You have a brilliant business idea and the perfect name. But what about your logo?
Before you continue reading on, think about some logos that stand out to you. What products, memories, and feeling do they evoke when you see them? Here are a few that you may recognize!
As a brand, it is a good idea to create an eye-catching, unique logo that will help your company stand out from the competition—but it isn't always easy. Designing a logo can be fun, but it can also take hours of careful thought and attention to detail. Our tips will help you brainstorm ideas and create a brand identity that's true to who you are as a business owner.
How to Design a Logo
#1: Start with a story
As you start to envision a logo that represents your business, it's important to remember that a great brand identity is much more than just an attractive logo.
The story behind your brand should be unique and memorable, consistent across all of your marketing materials, clear and concise, easy to understand by anyone—even those who aren't familiar with your industry—and something you can use when describing what makes you different from other companies.
Instead of asking "what" should my logo be, ask "why" did I create this product or service and work from there. Think about the customer that you are serving and make them the Hero of this story.
#2: Brainstorm words that describe your brand
To create a logo that will resonate with your customers and help attract new ones, it's important to identify the words that describe your brand. These are the words you want to include in your logo.
A good place to start is by thinking about what comes to mind when you think of [your company name].
What qualities does it conjure up? How would you describe it? Write down as many adjectives as possible (and be sure not to limit yourself—write down all the words that come into your head). Then, take those adjectives and turn them into nouns: "XYZ Company", "XYZ Brand", "XYZ Product".
Think about each word individually, but also consider how they work together. For example, if one of your top five words was "fun" then maybe something along the lines of "Fun Times Inc." might make sense (play around with variations of the word! You never know what you'll get 😉).
#3: Shortlist elements that represent your brand
It is important that YOU like your logo. Here's a few things to guide your process on picking the elements that matter:
Have a list of wants and don't wants.
Decide what elements are important to your brand.
Make a list of all the things that represent you and your business, from the physical items in your office to the way you interact with customers and even what kind of music you listen to in the car on the way home from work.
Use these elements as inspiration for an initial logo design (or designs) that reflects your brand identity, personality, mission and purpose—all of which should be part of your story!
#4: Start sketching!
By now, you should have a rough idea of what your logo will look like. If not, spend some time with the company's brand guidelines and start sketching! Keep it very simple at first—you can always add more detail later on in the process.
Once you've got something down on paper (or screen), take a step back and make sure that this is truly representative of who your company is and how it stands out from your competitors. For example:
Does the logo lend itself to being used in different ways? Can it be used as an icon or as part of a larger graphic? Will people recognize it at different sizes and resolutions?
Does the font complement the overall aesthetic? If possible, try out different fonts in order to see which one works best for your brand identity.
#5: Finalize your brand and style guide: Pick your colors and fonts!
You can't have a good logo without a style guide. The style guide is the final step in designing your logo, and it will help you ensure that the brand guidelines are being followed by everyone in the company. These should include:
Color palette
Fonts and styles of fonts
Color usage rules (for example, no gray text on a dark background)
Now that you have all of your information laid out and ready to go, it's time to pick some colors!
#6: Get professional help to build your logo
While it's tempting to try and build your logo yourself, there are many reasons why you should consider hiring a professional designer.
Your time is valuable. You have far more important things to do than learn how to use design software or spend hours looking for fonts that match your company's brand.
You'll get better results if you hire a designer who knows what they're doing. A professional graphic designer has years of experience with logos and branding, along with the technical knowledge required to create them in accordance with industry standards. This will ensure that your logo looks great and works well with all of the other elements of your brand identity (i.e., color schemes, fonts, etc.).
There is no guarantee that you'll come up with something you love as much as what a professional designer could make for you! If nothing else—this process will help keep all those "what ifs" at bay while also allowing some excitement and anticipation around the end result!
Conclusion
We hope you’ve enjoyed this guide and learned some valuable tips to help you create a logo that represents your brand. We know it can be overwhelming to try to do it all on your own, but remember: getting professional help is always an option. If you want to learn more about how we can help you design a logo that makes people want to buy from you—and even love spending time with your company—check out our website here.