Tips for creating a logo, inspired by the influence of most successful logo designs.

The Logo is a key component of a brand, helps create the identity of the company through the use of colors, symbols, characters, and allows you to differentiate it in the eyes of the consumer by its main competitors. Its importance lies in being able to convey the true essence of the company at a glance.

What makes great logos?


To impose themselves effectively and be remembered by consumers a logo should follow some basic principles.

Must be:

Simple
Easy to remember
Eternal
Versatile
Appropriate

This are general rules drawn from my experience in the field and numerous websites and books that deal with this topic at a professional level. There are examples of famous logos that contradicted one or more of these principles, but in order to distort the rules you must first know them!

Let's see in more detail the characteristics that are ideal for a logo of impact:

1. Simple




nike image create


The imperative is "Keep it simple". The simplicity makes it an easily recognizable logo, versatile and hard to forget, allows him to be unique without being full of unnecessary details. Everything "in addition" should be deleted, avoid intricate and complex details, colors to be used should be at most 3. Should be avoided colors too bright or too dull, and characters should be easy to read. It’s best not use more than 3 different fonts, and remember that the logo must be aligned left, right, middle, top or bottom edge.

Take example from the Nike logo: a simple and minimal stylized wing (is said to have cost only $ 35!) has become one of the iconic images in the world.

2. Easy to remember




a style image create




It may be useful to use elements that have to do with the business to which it relates or at least linked culturally. If the naming of the brand is simple to remember, this may became the logo. But the most important detail is to focus on an original design, even if provocative (as in the case of the clothing brand A- Style), with a strong impact and – yet again – simple.

3. Eternal




coca cola image




Do not try to follow the latest trend, but aims to create something that retains a sense of 20 years. Good design, in fact, does not fear the passage of time, and logos as Coca Cola are more current than ever.

4. Versatile




chanel image




The logo should be designed in vector format to be scalable to any size. Vector graphics is a technique used to get images that can be enlarged or reduced without loss of detail and without the effect of  "crumbling", for this you need to use programs like Adobe Illustrator.

The logo must also be “valid” even in black and white version.

Might in future be necessary to reproduce it on a billboard, like on a business card or a little gadget ... a logo too rich of details would be virtually unrecognizable; it is important to carefully manage the elements that form it so that it is clear , legible, identifiable in every situation and format .

And don't forget the printing costs: the more colors you use, the more it will be expensive for your business over the long term.

5. Appropriate




toys center




The logo must be adequate to its potential audience. Vibrant colors and childish notes are perfect for a toy shop, but are definitely out of place in other contexts. The logo should be consistent with what it represents, but be careful not to fall into the opposite error : not necessarily the logo should show clearly the activities of your company. The Apple logo is not a computer, the Mercedes logo is not a car and Lacoste logo is not a polo shirt .

How to create business logos?


1. Search for the inspiration



Begin to think about what the company does , what are the objectives , what is the target audience, and what you want to convey with your logo. Begin to outline the style that you want to give the logo, bearing in mind the 5 principles that we just saw.

Are you looking for inspiration? There are many useful websites that can come in handy, to open your mind to help you release all the creativity that's in you:

Logoof the day is a site that rewards the best examples of logos from around the world.

Brandsof the world is the largest collection of logos that can be downloaded in vector format.

Logomoose offers a selection of original and creative logos.

Logofaves is constantly committed to peer between the portfolio of designer and then catalog the best logos.


2. Get pen and paper



draft




Do not start working immediately on your pc! Grab pen and paper and start doing some draft, only when you found something convincing, you can go to the computer. Do not think of a single variant, creating numerous alternatives is easier to reach the goal.

3. Scaning




apple logo create




To draw your logo on the pc you have 2 alternatives:

scan the drawing and then trace it "to your pc
work directly to your pc, using drawing tools that you find in the program you've chosen to use, or, better yet, trying to recreate the image breaking it down into basic shapes (circles, squares, etc.), as you can see in the image above with the Apple logo. In this way you will get a more linear and clean design. You can also use a graphics tablet.
What software to use? The main alternatives are:

Adobe Illustrator is one of the best software to create a logo. Allows you to draw in vector, allowing you to zoom out and zoom in on the image at will, with no loss of quality. Only flaw: not much immediate use, but on the Internet you will find many Tutorials.
Corel Draw is similar to Illustrator as characteristics, according to some is more immediate, but also presents some problems for color management. There are also fewer resources and courses to learn how to use compared to Adobe's rival.
Adobe Photoshop is certainly a very widespread, and widely used in amateur level. Unlike previous, however, is not meant to draw in vector (this feature also exists in the program, but is very limited compared to previous software) and then you could have problems with scalability.
Gimp has duties similar to Photoshop, although much less powerful. However, the advantage of being free, you can download it from the official site.

4. Choose the right Font




fonts for logos




A very important phase concerns the choice of Font: often to make an eye-catching logo simply choose the right Fonts. Don't just use these fonts on your pc, but try to find new and original. On the Internet there are many sites that offer collections of fonts:





If you are looking for free Fonts, remember that not all offer the license for commercial use. Often the sites that let you download free font without collecting reference to license, which makes it a little prudent usage. To be on the safe side go to:

Font Squirrel offers good quality free fonts, complete license, broken down by category. There are also some interesting sections: the Most Downloaded, most downloaded fonts for users; the Newly added, or recently added fonts.

The League of Moveable Type has a real movement born in order to collect and distribute open-source fonts.

Remember not to use more than 3 different Fonts for your logo!

5. Feedback



It can be very useful when creating a logo to ask for feedback to colleagues, but also to non-professionals, such as friends and family.


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