Whether you’re a student or an entrepreneur who wants to save up on logo design, we’re here for you. Businesses need a rock-solid brand identity to survive in this digital market. More so, all businesses should define their brand through a unique mix of a logo, brand packaging and identity. Let us start with the absolute basics and eventually get into the tips to make your own logo.

What is a logo?

A logo, in the simplest of words, is your brand's official monogram that represents what the brand stands for. The idea is to create a logo that is unique and stands out from the clutter of other brands. If you’re an entrepreneur, you can easily identify your strengths, your brand’s USPs and its true meaning. It will be easier for you to translate all of that into a logo. Additionally, keep in mind that your logo should fit perfectly in all your social media posts, marketing decks, presentations, website, business cards, products and more. Thus, it has to do justice wherever it needs to go. 

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Graphic designers have an aesthetic eye - the details, the style, the typography and the colours, come naturally to them. If you’re not a graphic designer, don’t worry, we’ve compiled a list of tips specifically to help you design the perfect logo.. 

Define Your Brand 

Defining your brand personality is key. You may be the owner of the brand but you still need to decide what it means to the consumers. Who is your audience? What are they like? Write these down on paper to reflect. What’s your brand personality? These questions will give you brand clarity and also influence the decisions you make. For example, a softer brand will ideally be more playful and you can experiment with softer tones, playful fonts and more. However, a serious brand would require some solid iconography. 

Let The Logo Speak 

Your logo should speak for itself - it should resonate with the business you’re in, the products or services you sell. You cannot be an online grocery brand with a building iconography on it. It should align with your brand name and the nature of your business. 

Play With The Logotype

Once you decipher what your brand is or who it wants to be, you can move on to deciding the logotype. This is where the fun begins! You can either choose to put your business’s name in the logo or you can simply decide to go with icons and negative spacing. Choosing to put the name on your logo, makes your business name easily identifiable from day one. However, if you choose to use an icon and other elements, it will create an identity to remember.  

Explore The Colour Wheel 

Different colours carry different meanings and it is only wise to choose what resonates with your brand. You can choose a colour that’s aesthetic but doesn’t fit the brand guidelines. Imagine choosing a millennial pink colour for a brand that sells pharmaceuticals. Another thing to remember is that your colour should be timeless - should be relevant today and tomorrow (we mean futuristic). If you’re using two colours, make sure to use the ones that blend well - either colour blocking or shades of the same colour. 

Fonts! Fonts! Fonts! (Pairing)

It can be difficult to select typefaces, and with so many fonts freely available online it can quickly become overwhelming. The combination of typefaces is not just difficult. You may also determine whether they are utilised across the hierarchy of text in headings, subheadings, body fonts, etc.sans-serif , serif,  decorative and script - there is a world of combinations you can try. 

Focus on Legibility

In order to make your logo stand out, don’t end up making a logo that isn’t legible. It should be clear enough for people to read what it says. If you crowd it with too many font types, the chances of it becoming redundant are higher. Use colour and fonts that can be read from a far off place too. How pharma companies usually choose a mix of bold and wide fonts with green, blue or red as their primary colours. Use a relevant mix for your brand. 

Make it Scalable

Keep in mind while designing a logo that it may be scaled easily.Your logo will be displayed on a wide range of graphical designs, from business cards, to billboards. It’s important you design with this in mind. . The logo should seem spectacular in all its applications. Include these possibilities in your mockups. 

Keep It Simple & Have Fun

It’s cliche - but it’s true!  From your research to the final iterations, be creative and enjoy the journey. A basic logo design often stands out from the crowd. One or two colours, typefaces and other components should be used when we talk about a basic logo. The viewers should receive the message at a single glance. However, when the colours and typefaces are too many and the logo is too confusing, viewers usually cannot perceive it. The logic is ‘less is more’.  

Now that you have your basics in place, go get your notebook and log into Dzyn Space to get started on creating your own logo today!