A logo is an integral part of any brand’s identity. A well-designed logo should be a visual representation of what your company does and what it stands for. It should also grab people’s attention and separate you from the competition to create a memorable experience. Your logo is likely the first impression potential customers will have of your company, which is why it’s so important to ensure that it makes a positive impact.
A logo carries the responsibility of visually communicating your brand story. That’s a lot to bear for a small graphic. But don’t worry, if you’re designing your company logo for the first time and don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place. Below we’ve listed 6 things you should know before designing a company logo, so read on.
6 Things you should know before designing your company logo
1. Figure out what you want your logo to say about you/your company
Ask yourself what you want to communicate with your company logo:
- Who are you as a business?
- What do you represent?
- What are your company values?
Having answers to the above questions helps to unpack your brand identity, which is the first step to designing a brilliant company logo because it needs to encapsulate all of the above aspects.
2. Don’t focus on trends
Trends, as the word suggests, come and go and what looks good in a company logo now might look out of date in 10 years, which is why it’s important to opt for a timeless design when creating a logo.
Stick with this basic rule: if a trend doesn’t meet the basic design principles of a good logo, which is; memorability, simplicity, versatility, appropriateness, and timelessness, then it shouldn’t even be considered.
Trendy logos can not only date very quickly but they can also appear unprofessional and amateurish. There’s nothing wrong with being creative and unique, as long as it’s timeless.
3. Define your brand’s design identity. What typography, colours and graphics to use?
If you don’t already have a CI or corporate identity, then it is important to do as you start to design your company logo. Decide on the typography, colours and graphics you want to use for your business as a whole.
Think about this step carefully because the design elements that are present in your logo should tie in with your overall CI. The colours, graphics, and fonts you choose should all be determined by the brand story you want to tell.
If you’re wondering which fonts and colours to use but don’t know where to start, check out our 5 Tips for Designing Your Own Logo.
4. Look at what your competition is doing
One of the best ways to find inspiration is to look at what’s already out there so you can decide what works well with your audience and what you should rather avoid. Looking at what your competitors are doing doesn’t mean you should steal their ideas but rather inspire your own creative process. This should help establish how to set yourself apart from other companies in your industry.
5. Pay attention to scalability
Remember, one of the rules of a good logo is that it’s versatile enough to be used across multiple different formats and mediums.
Your logo needs to scale for use across social media platforms, business cards, website headers, flyers and even billboards, so it needs to work on all these mediums so that it doesn’t look distorted or stretched.
Along with scalability, your logo should also be responsive, meaning that it adapts and changes to different screen resolutions, sizes and orientations. To ensure this, it’s important to test your logo on different formats and have multiple versions of your logo for different use-case scenarios.
6. Decide if you want to use an online logo creator or use the services of a professional graphic designer
Choosing between using an online logo creator or hiring the services of a professional graphic designer can depend on a few factors.
Both have their pros and cons, but it really comes down to:
- Budget - If your budget for logo design is small, you can create a logo for free or at very little cost using an online logo generator.
- Time constraints - Getting a logo designed through an online logo generator can also be achieved in a relatively short time because they often use pre-made logo templates and customise them according to your specified colour scheme and add your company name.
- How professional you want your logo to look - Using an online logo generator could mean that your logo may end up looking unprofessional because it lacks the innovation and creativity that only a professional designer can bring to a project. In addition, there are also copyright issues associated with using an online logo creator as using a template means that your logo will invariably look similar to a lot of other logos. Professional designers design a logo from scratch, to create one that is unique to your business.
Key takeaways
We hope that after reading this article you have a better idea of what you need to take into consideration when starting to design your company logo.
Investing in the design of a great logo that represents your brand ethos now will pay off in the long run if it is memorable, impactful and resonates with your audience.
