (or effects) to be eye-catching and striking, you have already failed. If you design a logo which can be striking when used one color, then the addition of color will only enhance the effect. Color and special effects alone are not enough to save a bad design (and we all see many of those types of logos each day).

THIS rather lengthy (and old) thread from the archives of this site has much good advice on logo design.

Good luck.

--OB