Logo Making Made Simple: Beginner’s Guide

A logo is the face of your business. It is the visual manifestation of your brand and therefore it reflects your brand's personality, image, and overall message. The logo is a vital piece for your business, whether you use it on your website, billboards or business cards. The core idea is to make it stand out and be memorable to your audience. Logo allows giant corporations to retain their reputation, but it also allows small businesses to thrive in these waters.

Every business should have a logo, but what exactly does it take to create one?

There are many ways to design a logo for your business and it's entirely possible to do it yourself, even as a complete beginner. Some of them are:

• Paying for logo design by a big agency - $5000+

• Using paid service platforms such as UpWork or Fiverr - $10 to $1000

• Doing it yourself, from scratch or with a help of online tools such as Renderforest's logo maker - $0 to $19

While there are many ways to get a logo for your business, we realize that a lot of small business can't afford to pay thousands of dollars for a professional designer — and that's totally fine! It is entirely possible to create an amazing logo all on your own, and this article will help you achieve precisely that.

Importance of a Great Logo For Your Business

Think about the most iconic logos of our age, such as Nike, McDonald's or Apple.

What do you think makes them so special?

All of these logos are simple when you look at them, and yet they wield so much power. These logos are the faces of multi-billion dollar companies, all from different industries. You need only venture to your nearest street corner and ask about any of these logos, chances are that everyone will recognize these logos in their first attempt. That's how important they are for these businesses, and the same goes for yours.

Did you know that Nike paid only $35 for their Swoosh logo?

The point we're getting to here is that great logos don't necessarily require a lot of money. They could be created for as little as $35 in the case of Nike, and even less than that. What matters is not the budget, but your knowledge of the brand that you're designing your logo for, as well as being aware of all the design principles that go into the process of creative logo creation.

Logo Design Principles to Keep in Mind

Behind every great logo, you can find the underlying principles that guide it. They aren't the rule, but they can help you create a great logo with little effort. Before we get to that and before you start the process of making your new logo, you should first answer some of these questions:

• What does my brand represent?

• What should my logo symbolize?

• Who is exactly my target audience?

• What makes my business better than the competition?

• Which emotions would best describe my business?

With all these questions answered, you are one giant step closer to creating your perfect logo. The answers will help you a lot because you will know which direction to take when creating your logo. All it takes now is to follow the basic principles of logo design, and your job is almost done. These logo design principles are:

Simplicity

The number one principle for logo design has to be simplicity. Your logo should always strive to be visually simple, with a particular brand depth behind it. Visual simplicity is a key principle when it comes to marketing overall, and logos follow the same logic as they are the face of it all. Designers constantly overdo their work, and yet — the most popular logos in the world strike you with their simplicity.

Think back to the logos we've already discussed. McDonald's logo is a simple letter M written in a specific way, but it does its job perfectly. And we can say the same about Nike & Apple logos as well, they are simple and they work.

Keep your logo design simple and don't overcomplicate it unless it goes along with your brand image.

Personality

Personality is essential when it comes to logo design. The ideal logo would be something that fully encapsulates your brand's personality. You don't want to create a great logo that lacks the right personality. A good example of this would be a playful, colorful, cartoonish logo for a serious law firm — that just won't work for the obvious reasons.

Depending on what industry you are in, and the overall goal for your brand image, you want to create a logo that fully represents that. For example, if you're selling food (restaurant, store etc.), you want to create a logo that shows off the personality of fun time with your friends & family. McDonald's logo and its color/typography represent precisely that.

Uniqueness

Your logo should be as unique as it can be. Although it helps if your logo has a personality, it won't mean anything if all the other logos in your industry are just the same. Ideally, you want to follow all these principles, but still have the unique touch that makes you stand out from the crowd. Unique logos always have a great impact on the audience.

Flexibility

Flexibility is a principle that relates to representing your logo correctly, regardless of the medium. Your logo needs to be presentable in both color and black & white setting, on a PC website or smartphone, business card or a billboard. It is possible to slightly edit the logo for different mediums, but you should always strive to have a logo that's flexible to be used anywhere.

For best flexibility, try to keep your logos as simple as possible. Overly complex logos don't fit well on smaller formats and they can be quite a pain to edit later on. Keep your logo as flexible as possible.

Recognizability

The ideal logo should be easy to recognize, even from a distance. At this step, you need to get inside the minds of your audience and figure out what exactly will make their eyes open up. You want to design a universal logo that's going to stand out and capture attention, and a logo like that is always easily recognizable.

Timelessness

Finally, your logo should stand the test of time, it should be timeless. It should be as relevant in 50 years as it is now, especially if you plan to play the long game. Make sure your logo represents a timeless symbol, something that will still be memorable for the newer generations.

Ready to Design Your Logo?

By know, you should have a firm grasp of what logo design should look like. There's still a lot to learn, but there's no reason not to try your skills right now. Check out the online logo maker tool by Renderforest and see for yourself how easy it is to create a great logo. With some help, you will be able to craft a powerful logo to represent your brand. It's also free to try, so why not give it a shot?

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.