So you want to design a logo for your company or organization. If you have the resources, our first suggestion is to hire or hire a designer. Designing a logo might seem easy, but ask any good designer and they’ll tell you it’s not. The design process is rare.
Besides, you get what you pay for and we want you to get the best.
Reading: How to create a logo concept
But when you start building your brand’s visual identity need and hiring a designer is not an option for you, we are here to guide you through it. We asked three designers with more than 25 years of combined experience to share how they create a logo.
What they said may surprise you.
What is a logo?
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This question is likely to conjure up vivid images of a famous Swoosh or a bitten apple. After all, we all know what a logo is.
A logo is a symbol or design used to identify a company or organization and its products, services, employees, etc.
In its simplest definition, a logo identifies. This is how your company is recognized and remembered, among other things. It also acts as the face of your company.
Your logo can also be an opportunity to make a statement about your company. Take Amazon for example. The smiley arrow communicates that the company sells everything from “A-Z” and also shows how happy customers are when they shop from them.
One caveat is that a logo does convey a deeper meaning can, but does not. I do not have to. In fact, most businesses that are struggling to decide on a logo are simply asking too much of it. All three of our designers agreed that most people care too much about logos (pun intended with nerdy designs).
So remember, a logo can play an important role, but it does not everything.
A logo is not:
- Your brand This is a common confusion, but your logo is not your brand. And your brand is not your logo. Your brand is immaterial; It’s your reputation – what people think of when they hear your name, what they tell others about you, and how it makes you feel. Your brand is built on a thousand touchpoints with your customers – not one logo.
- Your visual identity When a new business or organization requests a logo, a good designer will say, “You need not just a logo, you need a brand identity.” Logos are part of the image, but they are not the whole. You are just an image in a larger visual system that includes your colors, typography, photography, visuals, layout, etc.
- An Indicator of Success Your logo is not successful to make or break your deal. Enron’s logo was good, but the company’s code of ethics was not. Two Men and a Truck is a billion-dollar company, and its logo is a stick-figure drawing made by the founders’ mother on a napkin. The best logo in the world can’t save a corrupt company, and the worst logo can’t hold back an honest one.
Now that we understand what a logo can and can’t do let’s start the design process.
How to design a logo
Here are two things to keep in mind as you dive in:
- Design is a lot of strategy. Yes, you will need to create something visual at some point. But the lion’s share of the work is strategic, especially in the beginning. Be willing to think and make decisions more than you draw.
- You’re not just designing a logo. Remember that the logo is just part of a larger visual system and its individual parts must all work together.
To get this right, you should work in phases. While every designer’s process looks different, the process we’re going to take you through consists of five stages:
- Discover
- Discover
- Design
- Refine
- Define
Each phase has its own goal, its own process and its own Result. We explain why each phase is important, the set of actions or steps you need to take, and the ultimate outcome you’re working towards – what you need for the next phase.
Phase One : Discover
Objective
The Discovery phase is the “Ask” phase. Designers use this time to tease out as much context and background as possible to fully understand their client’s company or organization, its values, business, brand attributes, and so on. This is also the time to ask preliminary design questions about the look and feel you want. all possible use cases and any must-haves or special requests.
For you, this will be more of a self-discovery phase. Your goal is to have a solid understanding of who your company/organization is, what you believe in, what you want to achieve and how you want to get there. Remember, you’re not just designing a logo. They form your brand identity.
Even if you think you know these things, I encourage you to write down your answers. I suspect you haven’t considered a few things.
Process
Ask yourself:
- Why do you want and/or need a new logo? What is the trigger for this design?
- What is the meaning/story behind your company name?
- Who are your target audiences?
- Who are your main competitors? ?
- What are your goals for this new logo? How is “success” measured?
- Who are your top 3-5 brand “role models”? Whose look and feel do you admire?
- How do you want people to feel when they see your logo?
- What values do you want to express with your brand?
- What are the unique traits of your brand’s personality?
- For example: is your brand sophisticated, curious, nostalgic, vibrant, etc.?
- This is a great resource to help you explore this further.
- For example: is your brand sophisticated, curious, nostalgic, vibrant, etc.?
- What will the main use cases be from its the logo/visual system? Social? Website? t shirts?
- Context matters!
- Any special requests or must-haves included in the design? If a visual refresh, something that needs to be retained from the previous iteration?
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After answering these questions, summarize the answers in a creative strategy that provides a general overview of your business. You might include: your goal for the design process, the tone of your brand, visual considerations, and an early vision for the design system and logo, including any themes that emerged during this phase.
You will Not only will you use this strategy document to guide your next phase, you will also use it to gauge your success throughout the process. At the end of each phase, evaluate your deliverables based on how well they meet the vision set out in the creative strategy. If personal opinions and preferences inevitably arise, refer to this document to remain objective.
Phase Two: Discover
Objective
This is your research phase , but “exploration” sounds more exciting. And that’s it, I promise. The exploration phase is perhaps the most fun and, as someone beginning this design process alone and possibly for the first time, most helpful.
In essence, you will turn your focus outward to encountering and exploring design in the World. Your goal here is twofold: educate yourself and get inspired.
Process
Just start by Googling basic design principles. Learn about the basics like style, color, and typography.
Our designers mentioned that certain principles of color theory can be particularly helpful in logo design. Different colors evoke different emotions and behaviors, helping you create the emotional response you want from your audience. This is really fascinating.
For example, blue inspires confidence, dependability, and authority. It’s not for nothing that blue is a popular choice for banks, credit cards and software. Green evokes feelings of peace, growth, and health. Companies like Whole Foods and BP are using green in their branding to strategically communicate a level of concern for the planet.
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Discover which color evokes the feelings you want in your audience.
Once you have the basics down, start gathering information. Look at your immediate competitors first, and then at your broader industry. Don’t just look at logos. Experience the entire visual system by observing brands across multiple channels, e.g. Website, various social networks, etc. Take notes. What elements do you notice, both good and bad?
Next, look beyond your industry. Discover what’s hot in the design community. Find the latest creative work from the world’s leading designers at sites like Dribbble, Behance and Brand New. Search for #logodesign or other related hashtags on Instagram. The 99designs website also has a design inspiration discovery page that you may find useful.
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Create a moodboard to share all of the images, designs, Color combinations, photos, illustrations and yes, logos that you were drawn to and that represent the look and feel you want for your brand identity.
If you feel smart, you can create a real board Cut and paste printed images. But most designers keep it digital. The easiest way to collect is Pinterest, but if you just want to share/review, just copy and paste your images into one document.
If you’re drawn to multiple design directions, create separate mood boards for each. Be sure to include brief descriptions of how each board’s visual choices express the brand attributes outlined in your creative strategy. Ideally, you would present these boards to other members of your team or a decision maker, and they would help narrow you down a direction.
Phase Three: Design
Goal
Finally! The goal here is pretty simple: take all the thinking and input from the first two phases and start generating some logo designs.
Process
In approaching the design there is a lot to consider a logo:
Tools
Before you start, make sure you have everything you need to start designing:
Pencil and paper
Sketting out some preliminary ideas is a great place. Don’t make this too complicated. Design is an iterative process. Even if you think you can’t draw, make rough sketches of the ideas in your head. It forces your brain to think creatively – and that’s the kind of thinking you need.
Vector Graphic Design Software
The industry standard for vector graphics editing software is Adobe Illustrator – but it’s not cheap and not necessarily suitable for beginners. You could try similar free tools like Inkscape and Vectr.
Why Vector? All logos are vector images, which means that instead of pixels, they are made of lines defined by mathematical formulas. Vectors are easier to modify and scale.
Fonts
If you choose the above route, you might want to try downloading some additional fonts. Free font resources include the Google Fonts Library and Font Squirrel. You can also buy fonts from sites like MyFonts and FontShop.
Free logo design tools
If you’re short on time, money, and design skills, there are plenty Online tools that get the job done. Most of these sites offer customizable templates, which would be the quickest way to create a logo that looks professional. Just remember that you risk sacrificing originality.
One final consideration is that while the tools below are free, you may need to purchase the final, scalable vector file to download.
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Top 5 Online Logo Design Tools:
- Looka
- Hatchful
- LogoMakr
- DesignEvo Free Logo Maker
- Canva Logo Maker
Types of logos
Whether you Whether you decide to design your logo from scratch or use a template is a good place to start to familiarize yourself with the seven types of logos:
Wordmark
Some brands don’t have a graphic symbol and instead choose to place their company or organization name front and center. In this case, typography is everything. Whatever font you choose, it must be legible.
Trademarks
Trademarks, also known as “figurative marks,” are the graphic symbol in a logo. These symbols are usually recognizable and create an immediate connection in the minds of your audience. For example a tooth for a dentist, mountains for an outdoor company, etc.
In the beginning you need to combine a trademark with the name of your company or organization. But over time, the symbol alone could serve as a strong, visual token for a well-known brand.
Combination mark
This type of logo combines both a symbol and a also a wordmark, creating the more traditional “lock-up” logo we’re all familiar with. Play around with the placement of each element until you find a layout you like. You can also allow different combinations of the two in certain contexts, which we’ll cover in the define phase.
Abstract logo character
Like the As the name suggests, abstract logos are less recognizable and usually more geometric. They’re great when you want something completely unique for your brand. Again, we strongly encourage combining these symbols with your company or organization name until you have built enough brand awareness to let your symbol stand alone.
Letter mark
A letter character, also known as a “monogram” logo, is great if your name is long or chunky. You can either abbreviate your name or just use your initials. Typography is just as important in a letter mark as it is in a word mark. Luckily, with fewer letters and less worry about readability, you can use more creative styling.
Mascot
Depending on your brand personality, a mascot could be fun. Also, they are more flexible than your default icon as their expressions and contexts can change. Just make sure you use a style that fits the message and emotion you’re trying to communicate. If you’re going for a more serious vibe, mascots aren’t a good choice.
Emblems
Emblem logos contain text within an icon. Emblems, also known as “coats of arms,” have been around for a long time and can convey tradition and prestige.
Symbols
If you choose a symbol in Your logo—whether traditional or abstract—may require some brainstorming.Here are a few tips from our designers to create an icon that fits your brand:
- Make Connections. Think of the name of your company or organization and write down as many related words as you can think of. Using Sprout as an example, we would write words like grow, garden, tree, forest, leaves, branches, greenhouse, etc. These words conjure up their own set of images, all of which could be viable options for a brand.
- Think figuratively. This is where the questions of the “Discover” phase come into play. Going back to our Amazon example, the smile represents how happy and satisfied Amazon shoppers are. Think about how you want your audience to feel or what message you want to convey. Are there any symbols that come to mind?
- Go literally. While our designers warned against making the most obvious choice, you can still consider a literal interpretation of your brand message. Just don’t be afraid to play around with it. Give it a unique twist. Try combining a literal symbol with something more figurative.
- Get weird. There are no rules at this stage. Think outside the box as much as you like. As the saying goes, this is where the magic often happens. Don’t question whether something makes sense. It could be the key to a successful idea.
- Generate, evaluate, repeat. Do this as often as necessary to narrow down your options. Most designers go through several rounds before they get to the good stuff. Iteration is the name of the game. And don’t forget to ask a friend for help. Sometimes all you need is a fresh look to break loose.
Fonts
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If you decide to use a word or letter mark, Remember the importance of typography. Much like colors, different fonts elicit different interpretations of your brand personality.
There are countless fonts, but they all belong to one of three families (also called typefaces): serif, sans serif, and script.
Serif fonts
Serif fonts have small lines or dashes attached to the end of larger strokes in a letter or symbol. These fonts are classic and can be a good choice if you want to convey confidence, tradition and sophistication.
Sans serif fonts
These are fonts that have no serifs on the letters. The result is a clean, clean line that looks sleek and modern. Sans serif fonts are the preferred typeface family for digital typefaces because they are easier to read. If you prefer a minimalist design, sans serif fonts are the way to go.
Script
Script fonts mimic cursive handwriting, creating the desired effect of a Signature. They often feel more authentic and original.
Now that you have all the information on how to design a logo, don’t forget: generate, evaluate, iterate.
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At the end you should have at least one logo design to evaluate. It is also common at this stage to have two or three logos to choose from. In the next phase, we’ll go into more detail on how to evaluate your designs.
Phase Four: Refine
Goal
When you’ve finished the last phase with several different options, now it’s time to narrow down. Already have a final choice? Great! Let’s put it to the test.
Process
Evaluate your designs by asking yourself the following questions:
What makes a great Logo off?
A great logo is:
- Simple
- Memorable
- Memorable
Where will you use this logo?
Consider both your primary use cases – like your website or social media profiles – and your secondary use cases, such as printed marketing materials, recruitment and event banners, etc.
Don’t dwell on deliberations. Recreate it on the different backgrounds to ensure the image, words and overall message are translated in each medium. Any logo should be effective at many sizes, but small, digital applications are key.
Does the logo have legs?
Aesthetics change. Trends come and go. But the value of your logo only increases over time. Think about whether or not you will see your logo in 5, 10, 15 or even 20 years.
Also consider the logo in the context of your overall visual identity. This may need to be an extra exercise. Take the different elements of your logo design, like colors, fonts, and styles, and see how you might be able to incorporate them elsewhere in your use cases.
Finally – and one of our designers was pretty emphatic about this – Create a monochromatic black and white version of your logo and make sure it can be reversed on dark colors. If you don’t, you could be signing up for trouble in the future.
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By now you should have a final logo design you love.And most likely it took you a decent amount of time to get each element just right. Our fifth and final phase will help you ensure it stays that way.
Phase Five: Define
Goal
When it comes to maintaining the integrity of your True brand identity, quality and consistency are crucial. Given the many places your logo will be featured – and the number of people who may need to use it – it’s important to define a set of rules and guidelines for how your logo is handled.
And how not.
Process
To start, consider any guidelines you may have about size, color, layout, treatment, positioning, alignment etc. of your logo.
Some questions to ask yourself:
- Are there only certain color backgrounds that you want your logo to be placed against?
- Can your logo be used above it? Photography? If so, can you change the color to make it stand out better?
- If you have a combination logo mark, can the elements be separated in certain contexts?
Um To ensure your logo maintains a strong impact, don’t be afraid to include some “never” rules to prevent changes or distortions to your logo. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a holiday-colored logo in an email sent to all 10,000 of your customers.
Deliverable
This is often referred to as a style guide . A style guide can be as simple or as comprehensive as you need it to be. Recently, Sprout’s Design Systems team created an entire website dedicated to our style guide. It’s called Seeds, and it includes all of our branding, writing, and visual guidelines, as well as all of the samples and components our product designers need to create our app.
But you don’t have to create a brand new website to house your branding standards . Just make sure they are properly communicated to your teams and easily accessible to all. Most designers create a PDF and share it in their company or organization’s internal resource library.
Conclusion
After all of this, you might say, “Wow, that’s a lot.” We know how you feel. We weren’t exaggerating when we mentioned how much work goes into designing a logo. Designers usually need weeks to work through all phases. So our last piece of advice is don’t rush things. Take the time to go through the exercises we’ve outlined at each stage. Your final design will reflect the effort you put into it.
And remember, at the end of the day, your logo doesn’t build your brand – your employees do.
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