Like a lot of associations, we have to deal with the logos of a lot of different companies. This is because we have events and things that have sponsors, and so we have to put sponsor logos in a lot of very different and creative places. Yet I’m amazed at how many logos I see that look very striking and memorable– when they’re huge.

When they’re small, they’re barely legible.

So the most important question to ask when designing a logo — for a company, association, event, product, whatever — is: How does it look when it’s really small?

When designing a logo for something that has more than one short word, go for logos that have a basically vertical alignment (I like to call them “stacked”). Horizontal logos look terrible and squished when they have to fit in a small space.

And avoid insisting that taglines or slogans be included as part of a logo, because they lose all legibility in 90% of applications. Before deciding on a logo, shrink it down to 40 pixels wide and see how it looks.

Finally, if you need a logo for something, hire a professional to design it. It’s cheaper than you think but not nearly as cheap looking as most in-house efforts.

The first star of the evening
Was singing in the sky
High above our blanket in the park

And by the twilight’s gleaming
On the 4th day of July
The city band played on into the dark

And then a canon blast
A golden flame unfolding
Exploded in a momentary bloom

The pedals fell and scattered
Like ashes on the ocean
As another volley burst into the blue

But the first star of the evening never moved

We stood in silence
The young ones and the old
As the bright procession passed us by

A generation dying
Another being born
A long crescendo played out in the sky

Yeah

This nation, indivisible
Will perish from the Earth
As surely as the leaves must change and fall

And the band will end the anthem
To dust she will return
So the sun must set on all things, great and small

But the first star of the evening
Will outlive them all