You can spot a 'Winner' logo with these few tips. A successful
logo is a versatile one. It should be simple and not too overly
complicated. It shouldn't lose detail when shrinked down to a 1"-2"
size such as for business card use, it should still be legible at
that size.
A successful logo will still be able to retain its impact when
transformed to Black & white (not grayscale/shades of gray).
Remember, you will use your logo in B/W for faxing, newspaper advertising,
phone book, business checking, photocopying documents, etc.
Also to lower your printing costs, it would be effective to use
only a few colors in your whole design. Printers charge on a per
color basis, meaning each color requires a separation plate to be
made, less separations = less cost. Just make sure you can afford
your logo!
Last but not least, make sure your customers can easily adopt your
logo to your business. If your logo is simple & unique, your
customers will repeatedly view your logo into a brand name recognition
impact.