5 Minute read
How to Find, Design, and Choose the Best Logo for Your Brand
Written by
Kristian F.
Published on
Jun 5, 2021
Logo plays a HUGE part in a Good, High-Quality Brand Identity, and in this article, we will show you how important "Good Logo Design" is for the success and longevity of your Business.
🕊️ Fly to a section:
- What Tool should I use for Logo Design? (Logo Maker App)
- How To Start the Design Process
- 5 Tips to Follow When Making a Logo Design
- 3 Things to Avoid When Making a Logo Design
- Where to Find High-Quality Logo services
What Tool should I use for Logo Design? (Logo Maker App)
Most Professional Logo Designers use Adobe Illustrator.
Adobe Illustrator is a Vector Graphics Editor and design program developed by Adobe Inc. It's available on Windows 10 and macOS.
It has all the tools that will allow you to create virtually anything you can think of.
If you're looking to become a Logo Designer, then Adobe Illustrator is a must.
A great alternative would be Inkscape.
Inkscape is a free and open-source vector graphics editor used to create vector images, primarily in Scalable Vector Graphics format. Other formats can be imported and exported. Inkscape can render primitive vector shapes and text.
Inkscape is available on Windows 10, macOS, and Linux
Recommendation: Many think that you need years of studying and a degree to be a Professional/Serious Logo Designer, but that simply isn't true.
We recommend checking out Mohamed Achraf, to quickly learn the basics and more advanced methods to start making stunning Logo Designs (Mohamed Achraf teaches Logo Design with Adobe Illustrator)
Logo Makers (Apps) to avoid
There are many "quick fix" solutions for Logo Design on the Internet, but searching for a "quick fix" solution when it comes to your Logo is a recipe for disaster.
One of those solutions is Canva.
Canva is a graphic design platform, used to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents, and other visual content.
It's a great platform for quickly creating amazing graphics for your projects, but when it comes to Logo design, it should never be considered.
Most Logo Designs you find on Canva are generic and overused.
Additionally, Canva doesn't offer those crucial tools every Logo Designer needs to create professional, high-quality Logo Designs.
Another example of a Bad Logo Maker is the Wix Logo Maker.
Wix Logo Maker is a Tool from Wix Inc. that collects your logo preferences and quickly creates tons of Templates from which you can start editing your Logo.
The Problem with this tool is similar to Canva: Not Enough Options.
Besides the lack of Features and Tools within the Wix Editor, another BIG issue is the pricing. To download and use the Logo you created, you will need to pay 20$! And if you want to get the Resizable Logo Files, you'll need to pay 50$!!
It's safe to say that you should stay away from the Wix Logo Maker and rather use other alternatives we mentioned.
How To Start the Design Process
To Start the Design process, you will need some sort of inspiration.
If the Design you want to make is intended for your Client, the best thing you can do is to ask them for a detailed description of their Brand/Business.
The same method would be used if you're making a Logo for your Own Brand/Business.
Example: I'm a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (martial art). I feel I have a good BJJ knowledge to teach people, build my team, do what I love, and be successful in this business. I want to open a strong BJJ community to compete all over the world, and also open up our brand to other people if they want to enjoy our team and affiliate.
From that Example, you can extract a few keywords like "Jiu-Jitsu", "Teach People", "Team", "Strong", or "Community".
With those keywords, you can start forming a mood board*
*Mood board is a type of visual representation or 'collage' consisting of images, text, and samples in a composition.
After making a mood board, It's time for creating a few concepts.
Concepts in other words are like sketches or quick drawings of the rough idea you have in mind.
A lot of Graphic Designers like to make these concepts on a real piece of paper, where they can quickly make a few sketches of what they have in mind.
Tip: Always make sure to research the Brand/Business as much as possible before you start designing their Logo. Never go straight into Designing without learning the basics of the Industry.
Once you're done with the concepts, you can start putting together the actual design.
5 Tips to Follow When Making a Logo Design
Every Logo Design approach is different, but there are a few things every Logo Designer should keep in mind in order to really make a High-Quality Logo.
1. You don't need to have anything from your Company inside the Logo.
Many Logo designers think that if you're running (for example) a dog business, that you have to have a dog somewhere on the logo, which restricts their creativity and pushes the Logo to be more generic rather than unique. The Goal of the Logo is always to be Unique and Recognizable, so don't restrict yourself!
2. Keep the Design Flexible. Your Logo goes everywhere with your brand (Clothes, Magazines, Websites, Business Cards, Banners, Ads, etc.) so making sure it gets recognized in every possible size is a must.
Tip: To Test your Logo Design, you can try blurring the image or squinting your eyes to see if your logo is still recognizable. If you can still recognize the logo, then you have a High-Quality recognizable Logo, and if not, your logo might be overcomplicated. To fix this, try removing some unnecessary details.
3. Sketch 20 ideas. If you're trying to make a simple logo, but you're struggling to find ideas, try sketching 20 Logos on a piece of paper in 10-15 minutes. This will force you to create simple shapes and designs and help you make a simple but appropriate logo.
4. Keep the Design Shape Geometric. Many of the well-known Logo Designs are made from Geometric shapes like Triangles, Circles, and squares. This can help you find your ideal Logo Design quicker and keep the lines perfect.
5. Always start in Black & White. Doing this will help you to focus on the important aspects of the Logo (Hierarchy, Contrast, and Legibility). This will also allow you to make better use of Negative space in those crucial early Design stages.
BONUS TIP: Once you're done with your logo design, make sure to follow our Ultimate Guide on Essential Logo file Formats. Doing so will ensure you provide all essential file formats to your clients and help you avoid post project questions down the line.
3 Things to Avoid When Making a Logo Design
At Branding Expert, we designed close to a thousand logos in the past 2 years, and from that experience, we collected the Top 3 things every Logo Designer should avoid when Designing a Logo.
1. Logo Design is Not Appropriate for the industry. Example: If the Logo represents a Sport, it needs to be Bold and Dynamic, or if it's in fashion, needs to be elegant, etc.
The Feeling it gives needs to be appropriate to the industry that it represents.
2. Logo is not Distinctive. Making a Logo distinctive and memorable allows it to be easily recognized, trusted, described, etc.
Tip: Don't influence your designs too much with other designs. This will help you design a unique logo which is the main goal.
3. Overcomplicating the Design. Logos are used in many areas like billboards, stationary, Websites, etc. so it's highly important to keep it simple and easily scalable.
Where to Find High-Quality Logo services
Don't want to make a logo yourself? We are here to help you!
At Branding Expert, we offer Top-Quality affordable Logo Design projects to Ensure the Success of your Business.
To get started, pick the perfect package here.
Logo plays a HUGE part in a Good, High-Quality Brand Identity, and in this article, we will show you how important "Good Logo Design" is for the success and longevity of your Business.
🕊️ Fly to a section:
- What Tool should I use for Logo Design? (Logo Maker App)
- How To Start the Design Process
- 5 Tips to Follow When Making a Logo Design
- 3 Things to Avoid When Making a Logo Design
- Where to Find High-Quality Logo services
What Tool should I use for Logo Design? (Logo Maker App)
Most Professional Logo Designers use Adobe Illustrator.
Adobe Illustrator is a Vector Graphics Editor and design program developed by Adobe Inc. It's available on Windows 10 and macOS.
It has all the tools that will allow you to create virtually anything you can think of.
If you're looking to become a Logo Designer, then Adobe Illustrator is a must.
A great alternative would be Inkscape.
Inkscape is a free and open-source vector graphics editor used to create vector images, primarily in Scalable Vector Graphics format. Other formats can be imported and exported. Inkscape can render primitive vector shapes and text.
Inkscape is available on Windows 10, macOS, and Linux
Recommendation: Many think that you need years of studying and a degree to be a Professional/Serious Logo Designer, but that simply isn't true.
We recommend checking out Mohamed Achraf, to quickly learn the basics and more advanced methods to start making stunning Logo Designs (Mohamed Achraf teaches Logo Design with Adobe Illustrator)
Logo Makers (Apps) to avoid
There are many "quick fix" solutions for Logo Design on the Internet, but searching for a "quick fix" solution when it comes to your Logo is a recipe for disaster.
One of those solutions is Canva.
Canva is a graphic design platform, used to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents, and other visual content.
It's a great platform for quickly creating amazing graphics for your projects, but when it comes to Logo design, it should never be considered.
Most Logo Designs you find on Canva are generic and overused.
Additionally, Canva doesn't offer those crucial tools every Logo Designer needs to create professional, high-quality Logo Designs.
Another example of a Bad Logo Maker is the Wix Logo Maker.
Wix Logo Maker is a Tool from Wix Inc. that collects your logo preferences and quickly creates tons of Templates from which you can start editing your Logo.
The Problem with this tool is similar to Canva: Not Enough Options.
Besides the lack of Features and Tools within the Wix Editor, another BIG issue is the pricing. To download and use the Logo you created, you will need to pay 20$! And if you want to get the Resizable Logo Files, you'll need to pay 50$!!
It's safe to say that you should stay away from the Wix Logo Maker and rather use other alternatives we mentioned.
How To Start the Design Process
To Start the Design process, you will need some sort of inspiration.
If the Design you want to make is intended for your Client, the best thing you can do is to ask them for a detailed description of their Brand/Business.
The same method would be used if you're making a Logo for your Own Brand/Business.
Example: I'm a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (martial art). I feel I have a good BJJ knowledge to teach people, build my team, do what I love, and be successful in this business. I want to open a strong BJJ community to compete all over the world, and also open up our brand to other people if they want to enjoy our team and affiliate.
From that Example, you can extract a few keywords like "Jiu-Jitsu", "Teach People", "Team", "Strong", or "Community".
With those keywords, you can start forming a mood board*
*Mood board is a type of visual representation or 'collage' consisting of images, text, and samples in a composition.
After making a mood board, It's time for creating a few concepts.
Concepts in other words are like sketches or quick drawings of the rough idea you have in mind.
A lot of Graphic Designers like to make these concepts on a real piece of paper, where they can quickly make a few sketches of what they have in mind.
Tip: Always make sure to research the Brand/Business as much as possible before you start designing their Logo. Never go straight into Designing without learning the basics of the Industry.
Once you're done with the concepts, you can start putting together the actual design.
5 Tips to Follow When Making a Logo Design
Every Logo Design approach is different, but there are a few things every Logo Designer should keep in mind in order to really make a High-Quality Logo.
1. You don't need to have anything from your Company inside the Logo.
Many Logo designers think that if you're running (for example) a dog business, that you have to have a dog somewhere on the logo, which restricts their creativity and pushes the Logo to be more generic rather than unique. The Goal of the Logo is always to be Unique and Recognizable, so don't restrict yourself!
2. Keep the Design Flexible. Your Logo goes everywhere with your brand (Clothes, Magazines, Websites, Business Cards, Banners, Ads, etc.) so making sure it gets recognized in every possible size is a must.
Tip: To Test your Logo Design, you can try blurring the image or squinting your eyes to see if your logo is still recognizable. If you can still recognize the logo, then you have a High-Quality recognizable Logo, and if not, your logo might be overcomplicated. To fix this, try removing some unnecessary details.
3. Sketch 20 ideas. If you're trying to make a simple logo, but you're struggling to find ideas, try sketching 20 Logos on a piece of paper in 10-15 minutes. This will force you to create simple shapes and designs and help you make a simple but appropriate logo.
4. Keep the Design Shape Geometric. Many of the well-known Logo Designs are made from Geometric shapes like Triangles, Circles, and squares. This can help you find your ideal Logo Design quicker and keep the lines perfect.
5. Always start in Black & White. Doing this will help you to focus on the important aspects of the Logo (Hierarchy, Contrast, and Legibility). This will also allow you to make better use of Negative space in those crucial early Design stages.
BONUS TIP: Once you're done with your logo design, make sure to follow our Ultimate Guide on Essential Logo file Formats. Doing so will ensure you provide all essential file formats to your clients and help you avoid post project questions down the line.
3 Things to Avoid When Making a Logo Design
At Branding Expert, we designed close to a thousand logos in the past 2 years, and from that experience, we collected the Top 3 things every Logo Designer should avoid when Designing a Logo.
1. Logo Design is Not Appropriate for the industry. Example: If the Logo represents a Sport, it needs to be Bold and Dynamic, or if it's in fashion, needs to be elegant, etc.
The Feeling it gives needs to be appropriate to the industry that it represents.
2. Logo is not Distinctive. Making a Logo distinctive and memorable allows it to be easily recognized, trusted, described, etc.
Tip: Don't influence your designs too much with other designs. This will help you design a unique logo which is the main goal.
3. Overcomplicating the Design. Logos are used in many areas like billboards, stationary, Websites, etc. so it's highly important to keep it simple and easily scalable.
Where to Find High-Quality Logo services
Don't want to make a logo yourself? We are here to help you!
At Branding Expert, we offer Top-Quality affordable Logo Design projects to Ensure the Success of your Business.
To get started, pick the perfect package here.
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