Custom Logo Design Tips For Beginners

Published on Thursday, 11 April 2013 17:28

Darin McGilvra

When you are looking to do a custom logo design for a business, it is important to follow the right process and make a high-quality, professional logo, because this logo will be associated with the business’ brand. You don’t want to make mistakes that could ruin a company’s brand image and marketability.

Whether you are designing the logo yourself or you are having a Web design company do it for you, you need to make sure that the procedure for the custom logo design is laid out in advance so all parties know how the design will be done. Many professional designers start by sketching out various ideas of logos on paper with a pen or pencil. Do not use color initially so that you can see how it will look without color, which is a must for any logo.

These sketches should be presented to the client or to other people in the business to get input and decide together on the way they will be going with the design of the logo. This will give the designer a better idea of what the logo should look like.

When sketching out ideas, don’t try to do too much. Some of the most famous and impactful logos are very simple, such as the Nike swoosh or the McDonald’s golden arches. Also, many logos don’t even have graphics and are just the name of the business in a unique typeface.

Make sure you understand the brand of the company before deciding on a custom logo design because it needs to match that brand. You also need to make it appropriate. You don’t want to make a logo that is too colorful or humorous for a doctor or lawyer because they need to instill trust in the customer.

Once you have decided on the direction you are going with the logo, then you will need to graphically design it into the computer. Here is where you will perfect the logo and add color to it.

Custom logo design should be able to be used in various sizes

It is also important to look at the logo at different sizes. Make sure it looks good whether it fills the screen or is shrunk down to 1 inch.

If it doesn’t look good when it is very small, especially if any words in it or unreadable, consider creating an alternative logo that is intended for when it is needed to be kept small. The alternative could eliminate a tagline or maybe even just keep the first letter of a company name, but the logo still needs to be unique and recognizable even when it is small.

Once you have completed the logo and any alternatives, make sure to have many people look at it before finalizing the logo. Make sure both men and women look at it from different perspectives. You’ll even want to get input from objective observers because there are many examples of logos throughout the world that had unintended reactions from people that could prove disastrous. What you intended for a sleek, modern design could in fact be offensive to some people.

Ask for input on any revisions that need to be made, especially from people in authority for the business the logo is being designed for. Also, consider how it would be used in a website as well as in print.

While it is important to ask for input, don’t stray too far from your creative principles. You want to follow proper design principles and you want the custom logo design to be something you’ll be proud to be linked to even if you aren’t a part of the business the logo is designed for.

Darin McGilvra

Darin McGilvra has been a professional writer since 1997. He currently writes about personal finances, information technology and sports for numerous websites, including mycashtime.com, mchelper.com, and Yahoo! Sports.

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