The Ultimate Guide to Create a Brand Logo Step by Step

On a daily basis, we encounter so many brands and what helps us to distinguish between different brands is their logo. The logo is the first thing that people encounter with. This is what makes it a tough task to design an ideal logo for a designer. Thus, this ultimate guide to create a brand logo step by step is here for you.

Why is Logo Important?

a. First impression

For most of us, logos act as an immediate medium of establishing a connection between the brand and the potential audience.

From Adidas & Starbucks, every company takes great care of its logo as a logo creates the first impression in the minds of buyers and it is incredibly vital for brands to develop a significant and distinct image among the buyers.

b. Brand’s Identity

Every organization has a logo that conveys the visions, ideas, goals, and strengths of the brand. Logo plays a crucial role in the marketing and branding of the brand. When a consumer knows about the company just by looking at the logo, this means the company has successfully established itself in the market.

• For instance, whenever we see a swoosh sign, it reminds us of Nike’s logo. The logo has become the identity of the brand. People now can easily recognize Nike’s product even if they haven’t mentioned their name. This type of recognition measures the success of the business. 

c. No need of any text

Logo conveys everything about the company without even saying a single word. The logo isn’t just a mark but a whole sense of commitment and loyalty that a brand promises to its customers. It has become a major marketing strategy for every company, irrespective of their size and industry.

d. Attracts new potential viewers

Logos just not communicate with the potential customers of the brand but also attracts new people. We don’t live in the black and white world, things which look unusual, unique and interesting leaves a raw, subtle and long-lasting impact on the mind of viewers. Besides building the visual identity of the brand, it depicts the professional approach of the organization.

Steps to design a brand’s logo

We live in a world which is already filled with many remarkable logo designs & as a graphic designer, people often ask me how designers create a logo?

Designing a remarkable logo isn’t easy but, in this blog, we are going to cover some major concepts designers keep in their minds while creating a stunning logo for the brand.

Important parts of this blog:

The blog is divided into two sections which answer – the first part deals with what you need to know while creating a logo and the second part covers the how-to section i.e. how to create a logo.

Let’s dive into it.

1. What you should keep in mind while creating a brand logo?

When you start creating a logo for a company you need to understand that your brand is not a monopoly organization in the market, it has competitors too. For companies, the logo is the element that dictates their entire marketing strategy. The right logo fits perfectly with the brand and while you start creating a logo, these are some points that you should consider beforehand.

a. Simplicity

Designing a logo can be both exciting and fascinating. The creativity can tempt you but don’t fall into the trap. People have no time to understand the complex designs. Make sure you create a logo that people can easily connect with.

Complicated designs can take out the core values which the company wants to communicate to its audience. Make sure you create something that delivers exactly what the company wants to tell.

For instance just look at the logo of Microsoft, Nike or Apple. They are simple yet strong enough to leave a strong impact on the audience.

b. Functional and flexible

Whether you are creating a logo from scratch or rebranding the existing logo, you need to know about its usage. It is very important for a logo to be functional and flexible.

You need to create something that goes on every platform and on every device. Logo is the most versatile element of graphic design. They can be placed on a large size hoarding or can be used on a small visiting card.

So designers need to keep this thing in mind that the logo should look clean and beautiful on every media platform. The icon should be unique enough to look appealing on both large billboards and small mobile screens.

A flexible logo helps in improving the consistency of the brand.

c. Unique and eye catching

Every logo should be unique and distinct so that people notice that design. You should try to avoid the basic cliché designs otherwise people will get confuse it other brands.

Logo represents the entire brand and makes your business different from the rest. If your logo looks like the rest in the industry how you going to tell your customers that you are different from the rest?

That’s why while creating a logo for the brand you should keep its uniqueness in mind and make it attractive enough to capture larger attention.

d. Timeless and memorable

When trying to create a logo, it is vital to stick to clean design which is easy to understand.  The logo design should be timeless and the basic approach to that is do not follow any particular trend. Trends changes dynamically and brands have no option of jumping from one logo design to another in a short period of time.

A logo should be designed in a cleaner and sophisticated way so that people can easily remember that. Make sure the logo that you design convey the brand’s values. People tend to remember something for a longer period of time that has some meaning attached to it.

So these were some basic things that you should keep in mind before starting on designing a logo for the brand. Now comes the major section of the blog. Learn how to create a logo is unique yet simple enough to leave a memorable impact on the viewers.

2. How to create a logo? Getting Started!

Research and understand the need

Research is a vital step in any process. The logo is going to be the new face of the brand. It will create a new identity for them and hence it becomes extremely important for designers to research and understand the company, its goals and its requirements related to logo design.

Always ask your clients what they want in their logo. It is good to research the target audience of the company so that you can design according to them.

Logo is an essential part of branding strategy, make sure you design something that resonates with the customers and helps the brand to stand apart from the rest.

Find inspiration

When you have got the basic requirements from the client and have understood what they want in their logo, start looking for inspiration.

There are so many sites available for designers to get ideas and know what’s going on it the designing industry.

You can check out Behance, Pinterest, Dribble, Tumblr, etc to take a look over other professionals of the industry.  Finding the right kind of logo inspiration can become a really difficult task.

Here are a few points that will help you to get some creative ideas:

• Brainstorming session: once you have looked all over the internet, it is important to sketch down all the ideas that are coming to your mind.  Make sure you write down all the ideas even the horrible ones. You never know what might become useful in the future.
• Mood board:  Prepare a mood board. Mood board will include all the styles, designs and aesthetic features that are willing to incorporate in your design. Collect similar images and place them in front of you and try what you can create from that.
• The other perspective:  okay, so the other perspective here is that of the audience. While jotting down the ideas try to think like the audience. What as an audience, you will like to see in a brand’s logo? What will be the basic things that capture your attention etc? 

Check out the competitors

The brand doesn’t work in isolation. There are competitors in the market and the logo helps customers to differentiate between various brands. As a designer when you create a logo for an organization, do refer to the logos of their competing firms.

While hopping over the designs of the competitors recollect what makes your brand different from others. Make sure you create something unique and different which helps the brand to stand out in the market.

For instance, if the competitors have majorly chosen to work with the monochromatic theme, you can try to add different colors to add a slightly fun touch.

The right ‘Type’

Just like us, the logo comes in different sizes. Shapes, colors, and varieties. Since the logo will be the first thing people encounter, make sure you hit the bull’s eye by choosing the right type for your brand.

A logo can range from a simple wordmark or a letter mark to a complex image. Although there are no basic rules to select the one, you can always experiment with your logo designs.

Try to explore different types and decide which suits the best with the requirements of the brands.

• Wordmark:  when a logo is made using the company name and written in a specific type of text, that type is known as Wordmark. For example – Disney
• Lettermark: Lettermark is a type that only includes the initials of the company’s name. For example – CNN
• Brandmark: brandmark is a type of logo which includes an icon instead of text. For example – Twitter’s bird, Apple Silhouette or Nike’s Swoosh
• Combination: Usually a collection of icons and text. For example, McDonald’s

Understand the psychology

A right symbol can become the identity of the brand even without their name. We even have tons of examples for this (Twitter, Apple, etc). The human mind responds well to visuals than text. Visuals tend to stay longer in the mind of consumers. We see shapes before we read the text in the design.

Logos that use distinct, creative and unique images get more attention from the public. They become more recognizable among the general audience.

Visual medium creates a memorable identity of the brand so while designing a logo it is worth spending some time on designing. Check out some of the important elements that you should consider.

• Shapes:  We respond better to shapes. We recognize them first in the design. Every shape has some different connotations attached to it like circles represent care completeness while triangles are used to depict the growth, lead, development, etc. You can learn more about the importance of shapes with this blog-Why Shapes Are Important For A Design?
• Colors: Each color has a different impact on the human mind and we respond according to it. Choosing too dull colors will not help the brands to capture enough attention. Make sure the logo contains the right and bold colors which complements the design of logo well.
• Fonts: Okay. so too much of fonts create blunder in the design. We all know this but this goes for logo too. If you inculcate more than two fonts in your logo design, it will create a chaotic effect in mind of people. Choose wisely!

Be practical

If you want to create a logo with a strong impact, you have to constantly experiment with the designs. But in experimenting don’t forget about its practical application. You can ask yourself some basic questions after creating a design like

• Will the logo work on black & white format?
• Could it be easily printed on garments?
• Does it fit well in shallow space?

Make sure you find a positive answer to such questions. There are dozens of resources available for graphic designers from where you can take help and create some stunning designs.

Listen to the feedback carefully!

This is the most crucial segment as when you are done with designing part it is always advisable to bring other people into the court. Hear out the suggestions, what they are trying to tell or what modifications are required.

Ask people around you what they think of the logo? How they interpret the design. Do they face some problems in understanding that? Is the basic idea being clear to them or you have to explain them?

Important Tip: The good design doesn’t need any explanation.  Be ready to refine if there are some loopholes in the design.

Go out of the box and design!

In the end, there are no concrete rules or some sure shot ways that will give you stunning logo ideas. You’ll need to modify, adjust and edit things according to your needs. It is your uniqueness and creativity, ultimately, which will be counted. Nothing will compensate for the lack of creativity, fresh approach, and a modern outlook.

Darwin said the only one who could survive in the world is the one who fit themselves in the ever-changing environment.

However, if you need some additional tips on logo designing, you can read 8 Handy Tips To Design A Logo For Graphic Designers and get some expert tips.

Are you ready to gear up yourself to sustain in the competitive world!

Let’s get started and learn graphic design from the experts of the industry and take your skills one step higher.

Improve your overall sense of designing and confidence by becoming a part of ADMEC. ADMEC Multimedia is a leading digital training institute that offers certificate and diploma courses in graphic designing.

So that’s a wrap from my side. Thank you for reading and stay tuned with us for more informative blogs.

Till then, Keep Exploring!