Picture this. A lavish wedding cake set on a silver stand. Your imaginary cake probably looks something like this: A tower of multiple tiers decorated with perfectly smooth, white icing and perhaps a cascade of sugar flowers and a miniature happy couple standing together on the top.

Just as a wedding cake is made up of a number of recognisable component parts, your logo will be put together using a selection of intrinsic design elements. But how do you give it that certain extra something to make it stand out from all the crowd?

Here are four tips to make your Logo stand out:

1. Fit In

Your logo is integral to your brand – it needs to communicate a strong message to your customers so that they understand in an instant who you are and the kind of business you’re in. That’s a lot to ask from a simple, visual design, but if you check out logos of similar businesses, you’ll find that they generally share certain qualities. For example, tech company logos such as HP, Dell and Intel, tend to opt for a cool blue colour palette and uncluttered, businesslike design. Fast food logos have a buzzier, more exciting feel by using loud colours and flashy fonts. Take a look at the logos of your competitors – do they share particular characteristics? You may not want your logo to blend in to the point where it becomes indistinguishable from the rest, but nor do you want it to look like a complete o utsider.

2. Focus on your Core Values

It may seem like an airy-fairy thing to do, but identifying the principles and beliefs that underpin your business will help you to bring meaning and integrity to your logo. Communicating your core values through your logo will attract the attention of your target audience and start to build up that all important brand loyalty.

3. Add that Special Ingredient 

What does your business have to offer that sets you apart from your competitors? If you can identify the elements that make your business special and incorporate them into your design, you will have a logo that stands out from the crowd. Sometimes it is that bit of extra flair that makes all the difference, especially if it conveys the unique character of your business.

4. Test it Out

Getting feedback at the design stage will help you avoid the expensive and embarrassing mistake of going live with an ill-judged logo. It’s also worth testing your logo to see how it looks in different formats such as scaled up or down, on printed material, promotional goods and in greyscale.

Standing out from the crowd is only one element of an effective logo design, there are many other aspects to consider along the way. Just as a wedding cake needs to be memorable for all the right reasons,your logo requires skillful design to bring it to life and make it uniquely yours. Once you own a logo to be proud of, you can put it straight to work to draw in customers and get your business off to a flying start.