You have an amazing idea for a brand, and you’re ready to get it up and running – what’s the first step you take? It’s creating an identity for your brand. Creating an identity begins with setting up a logo that truly defines and reflects the nature of your brand. Your logo is one of the main things that will separate your brand from other similar ones in the industry.
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Working on your logo helps you take a closer peep into your brand and understand its nature, what it stands for, and how you want it to be perceived by consumers.
You might think that getting a professional logo will be incredibly expensive. Well, today it doesn’t have to be – you can use a logo generator which will let you save money, eliminate the need for hiring freelancers, and let you be in charge of the design. There’s no excuse not to get one for your brand.
Now that you know why logos are important, and that you can have your very own easily, let’s learn what makes a good, memorable, and impactful logo.
Define Your Brand
Defining your brand means setting what it stands for and its core ideas into stone. Sometimes, you may know exactly what your brand is but do not have the right words for it. Think from a consumer’s perspective – they need to be able to read and understand what your brand is. There are some key elements you should consider and add to your brand style guide, to effectively flush out your brand’s purpose:
- The name and its meaning.
- The characteristics.
- Values and virtues.
- Branding themes.
- Branding keywords.
- Brand colors.
No two brand books are ever the same, so feel free to add whatever might not be mentioned on this list. While you’re at it, do your research, and draw inspiration from other companies like Spotify.
Look for Inspirations and References
The next step to making your logo is to look for online inspiration and creative references. Whatever industry you’re planning to enter, you will realize there are hundreds of brands also running in it.
It’s a great creative pool for you to discover your own brand and set it apart from the common ones. References will help you decide what to do and what toa void when trying to enter a saturated market. It is very important to know your competitors and understand how you can do better. You can go to Behance and Dribble for some visual design inspiration.
Choose the Logo Style
When looking at online references, you will find that logos are mainly of two types: text-based and symbol-based. This is called the anatomy of your brand’s logo. While you can have both text and symbols at the same time, you have every option to go with either of the elements.
One amazing example of a text and symbol logo is Adidas. The three bars placed on top of the text “Adidas” represent the constant climb towards performance, hence the mountain shape. Just like this universally acclaimed brand, you too should aim for an amazing logo that contains both logo elements and implied meaning through symbols.
Seek Symbols and Colors
So by now, you should have the colours that you’ll be working with settled. Let’s assume you associate red and white with your brand. Now is the time to define what will be used to reflect these colours. For example, Coca Cola uses its classic cursive and red and white logo.
In the same way, you also need to think about the symbols you can use for your brand’s logo. You can either be simplistic and relate the symbol to your brand directly or go out of the box.
Coca Cola has a direct relation to its bottle with its product and the brand. However, Nike and Adidas do not directly use the symbol of wearables for their brand identity. It’s easier to start with a symbol that directly speaks of your brand’s selling product. Be it the age-old glass bottle, or Nike’s swoosh that implies motion.
Make the First Attempt
Whether or not you want to hire a professional graphic designer for the job, make the first attempt yourself. You can even use a blank page and a pencil to get to work. You will realize how adaptable, easy to make, and enjoyable this task is.
It will also shed light on the clarity you have for your brand’s values. You can also directly start playing with digital tools and work your way to a simple illustration, which can then be improved and enhanced in the future, or as suggested before, use a logo maker. But make sure you carry out the first attempt to set the tone and shape of your logo.
Check Adaptability
One of the things you need to check for your logo’s finesse is its adaptability. Think of your logo as the one thing that is printed on top of everything your brand is going to sell. Now ask yourself this: does my logo look as good printed on a mug as it does as the favicon of my website? You need to make sure it does! A responsive and adaptable logo must look authentic, pleasant, and unique when printed on anything.
Whether you expand and want to sell merchandise in the future or keep it simply digital, you need to have all options in mind. You also need to check how the logo will look if made smaller on the header of the website or larger on the “about” section of the website. This will really help you understand how a consumer will react to the logo you have placed in different sections of the website.
Conclusion
If you’ve followed these practices, you will be able to create your own outstanding logo for your website. Your website is going to be the key selling platform for your brand, and the logo placed on it has to be unique, reflective of your brand, and adaptable for all sizes. Good luck!