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The brand logo is the first thing that people see. Whether it’s on the business cards, letterheads or the office building – the brand logo is everywhere. It’s the first shot a brand has at making a good impression. The significance of good logos in branding should never be underestimated. The logo you design will influence the customers’ opinion of the company you’re designing for. Ultimately it may even affect whether they choose to do business with said company at all and what they think of them in general.
The reason we’re saying all this is to establish that logo designing is not an easy process. Sure, it might not always require supreme designing skills but that means little to nothing in the long run. The idea you pick for a logo must be seriously impressive, and the execution of the idea must be perfect in every way. It’s not enough to just make it look flashy and put some nice shapes and catchy fonts together in a myriad of colors. A logo should be the product of innovative thoughts and well planned work.
- Know your brand
To design a fitting logo, you must first understand the brand. Whether you’re doing it for practice or working for a client, find out as much as you can about the brand in question. Famous brands have their own Wikipedia pages. Your clients will be willing to volunteer information on their own brands if you just ask.
If you don’t know what the brand stands for there’s a high risk that the logo you design will be unsuitable. That’s a rookie mistake you should try your best to avoid. Using any old idea to design a logo won’t work; the logo must fit the brand.
- Make a shortlist of all your ideas
This should be one of the first things you do in the process of designing a logo. Before you set out to do any of the handiwork, set some time aside and just think about what you want to make. You might have all the technical know-how you will need to design a logo, but unless you have a good idea the logo will flop.
Shortlist all the ideas that come to mind when you think about the brand, make rough sketches of all the viable candidates and select one that seems like the perfect choice.
- Design something unique
Contrary to popular belief, most artists do not think imitating their work is flattering in any way. In fact, it’s downright insulting and disrespectful to artists who work hard on each of their designs.
No matter how long it takes, don’t settle on a design that is anything short of perfect and unique in every way. Whether you’re doing client work or just practicing, every logo you design should be inspirational.
- Cut the clutter
When you’re designing a logo, make sure to keep it neat and simple. Remember that negative space is an important and attractive part of branding logos. If a logo is too crowded, it defeats its purpose altogether. A logo should catch your attention and make a good first impression. It should not look like a full-blown painting.
- Pick the right colors
Color choices in logo designs are particularly significant. In addition to setting the mood of the logo, colors also influence the entire brand. If you want to get an idea of what you want for your business logo, you can use a free logo maker or get some already designed templates with set colors.
This can all be tied in with the first tip, i.e. know the brand. Whatever color you choose should be perfect for whatever brand you’re designing the logo for. Aside from that, be reserved with what you choose. Using too many or too little colors on a logo can go wrong very quickly.
- Practice, practice, practice and more practice
Like they say, practice makes perfect. And that goes for designing logos too with paper advertising templates. You might be an artist of immense talent but that will not be enough. Designing logos is not easy work; it requires preparation, knowledge of symmetry and experience with advanced software. Just because you’re good at painting, does not mean you’ll be perfect at logos from the start.
Look at other brand logos, read about designers’ processes and practice as much as you can. No matter how long you have been designing logos for, there are always ways to get better at it.
