Logo design is one of the most popular topics these days. Nowadays, almost all organizations, big and small, use logos for branding and in this opportunity, professional logo designers are able to earn millions of dollars by creating logos for various companies.
What is Logo Design
Logo refers to any symbol created through graphic design which carries the identity of an organization.
In the case of a person, the name is his identity, just as in the case of a company or organization, the logo is its identity and brand. And the process of creating a logo is called logo design.
This is just a part of graphic design. Nowadays almost all companies use their own logo to gain recognition and identity.
As a result, people can easily identify and remember the organization as a band.
To be honest, we are surrounded by thousands of logos these days. Everywhere you look, you see the logo.
Take a closer look at your surroundings. You will see how many hundreds of different design logos are filled around. Hence, logos can now be found on mugs, buckets, t-shirts, books, various types of magazines, software, and even websites.
Types of Logo Designs
We see different types of logos of different companies or brands. Some are made up of just one word, some are made up of one or more letters, some logos have only an image, and some have both an image and text.
Designing an attractive logo is a challenge for any designer. Moreover, choosing the right design for you is also a difficult task. So experts have divided logo design into several categories for what your logo will look like.
Logo design can be divided into three main categories. These are – Image, Words and Combination. However, based on these three main categories, logo design is further divided into 8 types. These ares-
Brand Mark: Icon based logo is usually called brand or symbol logo. In this type of logo, specific icons are selected for your company. That’s why people can easily identify your company from others. For example – The Rolling Stones, Apple, Twitter use such logos.
Abstract Logo Marks: These types of logos are usually image or shape based. This type of logo is slightly larger than the simple type brand mark people use. Such logos are used to describe certain qualities or characteristics of the company. For example- logos of Pepsi, Microsoft (Windows), Adidas, Nike.
Mascots: Mascots are a type of logo created by combining cartoons or caricatures and pictures of people. This logo is designed by making a person’s picture like a cartoon. Like- KFC, Pillsbury, Kellogg’s, Pringles.
The character used in the mascot logo is usually very attractive and interesting. The main focus in this logo is to portray the character. If the main target client of your organization is family and children, then this logo will be your best choice.
Wordmark Logos or Logotypes: Typography based logos are called wordmark logos. In this type of logo, the name of the brand or company is written through text. But in this case, the style, color, etc. of the text is eye-catching. Like- Subway, Uber, Camelback, Google etc company logos.
This type of logo design can be a very nice choice for a brand new organization. Companies whose names are short and monosyllabic can easily use the wordmark logo if they want. Various clothing brands, photographers, artists, book authors, and fashion brands use wordmark logos.
Lettermarks or Monograms: These types of logos are based on typography like World Marks. But the difference is that only the first letter or abbreviation of the company name is used in this type of logo. So another name of this logo is monogram logo. World famous CNN, FedEx, HBO are used by such people.
Now, if your company name is too big, many people won’t remember it. This will actually defeat the purpose of making the logo. Moreover, using a big name as a logo is also impossible. Cable News Network’s logo is CNN, Home Box Office’s logo is HBO with the first letter of each word.
Letterforms: Letterforms are smaller logos than monograms. Such logos are usually made with only one letter. For example, McDonald’s, WordPress, Yahoo logo.
Emblem: This type of logo is created by combining text, icons or symbols together. Basically, this kind of logo is mostly used in school-college organizations or government institutions. For example, Starbucks, Stella Artois, Superman use such logos. But you will find the existence of many such logos around you.
Combination Marks: When a new logo is created by combining the types or types described above, then such a logo is called a combination mark logo. For example, we can talk about burger king, pizza hut, doritos, adobe or Jaguar Company. Each of them created a logo using an image and typography.
Although new companies initially create a combination logo with their name, after a few years when their recognition grows, they drop the name and use only the symbol.
For example, although the company name was written in the previous logo of apple, only the icon of apple is currently used. Similarly, Nike’s previous logo used to have the word Nike written on it. But now we can recognize it as Nike logo just by looking at the tick mark.
11 steps to Designing a Logo
1. Express brand identity
As discussed above, how a logo represents a brand. This thing is important to remember in logo design. The logo should try to convey the theme that the brand deals with. As a result, the logo will be easily understood by people and the subject will also be able to attract people’s attention.
2. Find ideas
It is said that there is no unique idea in the world. So, look for ideas from what others have done. This does not mean that you copy the idea. Keep ideas as inspiration. Looking at a variety of examples will start generating ideas in your head.
Suppose you want to create a logo for a fashion company. Your first task is to come up with some such logo ideas. Naturally, the question “Where can I get the idea from?” will now come to an end. Do I see the logos of other websites when I visit them? Of course not. There is an easier way. You can get ideas from Behance and Dribbble.
In these places, professional logo designers publish their designs and organize their portfolios. The practice of repeatedly looking at the work of skilled designers and trying to guess their thought process behind these designs will help you on your journey to becoming a good logo designer.
3. Think Logo Style
But not all logos are the same. Some logos have many designs. Some of the logos are just plain cute. But they are not like that. A lot of calculations and planning are involved. The type of design you create will depend on the company and brand you work with.
Let’s say your brand is classic. In that case your logo will be less colorful. Classic vibe should also be developed in the design. A piecemeal design can be used. The font will also be bold.
If your organization is minimalist, your logo will be plain and simple. The use of paint will be less. Better to limit it to any two colors.
Suppose again, you need to create a logo for a restaurant that serves home-style biryani. In such cases, your logo will not be cheesy. The logo will look better if it is a bit more elegant. The logo can be designed. However, since it is a restaurant logo, you can design it in line with the restaurant’s signature menu. That trend should be maintained through the font as well.
4. Specify the type
Logos can be of different types. There is no specificity here. You have freedom, what kind of logo you will create. But always keep in mind, compatibility.
5. Fix the Color List
The organization that will make the logo, they must have a theme. Follow that theme. If there is no such thing, use some color related to the product or service. Most organizations follow color theory for branding and brand colors are often fixed. Color palette or theme colors have a lot of psychological effect on people.
Black and white colors create a classic atmosphere. If the color red, the person seems to have a strong or courageous position. Blue color creates a cool feeling. Green color creates ideas of naturalness and positivity. Pink or purple colors appear attractive to women. Also works well in romance or similar cases. The fact that each color has a different meaning is called color theory. And this theory should be used in the selection of colors in the case of creating a logo.
6. Fix the Font
If you are not creating a typography type of logo, a sans-serif, serif or A typeface font will work well. Eg: Ariel, Times New Roman, Courier New, Georgia etc. On the other hand, when designing a typographic logo, you can use any type and any style of font as you wish.
7. Use geometric shapes
Geometric shapes bring the logo to life. Unless you want to create a minimal style logo, geometric shapes and designs are bound to adorn your logo. Different shapes can be combined if desired. As a result, they will produce more beautiful designs.
8. Design the Logo
You saw, read, understood and learned many things; Now the task is to create a logo itself. A logo may not be a good idea in the beginning. But gradually you will be able to design a good logo, needless to say.
9. Refine the results
You made the logo. Now it’s time to review how it went, what would have been better, what would have been better. Brainstorm ideas with other logos yourself, where to change and refine. Get the help of an experienced designer or mentor if possible. Publish on designer websites like Dribbble or Behance, but often get feedback from skilled designers.
10. Decision making
Now is the time to decide which logo you will keep or not. In this case you can take opinions from people through social media because you are new to this job. You will get ideas from the opinions of others. Decide accordingly.
11. Use the Logo
Assuming, your logo is properly created with logo creation software that can represent a brand beautifully. Now it’s time to put this logo to work. You save your logo as a vector file or as required file. If for your own work, place the logo in different places on your brand.
Also create logos of different sizes, for favicons and other icons.
Logo makes an organization stand out from the rest, the identity of an organization is its logo.Therefore, deciding which logo will best suit an organization must be carefully thought out because, this one symbol will represent you from the beginning to the end of your organization.
