The logo design process can be difficult to define: every graphic designer has their own approach to logo development. For some, it’s methodical and disciplined – 60 minutes of concept development followed by 90 minutes of execution while listening to their favorite album to fuel creativity. Others watch Will & Grace reruns until they get inspired by the commercial breaks.
We’re not here to judge – if it’s stupid but it works, then it’s not stupid. But we’re here to outline a general logo design process that you can use as a starting point. We’ll show you how to combine research and analysis with creative ingenuity to create a standout logo design. Below are the 7 basic steps to logo development, complete with examples showing the process in action.
Reading: How to create a logo for a client
What are the 7 steps to designing a logo? —
- Step 1: Evaluate the brand
- Step 2: Research the industry
- Step 3. Make a list of where the logo should be used
- Step 4. Sketch different logo concepts
- Step 5. Create digital designs in vector software
- Step 6. Refine your logo design with feedback
- Step 7. Prepare and deliver the final logo files
Step 1. Assess the brand –
Your first step in the logo design process is understanding what the brand embodies and what the goals of the company are. This is called the Client Discovery phase. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to logo design – a logo is only as good as its representation of a business, so it’s only effective if you know what kind of impression the brand is trying to create.
A lot of the information you need should be included in the design briefing But there are always clients who can’t articulate what they want or don’t know themselves, and it’s up to the designer to pull that information out. And even with the most detailed, well-crafted briefings, designers should delve deeper—in words that go beyond the official company statement, exploring how the client really feels about their business and the great work they’re doing. Every little insight into the company and the people that make it up will contribute to the long-term success of your design.
Here are just a few general questions to start your customer research:
- Why do you get a logo design? What problem are you trying to solve?
- If your brand were a person, what adjectives would you use to describe it? (clever, level-headed, etc.)
- What is your brand voice? (eloquent & formal, witty with slang, etc.)
- What beliefs and values are important to your brand?
- What is your unique value proposition? What does your company offer that your competitors don’t?
- How would you like your customers to describe your brand to their friends?
Of course, these aren’t exactly design questions – that’s more in the area of branding. But considering that logos are one of your most powerful branding tools, asking these questions is a necessary first step.
Evaluating a brand is one of the first steps in the 99designs logo design process. We ask clients to define their attributes in a few key areas so designers have a good idea of brand identity before they even start. Even if you take just 5 minutes to consider where a brand falls on these metrics, you can later formulate more complex brand queries.
By the end of this step, you should have your own well-informed opinion about the brand (supported by many notes). From here you can start brainstorming to distill this information into keywords and phrases. A popular brainstorming technique is mind mapping, where designers take their overall brand impressions and expand them into related ideas.Save your favorites – these will later support your logo concepts. But your research isn’t over yet!
Step 2. Research the industry –
No brand exists in a vacuum. Every business has to deal with the standards of their industry, even if they do everything they can to differentiate themselves.
So the next step in the logo design process is to research what type of logos competitors and industry leaders have . This is called the Industry Discovery phase and can tell the difference between a generic logo and one that’s too far off the left.
Of other logos in your industry you can read:
- which logo techniques work for your industry that lose personality
- which logo techniques are ignored that might inspire ways to stand out
- What type of customers dominate your industry (or what customers your competitors prefer)
For example, most logos in the technology industry use the color blue. With this information, you can either (1) also use blue because the data shows it works best, or (2) use a different color to stand out in the sea of blue logos. There is no right or wrong answer, it depends on how important your branding strategy is to stand out. But either way, you won’t even know you have to make a choice unless you research other logos in your industry first.
Step 3. Make a list of where the logo is to be used –
Just like the branding strategy, the physical or digital space that the logo will occupy should inform your design decisions. Research where to use the logo – this is called the Application Discovery phase. While you may not have a complete list yet, the sooner you can predict how your logo will be used, the better for logo development. Where you need your logo can be determined by the color model, the shape, or even the design software used.
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For example, if you want your logo to appear on large billboards, you can design more detailed logos on a larger scale. If it’s going to be placed in the corner of a mobile app, go for simplicity and smaller scale. If social media plays a big part, the logo should fit comfortably in both round and square avatars and be adaptable to larger cover photos. If you want to stand out on video or digital platforms, you can even have an eye-catching animated logo. Most of the time, a designer wants to plan for all of these scenarios.
These are some common logo design use cases:
- Website Icons
- Signs and banners
- Product packaging
- Advertisements
- Social media profiles and banners
- Business cards
- Corporate letterhead (Invoices, internal documents)
- Email marketing campaigns
- Marketing items (pens, shirts, mugs, etc.)
You must also include the Consider the shape of the logo and how it fits into its surroundings. Some spots require a wide, rectangular logo, like letterhead; others require something small and subtle, like a watermark on shareable content. Luckily, you can have several different versions in your stable.
Given the popularity of responsive logos, you don’t have to be limited to one standard design. Plus, you always have the best logo for every situation. The trick is to make sure these different versions of your logo all feel like the same logo. It helps to plan ahead and design these variations all at once, rather than designing the main logo and adapting it to different situations as they arise. If you’re comfortable with an adaptable logo, first aim for four variations that escalate the logo in both size and complexity.
Step 4. Outline a variety of logo concepts –
If you already have some logo ideas, you might be tempted to jump into logo design software. But before you focus on your final design, take some time to sketch out lots of ideas. Sketching is cheap, easy, and fast, but most importantly, it’s an effective brainstorming tool.
Draft one Set of different logo ideas See how they look outside of your head. For one thing, just sketching can get the creative juices flowing. But more importantly, by outlining a variety of concepts, you can see what works and what doesn’t.You’ll start noticing certain threads or topics that you like, and you can mix and match different items until you’ve found the perfect one.
Even though you’re almost certain you do have an idea you like, sketch other ideas. You might surprise yourself with something you like better, and if nothing else, this will give you some backups in case the client doesn’t like the direction of your original concept.
Once you’ve decided on your preferred one Concept, sketch some variations on it, add or remove elements, change minor details and start typographic exploration.
Step 5. Create digital designs in vector software –
So far , you should have a messy hodgepodge of logo sketches and a better sense of what you want the final logo to look like. From these sketches, take about 3 of your best ones and recreate them in your design software. This is where your final logo really takes shape.
For a comprehensive step-by-step guide, check out this article on creating a logo in Illustrator.
Now you can make all the crucial design decisions that you couldn’t make in the design phase. You can experiment with both logo colors and typography in your digital design.
If you are a business owner trying to create your own logo, this step of the logo design process requires technical knowledge of design software. But you can always use an easy-to-use DIY editor. While these don’t have the features or complexity to create a meaningful logo, they have the bare minimum of what you need.
You can also hire a freelancer or commission a design contest if You’d rather outsource this to someone with more expertise. Working with a professional pretty much guarantees a great result. If you want to learn more about the pros and cons, check out this comparison of the best ways to get a logo.
Once you have a solid design, take it a step further to create a Create presentation to present your logo Logo. This includes presenting the flat logo along with all the variations, an overlay with branding images and mockups of the logo in the real world. The goal is to communicate your vision of the brand with a compelling, stunning logo presentation.
Step 6. Refine your logo design with feedback –
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Here’s something you’re not doing Must Be a Designer Appreciate: Everyone’s a Critic! No matter how perfect you think your logo design is, chances are someone, somewhere, is requesting changes.
That’s not always a bad thing. When you work on the same image for hours or days (or weeks or months) you tend to confuse the forest with the trees. A fresh look at the end product can reveal areas for improvement that you didn’t see before.
You want to encourage criticism of your logo design and show it to a variety of people. First and foremost, show it to your customers or employees, but don’t stop there! Show your significant other, your friends, your neighbors, your Uber driver. New, fresh ideas come from the most unlikely of sources, and you can at least measure people’s reactions to the logo to make sure it’s having the desired impact.
Getting feedback on your design is the easy part . The real challenge is interpreting and responding to customer feedback. Ask follow-up questions and use your best judgment to decide which feedback is most valuable. Your logo’s job is to represent a brand, and the question to ask yourself is whether the feedback will help the logo do that better. If not, you may need to politely articulate the reasons for your design decisions. At the same time, you don’t want to be so stubborn or valuable about your logo that you don’t want to spot potential mistakes.
Step 7. Prepare and deliver the final logo files –
When your logo is complete, it’s time to deliver your final files! You should determine what design files your client will need (if they have specific requirements) early in the process.But in general it’s best to include:
- Multi-layer source vector files, e.g. B. AI
- Layered EPS/PDF files (for customers using different vector programs)
- High-resolution raster files for web, including PNGs with transparent backgrounds
Make sure to include basic logo variations, e.g. Full color, black, white, and monochrome.
If you’re using a standard font (as opposed to custom lettering), you should also outline the text. Otherwise the font will change on computers that don’t have it installed.
You should also inform the client of any fonts used in the logo in case they need them for future branding projects (note that the most font licenses require the customer to purchase them themselves).
This is all information that is good to include in a brand style guide. Not only does this ensure that your logo will be used correctly long after you’re gone, it also makes a great parting gift for the customer and boosts their confidence in the brand vision you’ve designed for them.
Intelligent Logo development brings brands to life —
You might say that good design takes talent, but you never know for sure what that means or if you have it. What is safe to say is that great logos don’t happen by accident. They are the result of critical thinking, questioning, collaborating, exploring, failing and starting over.
Every detail of your logo – colors, fonts, sizes, shapes and more – can affect the impression it makes on customers. Even if your logo doesn’t ultimately resonate with every single viewer, a robust logo design process is your best opportunity to bring your brand vision to life.
Want to learn more about logo design? Check out our article on designing a logo.
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This article was originally written by Peter Vukovic and the current version was published in 2012 updated with new information and examples.
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