if you are going to make a commercially sound logo, then why not follow the principals established by those brands that have already reached the top?

Businessweek published the top 100 brands. Here is the first 50:
Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM, GE, Intel, Nokia, Walt Disney, McDonald’s, Toyota, Marlboro, Mercedes-Benz, Citi, Hewlett-Packard, American Express, Gillette, BMW, Cisco, Louis Vuitton, Honda, Samsung, Dell, Ford, Pepsi, Nescafé, Merrill Lynch, Budweiser, Oracle, Sony, HSBC, Nike, Pfizer, UPS, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Canon, SAP, Goldman Sachs, Google, Kellogg’s, Gap, Apple, Ikea, Novartis, UBS, Siemens, Harley-Davidson, Heinz, MTV, Gucci and Nintendo.

Webson analyzed the top 50 brands and gave some really interesting insights:

* The name does not describe the product sold (94%)
* The by-line tag is not included in the logo (90%)
* The font style is clean and clear (84%)
* The logo design uses one colour only (74%) (white & black not counted as a colour)
* The logo design uses letters only without the symbol (74%)
* The logo design is a made-up name or ACRONYM (72%)
* The logo design is rectangular in shape (66%)
* The logo design is one word only (62%)
* The logo design includes the trademark symbol (54%) and is placed in the top right (48%)
* The name is 6 letters or less (52%)
* The name uses upper & lower case (44%) (excluding ACRONYMS)
* The background is filled and solid. (52%)
* The pronunciation includes three sounds/syllables (44%)
* The predominant colour base is blue (40%)

we have had the pleasure of working with 5 of the brands on that top 50 list 🙂