First of all, there is no objectively perfect logo. This is solely an attempt to get closer to it: an essentialist analysis of logo design with the lead of Sagi Haviv, a partner at the design firm Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv.
Haviv is a reputable identity design specialist, having taken part in the design of numerous trademarks and visual identities for highly successful brands and institutions (e.g., United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum, the US Open tennis tournament, Harvard University Press). [1]
“A logo is the period at the end of the sentence. It is not the sentence itself.” A logo should not carry all the weight of its brand. It should not try to say a whole lot about the brand. In other words, “a logo is not communication, a logo is identification.” [2] According to Haviv, it needs to be three main things:
Appropriate
A logo should be appropriate in the feeling it conveys. For instance, a sports-related logo could feel bold and dynamic, in fashion, it could express elegance. [2]
Distinctive
A logo should be distinctive and memorable. It should be unique enough to persist in the observer’s mind. A way to test for this is that someone who just saw the logo for the first time is able to easily sketch it on a piece of paper. [2]
Simple
“Less is more”, a term used by many functionalist designers and architects [3] summarises this aspect to a great degree. A logo should be as reduced as possible. However, this has to be done in a way that still allows for it to be distinctive enough. This enables it to be reproduced in many applications and sizes without losing its readability. “[It is] kind of the continuum on which we work […] between distinctiveness and simplicity, how special can we make it while still keeping it uncomplicated [and] how simple can we make it while not […] becoming generic.” [2]
Logo design, like so many, if not all design disciplines, is, according to Haviv, a balance between appropriateness, simplicity, and distinctiveness. [2]
1. Sagi Haviv, Wikipedia (07/09/2020)
2. Sagi Haviv, What Makes A Logo Great & Iconic? w/ Sagi Haviv, The Futur, YouTube, 2018 (07/09/2020)
3. What Does Less is More Mean?, Writing Explained, (07/09/2020)