How to design a logo… Have you ever seen a big brand without a logo? The answer to that is NO… Why is that you might ask? well… A logo is more than just an image. Its what people associate your business with. It is what you put up everywhere, your website, your merch, your letterheads, emails you name it your logo is there and you want that logo to make an impact otherwise, your brand will be forgotten, and sales and views will be missed.
Have I scared you off already? do not worry we will guide you in the best possible way to design the first logo for your business
What we are going to discuss today:
- Understand why you need a logo
- Define your brand identity
- Find inspiration for your design
- Check out the competition
- Choose your design style
- Find the right type of logo
- Pay attention to colour
- Pick the right typography
- Communicate with your designer
- Evaluate your logo options
Understand why you need a logo
Business… is like dating… you want to show yourself off as soon as you are seen. Having a poor logo or a logo that does not represent you will make people turn away or get the wrong idea of what your business or website is about
Because your logo is so important you want to make sure it is made well, and with the right intent. Your logo will be on everything you make and produce so you want it to be professional.
Define your brand identity
Every brand has a personality. You want to be able to display this to everyone that sees your logo. Once you have an idea of what makes your brand unique it will make the process of designing a logo much easier.
below are a few questions to ask yourself.
- Why did you start this business?
- What are some beliefs and values that are important to you as a business?
- What does this business do better than anyone else?
- What makes you special?
- If I could describe my brand in three words, what would they be?
- What three words do we want our customers to use to describe us?
Find inspiration for your design
A great way to do this is to get a team of people to help brainstorm ideas, sketch rough drawings, and work as a group to determine what your perfect logo will be. Since ‘Teamwork makes the dream work’
Remember good or bad ideas of a logo design are better than no ideas of your logo so write everything down!
Think like your audience not like yourself. If you were going to purchase from your business what would you expect to see as a logo.
Stand on the street and get your markets opinion of different ideas.
Check out the competition
Not everyone has the brain or will power to come up with a fantastic brand new unique idea. Therefore, sometimes it is useful to even do a simple google search of ‘LOGO ideas’ and find inspiration of past logo designs and see what you like and do not. It is not stealing a logo design… It is borrowing ideas.
But remember to make yourself unique! do not copy or your brand wont succeed
Choose your design style
What? style? logo design? yep… there are various different styles of logos out there.
- Classic – Some logos come in and out of style but a classic simple colours nothing too fancy is always in.
- Retro/Vintage – These logos are there to create nostalgia and remind people of the ‘good ol days’. A vintage logo tells clients that history is important to you.
- Modern and minimalist – These logos are simple and show off a clean and simple design to show clients how modern and fresh they are. These logos use a lot of white space.
- Fun and quirky – These logos are usually used for younger targeted audiences and are fun to see but do not always show off a professional feel.
Find the right type of logo
With the above list, it is only a guideline going outside the square is always best to show a unique touch to your business. This can be achieved by having different types of logos that fit within the above guidelines. Examples of these are found below
- Lettermark Symbol. EG: HnM
- Wordmark. EG: your business name and then turn a letter into a symbol
- Symbol. EG: a icon that represents your business
- Abstract. EG: similar to a symbol but is not recognisable as an thing
- Mascots. EG: have a person to represent your business
- Emblem
Pay attention to color
Colours have various different meanings when they are seen and can make someone feel different emotions.
- Red: Red stands for excitement, passion and anger. It’s a great choice if your brand is loud, youthful and wants to stand out.
- Orange: Orange is much less used than red but it’s just as energetic. This is a vibrant, invigorating and playful colour.
- Yellow: If you want to look accessible and friendly, yellow is the right choice. It gives off cheerful, affordable and youthful energy.
- Green: Green is extremely versatile and can work for any brand really. It’s especially perfect for anyone who wants to establish a connection to nature.
- Blue: Blue is a very classic and common choice. It is calming and cool and symbolizes trustworthiness and maturity.
- Purple: Purple can be your ticket to looking luxurious. Depending on the shade, purple can be mysterious, eclectic or feminine.
- Pink: If you’re going for girly, nothing works better than pink. But that’s not all! With shades like pastel rose, millennial pink or neon magenta, pink can give your logo a grown-up and cool, but still youthful and feminine look.
- Brown: Brown may sound like a strange colour choice at first, but it works perfectly for rugged and masculine vintage logos. It can give your brand a handmade, unique and aged look.
- Black: If you are looking for a sleek, modern and luxurious look, black will be a great choice. A minimalist black and white logo is the way to go if you want to keep it simple.
- White: You want your logo to look clean, modern and minimalistic? Use lots of white in your logo. As a neutral colour, it works in combination with all other colours, but adds a clean, youthful and economical touch.
- Gray: Gray is the ultimate colour if you want to achieve a mature, classic and serious look. Darker shades look more mysterious, while lighter shades are more accessible.
Pick the right typography
Serif fonts
these kinds of fonts give off a more timeless look. Serif fonts can give your logo a classic and high-end look. Serif is the little ‘wings’ at the end of each letter. These work well with vintage, elegant or classic designs.
Sans serif fonts
These are without the little wings, and give of a modern clean look to the design. This works great for modern, simplistic and clean brands.
Script fonts
This is like having someone handwrite your words. These are more relaxed down to earth style designs. Use them to make your logo look more individualised.
Display fonts
Display fonts are decorative fonts that are highly stylized and really catch the eye.
Bring your design elements together
Now that you have gone through all the elements of your future brand’s logo. It is now time to compile it all into one document where you can then have a list of a few ideas of what you like and do not like as well as where your logo will be placed.
Communicate with your designer
Now it is time for the scary but fun part. Communication… it is time to bring all your design ideas to a friend, professional, colleague or yourself basically anyone who can build your idea into practice. remember it is important, to be honest with these people and tell them what you do and do not like as they do not mind readers.
Evaluate your options
Usually, a good designer will come to you with a few options and let you choose what you like best. It is at this time where you should show them to friends and family and future clients to get their opinion as this helps build your future brands awareness and also allows the people to choose what they like best instead of just choosing what you like. Bare in mind that you too will have to like it because at the end of the day… you will be seeing this logo much more than anyone else.
