Here are a few of the most important rules to consider in order to come up with the best possible name:

1 Shorter is better. It is easier to remember names like Nike opposed to 'Kransferst Bayer Colombo Association of Michigan'.

2 Make sure the name is easily pronounceable. It's very hard to pronounce 'Shmakhtnik', 'Kchichkus' or 'Xsassassas'.

3 It may be helpful to get the name to match with your companie's philosophy. For example; a strong solid company should use strong, bold names such as: 'Bamm', 'CastleDom', 'Gong'. A HighTech company could use a more creative name such as: 'Ampex', 'Freebee', 'Ciriu'. Design companies can use even more creative names such as: 'Venturius', 'BlueFrog', 'BlackInc'.

4 Try to relate the name to the field of business. For example;
A food company - 'Bacon House'.
An office supplier - 'BluePin'.
A construction company - 'GoldenBrick'.

5 Create a recognizable image. Come up with a meaningful name like an object name or a word that has a kind of meaning like: 'Penguin Solution', 'Flying Frog', 'Walking House', or 'Yellow Pot'.

6 Do not forget your business's targeted market. Home insurance companies target a more mature market. It would be an absurd to use a name like 'HipHop BangBang Solutions'.
7 A good way to test your company name is to tell it to your friends and ask them if they remembered it in a week.
This is of course not a complete guide to selecting a name, but these are some major factors to consider. There are also factors of personal preference, location of the company, specific market interests and many, other aspects.

The first and the most inexpensive way of advertisement, is face to face advertising. You say your company name to people who you meet so they remember you. Now if you want them to remember you for a longer time, an effective way could be to hand them your business card with your name phone and address. This is the most common way of advertisement.

You can customize anything; letterhead, envelope, even on a pen or a mouse pad with your logo design on it! Promotional materials are endless, from a shirt to a custom pin. All this is done for only one purpose, so as many people as possible can see your logo and remember your company. There are many different ways to advertise your business. The most important thing is to be consistent. When people start recognizing your logo and associating what your company is all about, this is called the brand recognition.

A Logo is a design symbolizing ones organization. It is a design used by an organization on its letterhead, advertising material, and signs as an emblem by which the organization can easily be recognized, also called logotype. A graphic representation or symbol of a company name, trademark, abbreviation, etc., often uniquely designed for ready recognition.

You may also think of a Logo as a simple visual mark to identify your company or product or services.
There are different types of signs and emblems easily recognized and associated with purposes. For example, crests are used to identify a country or a family. There was a time when only big enough organizations could afford to make their own crest. They were in some cases a very detailed drawing with many objects to enrich the crest. Cost was not an issue and more was considered better. Then flags were used due to their larger format. They were visible from the craft fields from the long distances. Road signs were designed for informational purposes. They use such techniques as contrasted colors, simplified yet stylish format to identify and attract more attention and convey information.

Now a days, the most popular and successful companies continue to say the "simpler is better". Especially today when everything is moving so fast you have less and less time to impress your customers. So it has to be done in a very stylish yet remaining conservative that makes it easier for an eye to catch and for the brain to memorize.

These days you also have to consider the reproduction cost. More detailed and colorful designs are harder to reproduce and they of course cost more. You also have to consider the size that your logo is going to be used at. The perfect logo will look great on a sign board as well as on a business card or on a pen for example.

We have talked about a general use of a logo. Now we are going to get in more details of a logo.
There are some general types of a logo:
Iconic logo - Some kind of graphical element related to the business field or just an abstract image, for example: Nike, AOL, Micheline.
LogoType - Logo based only on the company name. A unique font, or unique layout style can make a great logo, for example: Sony, Coca- Cola , IBM.

Let's talk about each kind separately.
Iconic Logos can be very different. The classic variation is to make the symbol fit any of the geometrical shapes for example:
The best shapes to use are symmetrical geometrical shapes
They can be placed almost anywhere and still keep the balance; they are very easy to handle:

It is still good to make the logo fit any kind of geometrical shape, it looks more fit and balanced:



And at last there is no obligation in what kind of shape to use , you can use any free form shape you want, but you have to be very careful with the placement, so the logo doesn't look like it is falling apart or going to fall:


By selecting the shape, you should considered how conservative and stable your company wants to look like.

LogoType


Selecting the concept

Now the most important part is to get the concept for a logo. It is almost the same process as selecting the name. First you have to determine what your logo should say about your company. There are different ways to represent a company.
1- You may come up with an image related to a business like a house for a real estate or a car for a car dealer
2- It could be just an abstract image representing companies philosophy. For example some kind of blocky image for a stable trustful company or just a pyramid. Or a very dynamic image with orbits and swooshes, sparks, particles for a very modern, young, high tech company to represent electrical activities or just cutting edge meteoritic technology.

Very important thing is that not all the businesses can be easily associated with any kind of particular image. For example a programming company doesn't have many images to be associated with (except a computer), so in this situation it would be recommended just to concentrate on an abstract image and just to represent the feel of the companies' business rather then just coming up with a particular image.

Some companies are dealing with more then one business, so they would prefer to have a more generic image, but still you can make it look more technological by implementing some straight lines in combination with curves, or make it more corporate with more proportional, symmetrical, geometrical shapes.

People can easy memorize a simple object with some kind of meaning. Some companies use different mascots like Michelin with 'TireMen' or Roots with a 'Beaver'. The challenge with the mascot is that in a matter for it to be a good logo, and easy reproducible it should be very stylized and simplified as much as possible.

Another major issue with people is that when they order a logo they want it to look like some other well branded companies like McDonalds or AOL. Those are of course great logos, but they are very recognizable only because they are well advertised. When you come up with an image for your company you should be already thinking of the best way to advertise your company towards the targeted audience. Your logo would be not just noticeable and memorable, but would be also well accepted by the market.

What kind of feeling does the logo transmit just by standing alone and in a crowed? Too many sharp edges can create a feeling of danger or caution. Also consider a color, so the logo looks noticeable but not too intimidating.

A logo can be related to many different fields, depends on the purpose of the company and the marketplace. It can be related to a particular place, industry, or even a person. Plus, consider your personal preference of type of art. You can use any type of art style for a logo as long as it is unique, easily reproducible, and is suitable for your business its market.