Logos are one of the first things a consumer notices about a brand. So, creating a design that is aesthetically pleasing and accurately conveys your brand’s essence is crucial to brand building. Logos are visual representations of your brand identity and add to differentiation, driving traffic.

A well-crafted logo is essential to enhance brand recall and communicate the unique attributes of your brand. If you are reading this and think it is daunting, we have your back. Apostrophy has created an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to help you design the perfect logo for your dream brand.

A quick study of your brand

The first step to designing a logo is to understand your brand and what it stands for. Go through the mission and vision of your brand, understand your target market, and how you want your consumers to remember your brand. If you have a tagline, a phrase you associate your brand with, or a color scheme in place, you might want to take note of elements that connect these together or something that reflects these important parts of your brand. You can also do a quick focus group to see how other people might perceive your brand. 

Brainstorm

Once you have analyzed your brand and have an idea of what you want to reflect through the logo, it’s time to get a pen and paper and brainstorm. You can get your team to sit together and brainstorm words and phrases that might be associated with the brand. Although there isn’t a right way to do this per se, the key is to come up with as many options as you can. You can always use some help and type in some of the keywords to get related phrases and similar words. When you feel like you have enough, go over them and shortlist them.

Explore in terms of design

It is time to transform the words and phrases you shortlisted into actual workable designs. Start by sketching a few ideas. This is not your final logo, so you can explore all you want with what you want it to look like, and what shapes and forms you want to use. However, there are a couple of things you might want to keep in mind. 

Keep the logo design simple. You don’t need to put every element in there. The key is to convey as much as possible as simply as possible. Avoid using symbols that have been overused. Making your logo design unique would differentiate your brand from your competitors. While it is quite tempting, refrain from using too many colors or fonts that are not easily readable to make your logo design appear neat, aesthetically pleasing, and memorable. 

Finalize a design

Finalize a design from the ones you sketched and see how you can develop it further. You can eliminate elements that seem crowded or add a little text, refine the colors, and make other required adjustments to make the logo design pop out. Use contrast to optimize the white space and see the design taking shape. Once you are happy and confident about the design, review it again and edit some more. Make sure you have everything finalized before you proceed to the next step.

Develop the logo

You already have a logo. All you need to do now is develop it digitally. Don’t worry if you are not an expert in graphic design, there are plenty of digital tools available to assist you in creating the perfect logo. You can also buy logo templates and customize them. Just follow the design principles and you are ready to roll.

Choose the colors and Font

We are almost there. The color palette is crucial to any design. Make sure the colors you choose for your logo accurately represent your brand and align with the color schemes that you might already have in place. 

Take your design from mundane to magical with the right colors. If you want to include typography in your logo, ensure you are using a font that rightly aligns with your brand’s aesthetic and is in harmony with the rest of the logo. Add subtle elements that would reflect your brand story. Once you have developed the logo, it is time to test it out.

Test your Logo

First things first, your logo’s got to be scalable. You could put it on a small package or a billboard, every element should be legible and neat. Make sure it is high resolution – the quality of the file can make all the difference. Check if your logo design looks good in different mediums – both print and digital – and see how it appears on business cards and brochures, or digital platforms your audience uses the most.

Test it using a black-and-white, or monochromatic color scheme. You can also create a couple of variations to use in different places. But make sure these aren’t too different from the original logo design and have a connecting element.

Now that your logo is ready, ask your team for some feedback and refine it if required. Be confident and explore as much as you want to get to the perfect logo for your brand. Contact Apostrophy Services for professional logo creation. Be confident and present your design to the world.