GIMP is such a great image editor that you’ve probably wondered how many different projects you can use it for. You might even have wondered if you can use GIMP to design logos, but before we go any further, it’s time for some unconventional – albeit honest – advice.
My name is Thomas Boldt, and in addition to projects like TGT (The GIMP Tutorials), I work as a graphic designer. I graduated with honors from the design program at York University/Sheridan College in 2008 and have been working in the field ever since, so this guide draws on my professional experience.
Reading: How to create a professional logo in gimp
The quick guide to creating a logo in GIMP
Step 1: Don’t.
Step 2: Close GIMP and use another program from the list below.
Step 3: If you’re dying to create a logo in GIMP, check out the 4 tips below.
This may seem a bit harsh, but GIMP should really, really not be used for this type of design work. GIMP is a raster graphics editor, which means it edits pixel images, and some of the most important steps in logo design will drive you insane trying to create them in pixels – but there is one other option.
Professional layout design workflows use vector graphics instead of raster graphics. Vector graphics are actually mathematical expressions that describe the shape and color of an image, which means you can quickly swap, scale, adjust, and repeat many different logo options.
Another great benefit of using vector graphics for logos they can be scaled to any size without loss of quality. If you create your logo in GIMP with pixels and then try to scale it to a larger size, it will end up pixelated, distorted and just plain unprofessional as you can see above.
Vector graphics can scale infinitely because they are just mathematical descriptions. You’ll have to save them in a pixel format like JPEG to use them in other programs, but you can save this image in any size you want in perfectly crisp resolution.
Also, don’t worry – You don’t really need to understand the math behind vector graphics to use them. Just know that the program understands everything for you 😉
Logo design programs
GIMP is not the right program for logo design, but that doesn’t mean I do it will leave you without a better solution. There are several other graphics programs meant for logo and vector graphics and I’ve listed four below.
1. Inkscape
If GIMP is the free software world’s answer to Adobe Photoshop, then Inkscape is the answer to Adobe Illustrator. It’s a free vector graphics program that can handle everything from page layout to logo design to vector illustration, and it’s an infinitely better choice for creating your logo.
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Inkscape was stuck at version 0.92 for years and only got managed to reach version 1.0 after almost 17 years of development – I really need to update my copy! – but it’s finally out of beta. Don’t let that put you off, however, as this is an impressive piece of free software.
Available for free (as in language and beer) on Windows, macOS and Linux.
2. Adobe Illustrator
If you do a lot of logo design, you can also use the industry standard vector graphics program. I know it’s from Adobe and it’s not free, but it IS the best option available in terms of features and support.
Available for PC and macOS, $20.99 monthly subscription.
3. Affinity Designer
If you’re not interested in the Adobe ecosystem but don’t mind paying for a quality vector graphics program, Affinity Designer might be better for you. The Affinity series offers professional competitors of Adobe programs at a much lower price.
Available for PC and macOS, one-time purchase fee of $84.99.
4. Gravit Designer
Gravit Designer (now Corel Vector) is another good option for vector design. Compatible with all major browsers. It costs $99.99/year with 15 days free trial.
Logo Design Tips in GIMP
If you’re dying to create a logo in GIMP, then I’ve put together a few logo design tips to keep in mind as you design to ensure you get the most out of your project.
But really, you’re better off with Inkscape or one of the other programs listed above. They save you the trouble of worrying about those first two points, so you can focus on your creative vision and not the technical details.
1. Start Big
Because you’re stuck with a pixelized version of your logo, making the image very large to begin with gives you the most flexibility later. Print resolution is more than three times higher than screen resolution – 300 PPI (pixels per inch) for printing, compared to 72 PPI for most screens.
So if you create your new logo canvas at 500×500, it will fill half of a 1080p screen – but it will only print as a 1.75″ square. If you’ve ever seen a great picture online, tried to print it, and then wondered why it looks like blurry junk on the printed page, you’ve already encountered this problem.
Not true ? You don’t have to worry about that as much if you only want to use your logo once for a single quick on-screen appearance. But if you are serious about making a logo in GIMP, this is the most important thing to remember at the beginning. It’s all pixels, so you can’t adjust anything later!
2. Using layers and layer groups
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One of the most boring parts of logo design is the refinement phase. Once you have a rough idea of the design you like, chances are you’ll spend a long time looking at various customizations and options. This is where vector graphics programs shine, but we can fake it in GIMP. Type of.
If you’re ready to start optimizing but only use a single layer for all your logo components, you won’t get anywhere. It’s better to separate each image element of your logo on a different layer and you can always adjust their positioning without having to redraw them.
To create a new layer, open the Layer menu and select New Layer or click the New Layer
You can also use groups to organize your levels, which may become necessary if you really take this advice to heart (as you should ). Select the layers you want to group and click the little folder icon at the bottom of the Layers palette to create a new group.
3. Choose fonts carefully
This is good advice for any design project, but it goes double for logos where so much emphasis is placed on the individual letters that make up your company name or brand. Take the time to choose a good font that is clear and easy to read while still capturing the feel of your brand.
If you don’t like any of the fonts that come with GIMP, I’ve written a quick guide on how to add new fonts to GIMP and where to find them online.
But working in a vector graphics program gives you much more flexibility when working with letters. Since each letter you type on the screen is just a vector shape, vector programs actually allow you to edit any letter shape to create unique fonts and styles that GIMP just can’t do.
4. Keep it simple
Think of the world’s most popular logos: Nike’s “Swoosh”, Apple’s “Apple” and Tesla’s “T”. They are all very simple, which is why they are so memorable and iconic. Compare that to the logo of the local plumbing company with a full cartoon and too much text to read and you get the idea.
Keep your images simple and they’ll be more memorable. Keep your text consumption to a minimum and make sure you don’t choose 600 different fonts and colors. Any more than two or three and you start to step out of logo territory, so be careful and when in doubt:
Keep.
It.
Easy .
One final word on logos
I hope I’ve convinced you that GIMP isn’t the best choice for designing logos and that you’re going to choose one of the logos other great programs that I have previously recommended. But even if you did create a logo in GIMP anyway, I hope my tips made the process a little smoother and more successful than it might otherwise have been.
See also: 10 Tips for Creating Great Blog Titles
About Thomas Boldt.
