How to Design Your Personal Logo Blog

Logos mark our shopping bags and billboards. They also mark our digital apps and even airplanes. They're often the first image that comes to mind when we think about the biggest and most popular companies. What is a logo, exactly? And what design elements are best?

It is the Principles of Logo Design

Find out the three essential criteria for iconic symbols and learn how an experienced designer approaches logo design with the help of Sagi Haviv's Original.

 Understanding logos

As a basic definition the term logo refers to an image used to convey key information about a business or product. When a potential customer is unfamiliar with the company, it functions as a first impression of the visual, and a distinct representation of a brand's identity.

There are many styles of logos which the majority of businesses rely upon.

Logomarksare simple, abstract graphics that have a minimalistic design. They are generally, they don't feature any typography. Apple, Mozilla Firefox, Playboy, and Mercedes-Benz logos fall under this group.

Wordmarks are symbols made from customized lettering that is meant to stand on its own as logos. They aren't adorned with pictures. Take a look at logos from The Coca-Cola Company, Ray-Ban as well as The Kellogg Company for excellent examples of wordmarks.

Wordmarks are like wordmarksbut typically involve abbreviations or monograms. They are a combination of one or more letters into a single sign. McDonald's, EA Sports and Procter & Gamble all rely on letters.

The combination marks combine typography and visual symbols to create a unique logo. Companies like Adidas, Domino's Pizza, Adobe Systems, and Puma make use of this type of logo.

Emblem, or "Badge Design" logoscan be graphic, utilize type, or rely on one of these however, the designer wraps the logo in an easy geometric form for the purpose of creating the illusion of a stamp or patch. Some examples are logos of businesses like Starbucks, The National Football League, and Harley-Davidson.

Learn how to apply the Principles of Logo Design

Be familiar with the basic principles of designing your logo with designer Jeremy Mura's class, Logo Design for Beginners.

If you're able to recognize and categorize different types of logos you'll be able to discover other methods designers use to represent the characteristics of their specific products or businesses. Take a look at some logos that you see in your daily every day life, and consider how different industries rely on diverse methods of displaying what they offer through their logos. Sports team logos often feature the mascot of the team or even a typeface that conveys the intensity and competitiveness. Photographic logos seek ways to communicate artistry, creativity, and detail. Certain logos depend on symmetry to be appealing while some use negative space in a striking way. Certain logos are geometric while some are more organic. Logo examples are plentiful everywhere you go. Take them as inspiration for your.

 Making Your Personal Logo

Prior to launching your Logo design software You'll need sketch some basic ideas for your logo. Make sure you know exactly what it is you intend to communicate about the business or product you're trying to visualize. Talk to your clients or yourself about the history of the brand, its industry, the product or service it provides, and any goals to grow the business in the future. Understanding who you're designing for and what the logo you're creating gives you the opportunity to create a unique starting point. It also will ensure that your brand's logo is both appropriate and effectively appealing to your target audience.

Once you have an idea of the background and character of your logo, think about the best ways to visually convey these aspects the best. There are a variety of visual ideas to contemplate.

Shape: You can distill all logos to six geometric shapes: ovals, circles or rectangles. triangles and squares. They all suggest various things to the audience. There aren't any strict or hard rules, individuals tend to connect rounded edges and rings to be positive, community, love peace, and friendliness. The shapes of rectangles and squares suggest balance, dependability and strength. Triangles have cultural associations to religion, science as well as history, culture, and strength.

Harmony While you're thinking about the most appropriate shape to use, consider whether your logo needs to be one-dimensional. Though symmetry isn't required in order for your logo to be successful however, the most attractive logos usually have balance and harmony. The elements of your design should not compete with one another.

Type When you pick an existing font or develop your own typeface for an identity, ensure that it's legible and appropriate for the project. Consider whether your typeface should have sharp angles or round letters, as well as what typefaces ought to be thin, thick or someplace in between. If you're unable to pick some of your preferred fonts, don't worry. There's a possibility for you to use multiple fonts into your logo's final design. Just don't exceed three in a given project, or it could disorient your customers.

Color to give clients or you the maximum flexibility, a logo should always be effective with grayscale. But color can be an important way for you to convey the essence of a brand. According to research by scientists who analyze the effects on our minds of colors, different shades carry cultural associations that you may choose to keep or not in accordance with your plan. Take a look at the following research findings in how they pertain to your intended viewers.

• Oranges and yellows can make you feel vibrant, imaginative young, lively and passionate.
• The color red draws attention. It can convey the sensation of heat, excitement and increased appetite, as well as fear, anger and warning.
• Pinks convey a fun and romantic character, yet may also signify immaturity as purples evoke royalty, ambition, luxury, mystery, and creativity.
• Deep blue is a symbol of peace as well as loyalty and trustworthiness While brighter hues of aquamarine can be a sign of healing serenity, spirituality, and escape.
• Green is typically thought of as fresh, natural, and healthful, however it also signifies jealousy and greed, depending on the context.
• Gray shows that the brand is conservative, neutral, and safe. Too many of these elements makes a design appear dull.
• Black is a symbol of formality and elegance, or death and evil depending on the way it's used.
• White provides Western audience members a pure, clear, pure innocence, snowy sense of. But Eastern people may be able to associate the color with mourning, death or bad luck.

Don't forget real-world associations as well. If you'd like the public to associate a brand with the practical or economical, then choosing the primary or "bucket" color schemes could be the most effective option. (At minimum, it shows that you didn't spend extra cash on customized colors in the print shop.)

Use Color to Connect with Your Customer

Find out how various colors aid in engaging an audience in Dominic Flask's Original.

ShadeWhile looking at your colors, you may also want to decide on the appropriate shade and tint for your project. The pastel hues can be calming or unconfident, while people generally consider brighter shades to be fun and cheerful (or inexpensive, when used in the wrong context). Shades that are darker suggest seriousness or professionalism, but they can also come across as dull or monotonous if you're not careful about how you use them. Each detail is important when creating your logo. Therefore, take every decision you make with care.

Hierarchy: Include all the information that you want or need to incorporate into your logo. Is it simply a symbolic design, or does it include the name of your company? Are you looking to communicate when the brand was established or the place it comes from? Once you have a clear idea of the information you'd like to include consider the best way to visually highlight what you most want to say. Logos are a great source of information so long as the fonts and colours indicate what the audience should best remember.

Conformity As a logo serves as the brand's first impression, it is vital that the mark looks professional and well-structured. It is essential that every graphic element you choose to use is properly shaped and located. To achieve a flawless look, graphic designers often utilize a technique known as "gridding" to create a hierarchy of shapes and lines and arrange the design with more aesthetics, harmony and elegance.

There are many kinds of grids graphic artists typically employ to sketch logo concepts.

• Dot grids offer structure, without visual distractions.
• Square grids allow designers to work with 90-degree angles and lines.
• Square grids with diagonal lines display diagonal lines as well as horizontal and vertical lines that aid designers in simplifying almost every geometric design. The graphic designer Otto "Otl" Aicher designed his world-renowned Olympic Pictograms with this grid.
• Thirty degree angle grids may be the most rare grid for designers to choose however, they do have triangles or hexagons that can give designs a 3D appearance.

If you begin by drawing your design on paper then you are able to utilize a computer to clean up any imperfections or inconsistencies that you find. When you're proficient in gridding, you can also make your designs more appealing by incorporating the golden ratio in them or by including exclusion zones to prevent any other elements of graphic design from taking over onto your design.

Make use of grids when designing Your Logo

Learn how to use a grid during your design process in order to make the final logo by working with designer George Bokhua.

 Begin with Logo Design

Do you feel like you've got a clear and creative direction? Then you're ready to begin. Have fun with this process. If you're stuck, keep these quick tips in the back of your head.

1. Keep it simple. Don't over-complicate your job. The more simple and clear your logo, the more people will understand, recognize and comprehend it.
2. Be unique. Your logo should be distinctive from other logos So make your logo as memorable as you can. Make sure to customize as many of the aspects as you can and don't be afraid to think beyond literal representations of the brand that you're representing. (After all it's true that"swoosh" from Nike "swoosh" has become one of the most recognizable brands on the planet.)
3. Keep your work constant. Your work should always neat, tidy and professional. Work with a grid to organize your designs and then give them visual logic.
4. Make sure it's appropriate. Don't use bright shades to depict banks, or dark greys to depict a kids' toys.
5. Make sure to back it up with studies. Look around: Logo inspiration is everywhere. Be sure to study the work of others to represent brands and industries. It's similar to your own. You'll be amazed at the things you discover.
6. Create a legible HTML0. Pick the right typeface(s) to communicate the values of your company, its history or principles to your target audience.
7. Take a look at how the logo looks in grayscale. Check to make sure that your logo appears in both black and white as well as in color. You'll be able see negative spaces and design inconsistencies easier as you go along. This will give your brand greater flexibility in using your logo over the long term.
8. Explore color. Colors evoke emotion and provide audience appeal. Choose colors that relate to your business or the product they represent. You'll soon be on the way in creating an effective and effective logo.
9. Be flexible. Make sure that your logo will be appropriate in every context, whether it's on an incredibly small pinback button or billboard, a brochure, or a web page. Your logo should work for both print and digital environment, and must work in the same way in both large and small spaces.
10. Create a timeless look. Fads fade, and relying on them in the short-term will render your work outdated. Most brands hope to keep their logos up to five, ten, or even 15 years. Stay away from trending and clichés and your brand's work may last a lifetime.