A large part of what makes a Logo Designer good at what they do in the eyes of others could be described as being more about the personal taste of an individual and the way they perceive the logos created by a designer rather than by any other measurable factor. Having said this there certainly is a common practice and approach to logo design by designers that are considered to be good at what they do in the eyes of others.
I have done my best to list these common practices below to clarify the things that are considered to make a logo designer good at what they do.
1. Being equipped with a knowledge of logo design
A logo designer must have some knowledge about logos if they are to be considered to be good at what they do. This knowledge I believe should consist of an understanding of how a logo is usually used and what makes an effective logo that would fulfill the requirements of an individual or company’s needs.
An understanding of how to communicate through a visual language is very important and this is why many designers have had some sort of training or education within the area of graphic design to develop this ability to communicate though what is visually perceived by others in the form of graphics.
2. Experience
A logo designer needs to have experience with designing Logos. Experience comes with time and so for designers that have just started out on their logo design career this experience will not be with them but over time this experience will grow and with this experience a designer will also develop a confidence in their work which will also communicate to others that they are good at what they do as having confidence in your own work will inspire confidence in others that you know what you are doing when it comes to logos.
3. A love for logos
In my opinion this has got to be the most important factor. A logo designer must genuinely love designing logos if they are to be any good at it as enthusiasm will show in a designers work from the generation of ideas to creating the final artwork. There will need to be an attention to detail and this attention usually only comes from a love towards what it is you do. You will spend a lot of your time designing logos as a logo designer so you will also need to have a love for logo design to keep up the enthusiasm from project to project.
4. A knowledge of file formats and the use of design software
It is expected that a logo designer cannot only create the final artwork for a logo but can also supply the artwork in the necessary file formats. A good knowledge of a professional vector based design program like Adobe Illustrator is necessary for creating the final artwork and supplying clients with a vector based version of the logo is also usually essential so that they can then give this file to sign makers, vehicle graphic applicators, uniform printers, etc.
5. An understanding of print
If a logo designer has a reasonable knowledge of the printing industry then they should be able to design artwork that reproduces well in a printed format. Considerations such as colours, text size, line weight, transparencies, etc all need to be taken into account when creating the final logo artwork to ensure a professional reproduction at the printing stage.
6. The ability to take criticism
As a logo designer you will probably receive criticism of your work on a daily basis. At first this can be a little difficult to get used to but it is important to not take this criticism personally. Every body has a different point of view and what one person loves another hates. The important thing is to find a solution that a client is happy with and not to be too attached to the work you create. This does not mean that you do not care about your work it just means that you do not need to defend your work fiercely when a client does not feel totally happy with what has been presented.
7. To know that there is always more to learn
There is no limit to design and there is no limit to what you can learn about it. As design changes with the times so to does a designer have to change. If you just create the same things over and over again it gets boring for you and for others. It is exciting to develop your style further and experiment with different design possibilities and styles. This helps to keep a designers creativity alive and to continue the love for design.
I hope the above has been of help or interest to somebody and please feel free to leave a comment if there is anything else you would like to add. Thank you for reading.