So you’re someone who has learned to use Photoshop, Illustrator or Canva and finally on a new page, trying to figure out that perfect design for your new logo. No matter whether you’re an advanced beginner or an expert in designing, you can find yourself up against designer’s block anytime, especially when you’re designing a logo.
This ultimate guide will focus on some handy techniques and tips that will help you come up with the right logo design.
Logo Brief
A logo brief is basically a document outlining the details about what your logo is going to represent. This information usually provided to you by the client in which he gives you fundamental information about his business.
- Business goals
- Product, Target Audience
- Desired logo style and format
- Colors
- Inspirations (from other designs, logos)
- Timing
- Budget
If you don’t have this information beforehand or some of the details are missing from the given logo brief, you may ask the client for it before proceeding ahead. There might be plenty of other things that you might want to consider as per your logo designing methods like typography or any specific logo designing software. Don’t hesitate to ask any additional questions you may have to your client.
Determine How It’s Going to Look & Feel
This is an important part of the guide. The most common mistake you can make while creating a logo is making it look identical to some other brand’s logo. To avoid this mistake, the best thing you can do is to go some extra miles with your research part.
Look for references and create a mood board to get inspired. You can do so by either purchasing a board and sticking printed images on it or by going digital (the preferred one) and using platforms like Pinterest and Dribble. Here are a few platforms that might help you in finding inspiration for your logo design:
- Pinterest (use its built-in search option for contextual research)
- Behance (for comprehensive projects)
- Dribble (regularly updated site)
- Instagram (use some hashtags in the search option like #logodesign to get some smart ideas)
Use keywords associated with your brand’s category or business niche for more ideas. For example, if you’re a fintech company you can use keywords like ‘best fintech logos’ for better results and concepts. If you’re going to design a logo from scratch, this is probably the best method to utilize what’s already on the web.
Collect Ideas
Collecting ideas from various sources is one of the crucial steps in logo designing process. We’ve already discussed how creating a mood board and using sites like Pinterest, Dribble or Behance can help in gathering inspirations. At Mgadz, we start off with a brainstorming session which not only lifts some stress off the individual designers but also to make this experience a success.
Timing is everything
This kind of brainstorming is going to be quite different than what you did when you were in grade school and used to churn up for science project. Whether you’re seeking logo ideas or working on a decisive presentation, allegiance to basic brainstorming rules is essential. You should brainstorm when you and everyone else involved feels most creative. To come up with such timing can be difficult but it depends on individuals when they feel most interested to indulge in some mental gymnastics. It can be in morning over coffee, in afternoon after lunch or at the end of day.
Focus on your audience
How do you want your audience to perceive your brand when they see your logo? What should be the first thing they should be attracted to – colors, font or shape? Should it provide a feeling of relaxation or excitement? It should be appealing to the target demographics and convey a positive image of your brand. For example, if you’re designing a logo for school, it may contain light color palette and some icon related to education. On the other hand, for a fast-food business, you can relate it to food or burger and use impactful colors.
Put your ideas on paper or in a doc
Before signing off your brainstorming session, make sure you’ve jot down all the ideas and key points on a paper or save it to a Google doc. Give yourself additional time to think and research and look back to this document next day with a fresh mind.
At this point, don’t be afraid to think out of the box and being little experimental. You need to make your logo logical, attractive and unique that stands out from the crowd.
What are the different types of logos?
A logo is basically an image that symbolizes your brand. Essentially, there are seven different types of logos. Each logo has a unique combination of typography, icon, image and colors, and they give your brand a unique representation. It can be little difficult to decide which type of logo you should use for a particular client. Knowing about these logo types can significantly help and here we have explained all 7 types of logos in brief.
Monogram Logos
Monogram logos or lettermarks consist of two or more letters to form one symbol. Monogram logos literally have a long and rich history, dating back to 350 BC when they first appeared on coins in Greece. A few examples of contemporary monograms include famous logos of Louis Vuitton (LV), CNN, HBO and Coco Chanel. Brands that have larger names usually use initials as monograms.
Wordmarks or Logotypes
Contrary to monogram logos, wordmark logos focus on complete name of brands. They are not based on initials; instead, they are mostly primary names of a company. Wordmarks work well for brands that have smaller and easy to remember names. You just need to work on the right typography and create a unified design that is best for the brand identification. There are many big brands that have used logotypes, including Google, FedEx, Disney and more.
Pictorial Marks or Logo Symbols
A pictorial mark sometimes referred to as brand mark or logo symbol is an icon or graphic-based logo. Some of the examples are iconic logos of Twitter (Twitter Bird), Pepsi, Apple and Windows. Each of these companies’ logos is so emblematic and they are instantly recognizable by their audience. A true pictorial mark is only an image, because of this it can be a tricky logo type for new companies or startups or those without strong brand recognition.
Abstract logos
These are specific types of pictorial logos that don’t render direct representation of a brand. They are abstract geometric form that represents your business. A few of popular examples of these kinds of logos include Pepsi’s divided circle and the strip in Adidas flower. These logos work well for any brand because they condense your brand into a single image. They allow you to create something unique that symbolically represents your brand without depending on the cultural meanings of a specific image.
Mascot Logos
Mascot logos are quite popular nowadays in e-sports, gaming, and social media pages (i.e. profiles for YouTube channels). A mascot is mostly an illustrated character or shape that represents a business. It depends on which category of business it demonstrates and the message it wants to convey to the audience. It can be a cartoonish character or an exaggerated, disgruntled dragon.
Think of them as ambassadors for your business that intrigues interest in knowing more about your brand. Some famous mascots include Quaker, Reddit’s always-smiling alien Snoo and KFC’s old man with a moustache. Mascot logos work effectively on large billboards, social media channels and TV commercials.
Combination Mark
As the name implies, combination marks basically combine different logo types to create one. There are no strict design regulations or restrictions when it comes to designing something never-seen-before. You can combine a wordmark with logo symbol to create something more unique, engaging and catchy. You are always free to do some experiments while making logos like combining a mascot with pictorial mark. Some good examples of combination marks are MailChimp, Burger King, Dropbox and Doritos. They have both logotypes and symbols used together in their logos.
Emblem
An emblem logo consists of font inside a symbol or icon. In these logos, the text is inseparably connected with other pictorial elements like circles, badges, seals and crests. It requires intricate design work to come up with such logo designs. Emblem logos are often go-to choice for educational institutes, government agencies or sports teams. They are great for communicating brand values and leave a sense of belonging in beholders’ eyes.
A successfully laid-out logo design will invoke your brand’s personality and nature in people’s minds once they see it. Ultimately, when you think of how to design a logo from scratch, your priority should be crafting something that communicates the brand’s intended message effectively.
Important Features of a Professional Logo
Understanding the various features of a professional logo is one of the golden rules of logo design. A good logo should be able to reflect a business accurately, so that people can understand what it does with just one glance. Read on to discover five key features of a successful logo design and learn how they can improve branding efforts.
Simple and Clear
Whether you’re designing a new logo or just updating an old one, the first thing you need to do is keep everything simple and clear. The logo should be easy to understand at first glance. It should be simplified so that it can be easily printed on business cards, t-shirts, and other promotional materials. The logo should be able to tell the story of your brand in one quick and clear image. A logo that is visually appealing and easy to understand will help the business stand out and make a lasting impression.
Professional Logo Font
It is important to choose a font that is readable, legible and reflects your brand’s personality. The font you choose for the logo should complement your brand and logo design. An inappropriate font can significantly impair the effectiveness of the logo. A font that is hard to read or doesn’t match your brand can turn away potential customers. It is also important to choose a font that is easy to reproduce in printed materials like business cards and t-shirts.
Breathing Space
A logo should include breathing space, which refers to the empty areas that surround your logo and give it room to breathe. A logo without breathing space looks too cluttered and can cause your logo to look unprofessional. When designing a logo, you should leave enough room so that the logo doesn’t look like it’s pressed against the page. You should try to leave enough space so that it doesn’t look like it’s sitting on top of other logos. A logo with breathing space makes the logo look more organized, professional and attractive.
Colour Combination
The next thing to consider when you are designing your logo is the colour combination. The colours you choose for the logo can make or break your company’s branding efforts. Colour psychology is a powerful tool that can help you understand how people are likely to react to the brand. Certain colours can elicit specific emotions and associations. Take into account the colour of your logo’s background to make sure it looks consistent and attractive.
Design and Style
A logo should be able to provide an immidiate and truthful impression of your business philosophy, decoding why your brand is special. Designing a logo that matches the essence of your brand is essential. Take the example of Amazon’s logo. It says a lot about the company. The arrow in it resembles a smile that highlights brand’s friendly customer service and it goes from ‘a’ to ‘z’, boasting Amazon’s broad product range that includes everything from A to Z. The logo has a simple style and contains only two colors. There are many other pecularities that you learn only when you’re designing a logo on the digital canvas.
A logo should be simple, easy to understand, and include the necessary elements such as colour, font, and design. When designing your logo, keep these five key features in mind to create a successful logo design.
Avoid These Mistakes While Designing a Logo
A logo is the face of a brand, and it represents everything it stands for. But a logo is more than just a pretty image; it’s a powerful marketing tool that can have a significant impact on your business. So when it’s time to create a logo, it’s important to get it right. Here are some common mistakes to avoid:
- Choosing the wrong colors: Colors can have a big impact on how people see your logo, so you want to make sure you choose the right ones. Make sure that the colors are cohesive with the brand, and that they work well together. Avoid colors that are too bright or too dull.
- Putting too many elements in your logo: Logos should be simple and easy to understand. If there are too many things going on in your logo, it can get confusing for people. Keep it simple and clean.
- Not using a consistent font: A logo should be easy to read and understand, so make sure you use a consistent font throughout. If you decide to change the font later on, make sure the new one is similar enough that people will still understand it.
- Using complicated shapes: Keep your logo simple and clean. You don’t want to use anything too complicated or hard to understand because it can get confusing for people.
There are several things that can go wrong while designing a logo and this can lead to different problems such as loss of reputation, less sales and bad customer experience.
We understand the importance of creating a great logo for your company. But what exactly is a logo, and how can you create one that makes a lasting impression on your customers? Whether you’re a business owner who needs a logo or a designer who needs guidance in designing a perfect logo, we can help you with our logo and graphic design services in Brampton.
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