Things to Keep in Mind When Designing a Logo

Keep your logo simple.

Simplicity is key. You do not want an overcomplicated logo, which can be difficult for an audience to interpret and understand. A simple logo can convey a message about your business faster and more effectively.

Be consistent.

Adidas is an excellent example. No matter where you see their branding, three parallel lines are always contained in their logo—whether they be angled to look like a mountain or overlaying an image of a flower. The consistency of your logo and your brand can help make it recognizable no matter what medium it is found in. 

Be versatile and make your logo scalable.

In the modern world, businesses design for print as well as web. This means that you need to ensure your logo works well on anything from a small business card to a website. By making your logo scalable, you are making sure that it will look good even if shrunk down into a smaller size or blown up on a large billboard.

Make your logo timeless.

Instead of redesigning your logo every few years to keep up to date with new trends, make your logo timeless. Think of it as an investment: something you will keep for years, or even decades. Once your audience starts to associate your brand identity with your logo, constant change could come at the risk of losing brand awareness.

Now that you have a better idea of how you want your brand’s identity to be visually communicated to your audience, you are ready to start designing your brand’s logo. To help you get started, the following guide will assist you in making those first steps towards crafting the perfect visual accompaniment for your business.

Step 1: Preparation

What are your values? Your logo should reflect what your brand is all about, so it is important to take a step back to think about what kinds of things you want to communicate to your audience. How do you want your company to be perceived? What makes your company special and how is it set apart from the competition?

Write down a few words or sentences about what you want your logo to communicate to someone who has never heard of your brand before. What emotions do you want to convey? Remember, your logo is sometimes the first thing about your company that potential clients see, so make sure it accurately represents your brand identity.

Step 2: Brainstorm

Now that you have a clear idea of all the things you want your logo to portray to a potential audience, it’s time to brainstorm its visuals. Write down a list of things you associate with your brand. This could be things like feelings, shapes, values, animals, experiences, and more. 

You can also create a moodboard of what you’d like your logo to look and feel like. This could bring your brainstorming to life and include anything from style (modern, classic, or retro) to scenery (beach, forest, or cityscape). By collecting all these themes in one centralized location, whether that be in person or on Pinterest, you can start outlining the main concepts behind your logo. 

Remember to check out competitors’ logos; this can help you keep in mind what you should do in order to stand out from everyone else. 

Asking other people—especially members of your target audience—for their opinions and ideas can help provide a new perspective as well. This can help you consider a new avenue for your potential logo that will appeal to the people you want to reach.

Step 3: Choose a Theme

After your brainstorming session, you should have a clearer idea of how you want your brand identity to be reflected in your logo. To ensure your logo captures the essence of what your brand is about, try choosing a theme you feel represents your business’ values the best. For example, if you are running a business in the technology industry, you could have a modern, sleek theme with inspiration taken from cityscape graphics and photos. 

One tip for this step is to use word association to draw inspiration from. Find some images you think would represent your brand well, and ask other people for what words they think of when they see the image. This will ensure that your representation of your brand is accurately reflected in other people’s interpretations of your theme. 

Step 4: Decide on a Colour Scheme

Throughout the first three steps, you probably had a specific colour scheme in mind when deciding on the theme of your logo. This choice of colour can increase your brand recognition by 80%, which is why picking a colour palette that truly reflects your brand is essential. It is important to make sure these colours not only look good together, but also evoke the types of emotions you want members of your target audience to feel when they see your logo. 

For example, if your business focuses on sustainable technology, you could consider the colour green (for sustainability) and blue (for technology and tranquility). You can even decide on blue as the main colour and have green as the accent colour, and design a colour palette around these two colours. If you have difficulty picking colours that reflect your brand identity, try learning about colour psychology and choosing colours that you feel will serve your brand well. 

Although colour is a significant aspect of logo design, you will want to make sure your logo looks good in greyscale as well. This will contribute to the versatility of your logo, allowing it to look its best no matter where it is found.

Step 5: Shapes

The shape of your logo can elicit desired responses from your intended audience as well. For example, round shapes are seen as softer and friendlier, while geometric shapes with sharper edges can communicate themes of stability and modernism. 

Think back to the theme you wanted your logo to have. What kind of shapes fit into this theme?

Step 6: Typography

There are millions of fonts available to choose from; it is up to you to decide which is best for your logo. 

Fonts can be broken down into three different categories: serif, sans serif, and script. Serif font is often associated with traditional, sophisticated, and elegant brands, while sans serif is known for its simple, modern look. Script font’s handwritten appearance is used to convey messages of femininity and creativity. Depending on what type of theme you wanted your logo to have, you can choose to go with the type of font that best represents your business’ values.

Step 7: Start Using Your Logo

Now that you have a draft of your logo ready, it’s time to put it to use. You could start out by asking a few people about their thoughts on the logo to see if it matches up with the message your brand is trying to convey. Communication with others can also open up new perspectives that you have not considered before, and help you gain clarity about how others will perceive your business. 

Once you’re ready to roll out the new logo, start putting it on materials you need branded! You can start building brand recognition by ordering merchandise with the logo on it and presenting it to the world.

Interested in having a world-class brand made just for you?

Imagine the Perfect Logo for Your Company With Imagine Better Solutions

In addition to logo design, Imagine Better Solutions also helps with branding and graphic design. As a company that strives to be a one-one-stop shop for ease of management, we have all of your design needs covered. Feel free to contact us to learn more about designing an effective logo for you and your business.