Design a Logo - The Ultimate Guide
Logo design is arguably one of the most important and valued areas of design. A quality logo design combined with the branding of an organization or company can become one of the most powerful forces in today’s society. If you love logo design as much as I do, then I am sure you will enjoy these logo design tips and resources.
LOGO DESIGN TIPS
Concepts, Concepts, Concepts!
I like to believe there’s a perfect concept out there for every project, but the hard part is finding it - or at least something close to it. The only way to do this is to brainstorm like crazy. Start looking up competitors, do Google image searches, write down keywords, do some mind mapping, and make sure you put everything down on paper! You don’t want to come up with a great idea only to forget it the next morning.
Nothing like Sketching
A lot of designers like to go straight to the computer, but the power of sketching is often underestimated. You can quickly sketch out multiple concepts and create variations to see what works and what doesn’t - in a matter of minutes. The computer will slow you down so be sure to break out the sketch pad, colored pencils, markers or whatever you prefer - and start sketching away.
Did you know? Large design companies will often sketch out dozens of pages of logo concepts before they even touch a computer mouse. Take a tip from the pros and focus on your sketches first.
Research the End Requirements
It’s always a good idea to talk to your client at the start to see what they plan on doing with the logo. Ask them if it going to just be on stationary, logo items or is it going to be on billboards and banners and such. This can help you better fine tune the logo for them to make sure it will look right in multiple instances.
Use the Most Professional Program
Although it can be tempting to use a program like Adobe Photoshop to design logos when starting out, mastering Adobe Illustrator and its pen tool will be essential if you are serious about logo design. Adobe Illustrator has a vector format that will allow your logo to be scaled up and down with no loss of quality.
Keep it Simple
In general it’s better to keep logo design simple. The main idea behind this is that you want the logo to be able to hold up well at very tiny sizes. A good test is to create a 16×16 pixel “favicon†of the logo and see how it looks. This is the smallest size the logo will probably ever be in.
Test it at Varying Sizes
Similar to the above mentioned, you should physically test the logo yourself by printing it in varying sizes. Also take a look at the logo from different distances to see how it would look on a poster, or on a t-shirt and stationary.
Test it in Multiple Colors
Clients always have different needs and different budgets and a quality logo design will be able to adapt to these circumstances and still look great. Test the logo in a variety of color printing processes, such as one-color, two-color, four-color and so on.
Test with Surrounding Text
Logos will rarely be seen totally alone, most of the time they will have taglines or other text nearby. So, why not test the logo ahead of time and see how it looks in different situations? Add a temporary tagline and see where it looks best. Justify the logo and text to the left, to the right, center it, and try out any other combinations of text and sizes.
MORE LOGO DESIGN TIPS
Branding Basics Create a Great Logo and Tag Line
LogoBee’s Top 10 Logo Design Tips
Paul Rand: Thoughts and Despair on Logo Design
Paul Rand – Corporate Identity Designs, Innovation and Excellence
WIKIPEDIA MUST READS
Below are some important people who helped shape identity design and typography as we know it. There are many more influential people who could be listed here, but these happen to be some of my favorites!
Paul Rand | William Caslon | Wally Olins | Aldus Manutius | Giambattista Bodoni | Max Miedinger
LOGO DESIGN INSPIRATION
If you need some inspiration for your logo design and identity design projects then check out these websites which will be sure to jump start your creative engine. Simply click the images below.
LOGO DESIGN STUDIOS AND DESIGNERS
Similar to the logo design websites above, I find it very inspirational to view portfolios of designers and studios who produce quality work. Here are a few portfolios I came across recently:
Raja Sandhu is a creative director living in Canada and has designed hundreds of logos. He has done work for clients such as Snoop Dogg and the State University of New York
Dache is a design studio founded by David Pache that is located in Switzerland. They have a large collection of recent logo designs that can help awaken ideas within you.
Common Brand is a major design studio that does branding, illustrations, flash animation website design & development, and even more. They have worked with major companies such as AOL and BMW Canada.
LOGO DESIGN BOOKS
FREE FONT SITES
Dafont is probably the best known free font site around. They have them all neatly organized into a variety of categories. Fonts are available for both Mac and PC, and new fonts are added on a regular basis.
Urban Fonts is another truly great site that offers free fonts. It has made its way to the top in a short amount of time. They also have free dingbats, fonts for sale and forums where you can ask questions.
sir jorge - January 11th, 2008
as a designer, logos have been my worst suit, it’s hard to conceptualize logos for me.
Gino - January 11th, 2008
I actually enjoy logo and identity design the most. Coming up with concepts can be extremely challenging for certain company names though.
Brian - January 11th, 2008
Great post. My thing is that I have a hard time sketching things out and find myself wanting to go right to the computer. I’m trying to get away from that though.
Sean Hodge - January 11th, 2008
I love doing logos. I think its the most fun thing to design. I like designing websites also, but I find logos to be the most fun.
@Brian - I usually do sketching first. I usually fill a page up with thumbnail size sketches. Though, I usually don’t need to scan it. Usually I can just look at it and then make the logo on screen. But sometimes it helps to scan the sketch in.
Also, if you have a concept in your head I find that I can just go straight to the computer and make it. This often works if its something that it a composite of simple shapes. For example, I just designed a lightbulb with some abstract shapes in it for a client. I didn’t need to sketch with that one.
Good list of tips. I think the one about communicating with the client is really important. I’ve found that some clients have an idea of what they want. It helps to design that idea and then present it in comparision to some other ideas. Also, it helps to find out the style the client is expecting. The more good information you get the more likely you are to be on target with the customer.
Thanks.
Jacob Cass - January 11th, 2008
Gino, you outline some very valid points and give good resources for logo design. Good post… oh and thanks for the link back to my guest article on David Airey. Have you got any logo books? If so what one/s?
Gino - January 11th, 2008
Thanks, I have the first two I listed under books in this post and the other two come highly recommended by several friends. I have a bunch of other random design books as well and I have about 12 books bookmarked that I want to buy soon, I’m gonna order a ton of books at once. =)
Digital Revolutions - January 12th, 2008
Nice article with some great tips. Dugg.
E. Serrano - January 12th, 2008
Great article about logo design. Many people think that a logo is just a nice picture, and forget about creating a meaningful symbol that depicts the main ideas of the customer business. That’s why communicating with the customer becomes so important.
I totally agree about sketching: it’s the quickest way of finding out innovative ideas. Behind a simple and clean logo design there are dozens of sketches. In fact, creating something simple but meaningful at the same time is the real challenge about logo design.
dcr - January 12th, 2008
Great tips. Glad to see you recommend using a professional program, such as Illustrator, but how about a big bold discouragement of using something like Microsoft Word to design logos?
Most professionals know better, but the aspiring designers need to hear that. Frequently.
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Jessica - January 12th, 2008
In one of my art classes we had to come up with a fictional company and sketch logo after logo, for a couple hours on different days. It really helped in the end. Often the first idea you have is the simplest. If that’s what you want - that’s fine, but it’s also something that a lot of other’s might come up with first, too. If you want innovation, sparking your creativity through sketching is the best way to go.
Oh - but there is something you can buy to attach to your computer that lets you draw on a flat screen in front of you, and it translates it as you draw to your computer monitor. Costs a pretty penny, though.
Dan - January 12th, 2008
Great article. Been in design for 15 years, logo design can be fun and rewarding, but depending on the brand and breif can be very challenging also.
I’ve found over the years that, usually your first concept is the best. If you have to push it out you won’t be happy with it - good logo’s practically ‘fall out’.
Couple of tips for aspiring designers;
- You often have to sell your ideas to the client - good logo presentation is imperative.
- Effective logo’s should look good in two colours.
- Less is always more.
David S - January 12th, 2008
Definitely Dugg. I completely agree on sketching out logos and any design concept for that matter. We have a policy here that no mouse (or Wacom tablet) is ever touched until a clear concept is sketched out on paper.
There’s something about that direct connection between the pen and hand that just triggers creativity when you’re developing concepts.
From my experience, it also helps to start in black and white. Adding color treatment only after the final concepts are ready keeps you focused on the logo design.
I would recommend a book called “Designing Corporate Identity” by Pat Matson Knapp. It shows you real case studies of identity design projects and walks you through the process. It’s a great book, published by the best, Rockport.
On a side note, I personally believe logo and identity design are very specialized fields. If it’s not a designer’s forte, they should definitely work with someone who’s good at it. There’s nothing like team work in a creative projects. Plus, specializing helps position you as an authority in your field.
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Fubiz - January 12th, 2008
Thanks for the good tips!
Dave - January 13th, 2008
I agree with the fact that “less is always more” and you don’t want the logo to be too busy. The push/pull comes from clients who want that, but you have to be disciplined enough to help them along the way.
depe - January 13th, 2008
Well you guys, you should try to read Andrew Glassner’s Logo Design published at Siggraph 98′.
That is what should be called “How to make your logo”
Jim - January 13th, 2008
Here’s a few more tips for designing logos I wrote about 6 months ago. They’re a great complement to what you’ve posted here.
David Vaassen - January 13th, 2008
Don’t forget us over at Logosauce.com.
Logo inspiration, information and competition.
At Logosauce you can run a competition and get concepts and finished designs from hundreds of logo designers around the world.
Check it out at http://www.logosauce.com
Colurz Blog » Logo Design Guide - January 13th, 2008
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Gunnar andreassen - January 14th, 2008
Perfect. Thanks for the tips!
Nubloo - January 21st, 2008
Not bad, this delivers the essential basics. Especially good advice is sketching something before you start on the screen.
I don’t know a single professional NOT starting with a simple sheet of paper! You might want to look at this article I wrote back in July 07: http://nubloo.com/design/the-sheet-vs-the-screen
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Sam - February 1st, 2008
I also love designing logos and find the books ‘los logos’ ‘dos logo’s and ‘tres logos’ are a great source of inspiration.
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Peter - February 4th, 2008
Simple is the best. Good logo usually means good website. I hate to design website for someone who’s logo is crap.
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Nigel - February 20th, 2008
Some great logo design tips. I highly recommend the ‘logo lounge’ set of books; excellent for inspiration!
JadedSilver - March 9th, 2008
This is great stuff. I love designing logos! I’ve been frustrated… ?? how do you get clean lines for images on color backgrounds? I get very pixelated and white outlines. Very frustrated! (both illustrator & photoshop)
Thanks for your help!
nilesh - April 27th, 2008
thanks for such great article
Lalalalalalala - April 29th, 2008
mhmmm T___T
wahhhta article .
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panerdante - June 5th, 2008
Wowwww…Great inspiration..Nice picz..I try to follow your tips and the process and maybe I can design my own logo..
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Sydney Web Design - September 25th, 2008
Hi, awesome article, i’m designing a few logos right now so this was great inspiration for me. I posted a link to this article in my own article “7 secrets of great logo design”
My Web Design Blog http://www.scottydonald.com
tammy - September 25th, 2008
I’m studing at the moment at a Design college in SA. My problem is I would came up with 4 dif designs and my teacher would say its crap or change it. It realy fustrats me is there a right way and a wrong way to logo’s? Thanx Tammy
rohit - October 26th, 2008
i want to design a logo of my news service ‘ news on mobile’
News can be throught sms or live news.
if any body can help me thast will be a great help.
Thanks
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Shada - November 4th, 2008
Thanks 4 that useful info about logos….
Shada - November 4th, 2008
I have an exam in designing a logo!! wish me luck
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Sketchee - December 3rd, 2008
These are such great tips. It’s so important to have a fitting logo that is versatile and professional.
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mack - June 16th, 2009
Well written! I’ve been doing logos for around 4 years - in and out. And this is partly due to the fact that I’m not a designer by trade. I’m doing sysadmin work. And doing logos is - you could say - my hobby. Then recently I’ve decided to do it full time (well, not technically) but I’m devoting more time to it.
I’m using Xara and not Adobe Illustrator. If you think my tool of choice is kinda “weird”, well I’m open to suggestions :).
Again thanks for putting this article. A worthy resource.