As we have already explained, a logo can be the letter of introduction and the first impression that a user has of your brand identity, so spending time to build a logo that fully represents your personality is an effort that brings great results.
For small teams, sometimes of only one person, it can be expensive to create a logo with agencies or design firms. A small start-up marketer can’t afford the costs of working with WPP, Coca-Cola’s global marketing company.
That is why we present you with a guide of basic aspects that can lead you to create the logo your brand needs on your own.
How do I start making my logo?
Designing a logo seems like a simple task, grab a couple of tools or open the computer to start creating graphics and magically make the user connect with your brand. If you ask any designer, making a logo is not easy and many times it requires a methodical process.
Before starting, you must take two things into account. What we commonly know as a logo is a graphic representation of your brand and there are different types. And secondly, a logo is not your brand, it is impossible to arrive at the right logo without first defining your brand.
Your brand is your identity, your story, and what people believe about your company, the logo is a way of communicating all that you are to people.
Even with all that responsibility, the success or failure of a company does not lie 100% in its logo. A company with a bad or corrupt structure will not survive despite having the best logo in history. Conversely, bad logos are not able to break companies either.
Now… how do I create my logo?
Define what will be the intention of your logo
Step 1: define your identity.
For this, you must answer the key questions: why do I need a logo? what do I want to communicate with it? what is the story behind what it represents? what does my logo provoke in my target? what values do you want to express with your brand? what is the differential value of your brand? Among others that you will have to answer through a good brief.
One of the basic principles to start this path is to give adjectives to your company to describe it: it is fun, it is fearless, it is classic, it is rebellious, and it is conservative. Define at least 25 adjectives and then filter 5 that best describe your company.
Another perspective that can help is to imagine the ideal perception you want your brand to have, that is, the way people or your target audience interpret your brand’s personality.
Now that you can imagine how they see it, you can also delve into what people feel when they perceive your brand. What emotions do you want to provoke in them? What emotion do you think brands like Redbull create in people?
Step 2: Logo design process
The first effort you must make now that you have an established identity is to generate proposals through brainstorming, either alone or in a group, to create all the possible options in which your brand can be represented. In this step, it is extremely important to learn to validate and value each idea since all of them can contribute to a greater or lesser extent.
Remember, brainstorming is the key.
The second objective to accomplish is the search for references, do not be afraid to take inspiration from your competition or even from any discipline such as painting, cinema, sports, or music, everything can contribute through observation. The goal is to be educated and to be inspired, not to steal.
You may not have much time to create your logo, however, taking some time to cool down the results of the idea in an effective strategy, since you can analyze more calmly and reflect on the paths to take through the proposals.
Where can I get inspiration to create a good logo?
Currently, there are dozens of websites where artists or designers make their work public to interconnect with other users. In your search for inspiration for the creation of your logo, you can rely on sites like Pinterest, Dribble, or Behance.
Now that you have inspiration and a base of proposals to work with, it’s time to connect the ideas of your brand. Relate names, keywords, your market, or your story to create an effective narrative.
To do this you can step outside the box and think figuratively, establishing unconventional relationships that reflect your authenticity. One of the most famous cases of figurative resources is the smile that runs from A to Z in the amazon logo.
How do I design my logo?
Here you have to be concise, take the best of the previous processes, and empty it compactly, remember that a good logo must synthesize your message.
What tools do I need to design a logo?
You can start from the basics, a piece of paper and a draft to start sketching and then digitizing. Or you can start with a vector graphic design software like Adobe Illustrator.
What app can I use to create a logo? Can you create a logo for free?
We know that many times it is impossible to allocate time to such a complex task as design, fortunately nowadays there are logo makers based on machine learning and artificial intelligence capable of creating a logo just by entering key information.
You must consider that you may come up with a logo that may be perceived as generic or that simply does not reflect your identity. Here are the best logo maker apps.
Now that you know the basic principles of how to create a good logo and you have access to design tools or logo makers, it is time to get down to work to have one of the most recognized brands in your sector. If you still do not know the key elements that makeup logos, do not hesitate to check our blogs, where we explain how to build a logo from scratch without apps and without dying in the attempt.
Do you want to create a professional logo that communicates all the importance and value of your business? If your goal is to start differentiating yourself from the first minute and you don’t have the equipment or time to develop your corporate identity, at New Discovery Agency we can give you the advice you need. Years in the creation of effective branding and logos allow us to give you the best information.
